JP5555533B2 - Control device, terminal device, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to power management.

  There is a technique in which a terminal device spontaneously switches to an operation mode in which power consumption can be suppressed when the remaining battery level is low (for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3). Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose that when the remaining battery level falls below a threshold value, a transition to a power save mode (Patent Document 1) and a longer synchronization establishment period with a wireless base station (Patent Document 2) are disclosed. Has been. Patent Document 3 predicts the remaining usage time from the remaining battery level and the latest battery consumption rate, and shifts to the power saving mode when the desired usage time specified to the user is longer than the predicted time. Is disclosed.

JP 2008-11155 A JP 2003-124874 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-289677

By the way, a user who handles a terminal device such as a mobile phone terminal is not always conscious of the remaining battery level, and when the user notices, the remaining battery level may be low or the battery may run out. In this case, for example, even if the user wants to use the terminal device when he / she recalls an urgent use such as an emergency call or he / she has forgotten, he / she cannot use the terminal device. It is inconvenient for.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for suppressing the possibility of the battery running out without always making the user aware of the remaining battery level.

In order to solve the above-described problem, a control device of the present invention is a control device for a terminal device that operates by receiving power supply from a battery, and includes a remaining amount specifying unit that specifies the remaining amount of the battery, and the remaining device. When the remaining amount specified by the amount specifying unit exceeds the first threshold, the operation is controlled according to a first mode that receives a predetermined amount of power supply, and the specified remaining amount is equal to or less than the first threshold; The operation is controlled according to a second mode that is less than the first threshold value and exceeds a second threshold value that represents the amount of power required for execution of predetermined control, and receives a smaller amount of power supply than the first mode. When the operation control unit controls the operation control unit according to the second mode and the specified remaining amount is equal to or less than the second threshold value, an off control unit that turns off the terminal device, time, and others Specified by the user of the terminal device Before the time specified in the acquired schedule, and before the specified remaining amount falls below the amount of power required for execution of the control related to the schedule, A threshold value setting unit for setting the second threshold value, and when the power is turned off by the off control unit, the operation control unit turns off the power to the other terminal device of the user specified in the schedule It is characterized by controlling the communication part which communicates with an external apparatus so that it may alert | report that there exists .

  Further, in a preferred aspect of the present invention, the apparatus further comprises a position specifying unit that specifies the position of the own device, and the threshold setting unit is configured to output at least one of the first and second thresholds according to the position specified by the position specifying unit. Change one.

  Further, in a preferred aspect of the present invention, when there is a control executed by the operation control unit at a predetermined time or a predetermined time zone, a second power prediction unit is provided that predicts the amount of power required for the execution of the control. The threshold setting unit is equal to or greater than the amount of power before the specified remaining amount falls below the amount of power predicted by the second power prediction unit before the time or before the time period. A second threshold is set.

  The terminal device of the present invention is any one of the control devices of the present invention and a battery control unit that controls the amount of electric power supplied from the battery into the terminal device. The battery control unit is configured to supply an amount of electric power according to a mode, and to cut off the supply of electric power when the power is turned off by the off control unit.

The program of the present invention includes a remaining amount specifying step for specifying a remaining amount of a battery and a remaining amount specified in the remaining amount specifying step in a computer of a control device of a terminal device that operates by receiving power supply from the battery. When the first threshold value is exceeded, the operation is controlled according to a first mode in which a predetermined amount of power is supplied from the battery, and the specified remaining amount is equal to or less than the first threshold value and is lower than the first threshold value. An operation control step of controlling the operation in accordance with a second mode that operates by receiving a smaller amount of power than in the first mode when the second threshold value representing the amount of power required for executing the control is exceeded; When the control is performed in the operation control step according to the second mode, an off control step of powering off the terminal device when the specified remaining amount is equal to or less than the second threshold value. Obtains time and schedule that is specified in the other terminal devices, in has been the time previously specified in the acquired schedule, the particular remaining quantity, the amount of power required to run the control concerning the schedule And setting the second threshold value that is greater than or equal to the amount of the power before the power is reduced, and when the power is turned off by the off control unit in the operation control step, the user specified in the schedule This is for controlling a communication unit that communicates with an external device so as to notify the other terminal device that the power is off .

  According to the present invention, the possibility of running out of the battery can be suppressed without making the user always aware of the remaining battery level.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the terminal device of 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the structure of an operation mode management table. The functional block diagram which shows the function structure which a control part implement | achieves. The flowchart which shows the procedure of the operation | movement which a control part performs. The block diagram which shows the structure of the terminal device of 2nd Embodiment. The figure which shows the structure of a threshold value management table. The flowchart which shows the procedure of the operation | movement which a control part performs. The block diagram which shows the structure of the terminal device of 3rd Embodiment. The figure explaining the data structure of power consumption information. The block diagram which shows the structure of the terminal device of 4th Embodiment. The figure which shows the structure of control history information. The block diagram which shows the structure of the terminal device of 5th Embodiment. The figure which shows the structure of a threshold value management table. The figure which shows the structure of a schedule book.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[A; First Embodiment]
First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.
[Configuration of First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the terminal device 10. The terminal device 10 is a mobile phone terminal here. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the terminal device 10 includes a control unit 11, an operation unit 12, a communication unit 13, a display unit 14, a storage unit 15, a battery control unit 16, and a battery 17.

The control unit 11 is a control device including an arithmetic device including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory, and controls the operation of the terminal device 10 by executing a program stored in the memory or the storage unit 15. The operation unit 12 includes a plurality of operators such as a numeric keypad, receives an operation of the operator by a user, and outputs an operation signal corresponding to the operation to the control unit 11. In addition, the operation unit 12 includes a backlight that illuminates a plurality of operators from the inside of the casing of the terminal device 10, and each operator lights up when the backlight is turned on. The communication unit 13 includes a wireless communication circuit and an antenna, and is an interface for connecting to a communication network including a mobile communication network, the Internet, and a gateway. The display unit 14 includes, for example, a liquid crystal driving circuit and a liquid crystal display, and notifies the contents according to the information by displaying an image. The storage unit 15 includes, for example, an EEPROM (Electronically Erasable and Programmable ROM) and stores data including an operation mode management table 151. The battery 17 is a rechargeable secondary battery and is a power source for the terminal device 10. The battery control unit 16 performs control related to power supply in the terminal device 10 and management of the remaining amount of the battery 17. For example, the battery control unit 16 controls the power supplied from the battery 17 to each unit of the terminal device 10 according to control by the control unit 11. Further, the battery control unit 16 specifies the remaining amount of power supplied by the battery 17 (hereinafter referred to as “battery remaining amount”) and outputs a remaining amount signal indicating the specified remaining battery level to the control unit 11. .
In addition to the above configuration, the terminal device 10 has a configuration that a mobile phone terminal normally has, such as a microphone that collects received voice and a speaker that emits transmitted voice.

  The terminal device 10 having the above configuration operates in accordance with one of the operation modes of “normal mode” as the first mode and “power saving mode” as the second mode. When the terminal device 10 operates according to the normal mode, each unit in the device operates by receiving a predetermined amount of power from the battery 17. On the other hand, when the terminal device 10 operates in accordance with the power saving mode, each unit in the device operates by receiving a smaller amount of power supplied from the battery 17 than in the normal mode, or stops operating when the power supply is cut off. To do. In other words, when the terminal device 10 performs an operation, the amount of power consumed by the battery 17 per unit time is larger in the normal mode than in the power saving mode. As for which operation mode the terminal device 10 operates according to the mode in which the control unit 11 adopts the mode specified by the user by operating the operation unit 12, without an instruction to switch the operation mode by the user, There is a mode in which the control unit 11 spontaneously switches the operation mode.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the operation mode management table 151.
As shown in FIG. 2, the operation mode management table 151 describes two types of information “operation mode” and “remaining battery level ER” in association with each other. In the “operation mode” field, information indicating each of the operation modes “normal mode” and “power saving mode” described above and information indicating “automatic off” are described. “Automatic off” means that the terminal device 10 is turned off without the operation of the operation unit 12 instructing the user to turn off the power (that is, to turn off the power). In the following description, the term “automatic off” is used in this sense. “Power off” can be said to be an operation state in which the power consumption in the terminal device 10 is further suppressed as compared with the power saving mode. “Power off” can also be said to be an operation state of a device after a power switch is operated by a user to turn off the device. In the “battery remaining amount ER” field of the operation mode management table 151, a value capable of specifying the remaining battery amount of the battery 17 is described. Since the voltage of the battery 17 which is a secondary battery has a magnitude corresponding to the remaining battery level, for example, the remaining battery level ER represents the voltage value.
In addition, you may use other than a voltage value as battery residual amount ER, for example, the remaining time which the terminal device 10 can operate | move may be sufficient. In short, any value can be used as long as it is an indicator of the remaining battery level of the battery 17.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the operation mode management table 151, first, the battery remaining amount “ER> Th1” is described in association with the operation mode “normal mode”. This description defines that the terminal device 10 operates according to the normal mode when the remaining battery level ER of the battery 17 exceeds the first threshold Th1. Second, the remaining battery level “Th1 ≧ ER> Th2” is described in association with the operation mode “power saving mode”. This description defines that the terminal device 10 operates according to the power saving mode when the battery remaining amount ER of the battery 17 is equal to or less than the first threshold Th1 and exceeds the second threshold Th2. The second threshold Th2 is a non-zero value below the first threshold Th1, that is, the remaining battery level is not zero. Third, the remaining battery level “Th2 ≧ ER” is described in association with the operation mode “automatic off”. This description defines that the terminal device 10 is automatically turned off when the remaining battery level ER of the battery 17 is equal to or less than the second threshold Th2. The second threshold Th2 represents, for example, the amount of power necessary for the terminal device 10 to execute a predetermined control of voice communication for 5 minutes. In other words, the second threshold Th2 represents the power consumed by the battery 17 when the terminal device 10 executes this predetermined control. The operation mode when the terminal device 10 executes this control is not particularly limited here.
The first threshold value Th1 and the second threshold value Th2 are predetermined values. For example, the first threshold value Th1 represents a remaining battery level of 50%, and the second threshold value Th2 represents a remaining battery level of 10%. These may be determined at the design stage, such as representing. Further, the first threshold Th1 and the second threshold Th2 may be determined to values designated by the user.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a functional configuration realized by the control unit 11.
The control unit 11 implements each function corresponding to the remaining amount specifying unit 111, the operation control unit 112, and the off control unit 113 by executing a program.
The remaining amount specifying unit 111 specifies the battery remaining amount ER of the battery 17 based on the remaining amount signal supplied from the battery control unit 16.

The operation control unit 112 controls the operation of each unit of the terminal device 10 in accordance with either the normal mode or the power saving mode. This control includes various controls relating to the operation of the terminal device 10 such as control relating to automatic switching of the operation mode, control relating to various communications via the communication unit 13, and control for causing the display unit 14 to display an image. included. That is, the control executed by the operation control unit 112 may be interpreted as the control executed by the control unit 11 excluding the control executed by other than the operation control unit 112.
The operation control unit 112 performs the following control so that the power consumption of the battery 17 in the power saving mode is suppressed as compared with the power consumption in the normal mode. For example, the operation control unit 112 controls the battery control unit 16 so as to suppress the amount of power supplied to each unit in the terminal device 10. In addition, the operation control unit 112 increases the cycle when the brightness of the backlight of the display unit 14 is reduced, the backlight of the operation unit 12 is turned off, or when the communication unit 13 periodically performs certain communication. To do.
In the power saving mode, the power consumption of the entire terminal device 10 only needs to be suppressed compared to that in the normal mode. Therefore, the terminal is configured to perform the same operation in the normal mode and in the power saving mode. It may be included in the device 10.

The off control unit 113 powers off the terminal device 10 when the battery remaining amount ER specified by the remaining amount specifying unit 111 is equal to or less than the second threshold Th2 when controlled by the operation control unit 112 according to the power saving mode. . At this time, for example, the off control unit 113 supplies the battery control unit 16 with an instruction signal instructing to turn off the power without accepting the operation of the operation unit 12 instructing to turn off the power. Further, the off control unit 113 controls each unit so that each unit in the terminal device 10 is in a power-off state. In the battery control unit 16, the power supply is cut off in response to the instruction signal, whereby the terminal device 10 is turned off and the automatic turn-off is completed.
In response to the supply of the instruction signal, the battery control unit 16 cuts off the power supply to each part of the apparatus, but does not cut off all the power supply. For example, the battery control unit 16 may supply power for continuing the function of the terminal device 10 that continues to operate even when the power is off.

[Operation of First Embodiment]
Next, the operation of the terminal device 10 will be described.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of operations performed by the control unit 11 of the terminal device 10. When the terminal device 10 is powered on, the control unit 11 executes each processing step shown in FIG. 4 at a predetermined cycle (for example, every minute).
It is assumed that the terminal device 10 operates according to the normal mode before the operation described below starts.

First, the control part 11 specifies the battery remaining amount ER of the battery 17 (step S1). The control unit 11 specifies the battery remaining amount ER based on the remaining amount signal supplied from the battery control unit 16. Next, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the battery remaining amount ER exceeds the first threshold Th1 (step S2). Here, if the control part 11 judges that the battery remaining amount ER exceeds 1st threshold value Th1 (step S2; YES), it will progress to the process of step S3. Then, the control unit 11 sets the operation mode to the normal mode (step S3). In this case, since the remaining amount of the battery 17 is sufficient, the control unit 11 maintains the operation mode so that the terminal device 10 continues to operate according to the normal mode.
When the operation mode is the power saving mode and the remaining battery level is recovered by charging the battery 17 or the like, the control unit 11 executes the process of step S3 to change the operation mode from the power saving mode to the normal mode. Switch to.

In the process of step S2, when the control unit 11 determines that the battery remaining amount ER is equal to or less than the first threshold Th1 (step S2; NO), the process proceeds to the process of step S4. Subsequently, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the remaining amount ER of the battery 17 is equal to or less than the first threshold Th1 and exceeds the second threshold Th2 (step S4). When the control unit 11 determines that the remaining battery level ER of the battery 17 is equal to or less than the first threshold value Th1 and exceeds the second threshold value Th2 (step S4; YES), the process proceeds to step S5. In this case, the control unit 11 switches the operation mode from the normal mode to the power saving mode (step S5). That is, since the remaining amount of the battery 17 is lowered to some extent, the control unit 11 switches the operation mode so that the user can actually use the terminal device 10 when the user wants to use it. By switching to the power saving mode, for example, the luminance of the backlight used for displaying an image on the display unit 14 is reduced, and the display becomes dark.
When the operation mode is already the power saving mode, the control unit 11 maintains the operation mode in the power saving mode by the process of step S5.

  In the process of step S4, when the control unit 11 determines that the remaining battery level ER is equal to or less than the second threshold Th2 (step S4; NO), the process proceeds to the process of step S6. And the control part 11 turns off the terminal device 10 automatically so that the inside of the terminal device 10 may be in a power-off state (step S6). Thereby, the terminal device 10 is in a power-off state in a state where a remaining battery level that matches or substantially matches the second threshold Th2 is secured.

By the way, after the terminal device 10 is automatically turned off by the process of step S6, the terminal device 10 is triggered by the operation of the operation unit 12 for turning on the power by the user, as in the case of normal power-off. Turn on the power. With this configuration, after the terminal device 10 is automatically turned off, for example, when an emergency call such as an ambulance call is necessary, or when the user needs the terminal device 10 because he / she has forgotten what he / she has forgotten, The user can use the terminal device 10. The reason is that when the battery is automatically turned off, the battery 17 has a battery remaining amount of approximately the second threshold Th2.
In addition, the user can recognize that the remaining battery level is considerably low by the automatic turn-off. Therefore, the terminal device 10 can prompt the user to consider the way of use as a message to automatically turn off the terminal device 10 so that the user can use it when the terminal device 10 is really needed.

In addition, before the automatic turn-off, the terminal apparatus 10 automatically switches from the normal mode to the power saving mode when the remaining battery level ER becomes equal to or less than the first threshold Th1. When the terminal device 10 operates according to the power saving mode, the control unit 11 consumes power such as reducing the brightness of the backlight of the display unit 14 or turning off the backlight of the operation unit 12 as described above. Control to suppress Therefore, this automatic switching can lengthen the period until the battery of the terminal device 10 runs out, and the terminal device 10 uses this automatic switching as a message in a state where the remaining battery level is slightly reduced for the user. It can be recognized. Therefore, for the user, since the terminal device 10 does not turn off suddenly from the normal mode, there is no need to always keep in mind so that the remaining battery level does not become zero, and the terminal recognizes this automatic switching. If consideration is given to the use of the device 10, the period until the terminal device 10 runs out of battery can be further extended.
As described above, according to the terminal device 10, it is possible to suppress the possibility of the battery running out without always making the user aware of the remaining battery level of the battery 17.

[B; Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In addition to the configuration of the terminal device 10 of the first embodiment, the terminal device of the second embodiment includes a configuration in which the first threshold Th1 and the second threshold Th2 are variable, and the variable threshold is automatically set. In the following description, among the configurations included in the terminal device of the present embodiment, those common to the configuration included in the terminal device 10 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description and illustration of each configuration are given. Omitted where appropriate.

[Configuration of Second Embodiment]
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the terminal device 10a of this embodiment. The terminal device 10 a includes a control unit 11, an operation unit 12, a communication unit 13, a display unit 14, a storage unit 15, a battery control unit 16, a battery 17, and a position detection unit 18. In FIG. 5, what is shown in the block diagram of the control unit 11 is a functional configuration of functions realized by the control unit 11.
In FIG. 5, the operation unit 12, the communication unit 13, the display unit 14, the battery control unit 16, and the battery 17 are not shown.

The position detection unit 18 detects the position (current location) of the terminal device 10a using, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) positioning function. The position detection unit 18 outputs position information indicating the detected position to the control unit 11. The position detection unit 18 measures the position periodically, for example, and outputs the position information to the control unit 11 at least when the control unit 11 performs control related to setting of the threshold value.
The storage unit 15 stores a threshold management table 152 in addition to an operation mode management table 151 (not shown) similar to that in the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of the threshold management table 152.
As shown in FIG. 6, in the threshold management table 152, three types of information, “location”, “first threshold Th1”, and “second threshold Th2” are described in association with each other. In the “location” field, information indicating each predetermined location is described. In the example illustrated in FIG. 6, information indicating “home”, “company”, “leisure” (for example, an amusement park or a sightseeing spot), and “others” other than these is described in the threshold management table 152. ing. Although not shown, information indicating latitude and longitude is also described in the “location” field so that the control unit 11 can specify the relationship between the position of each location and the position detected by the position detection unit 18. Yes. In the fields of “first threshold value Th1” and “second threshold value Th2”, the first threshold value Th1 and the second threshold value Th2 determined corresponding to each location are described. For example, the first threshold Th1 corresponding to the place “home” is “0”, and the second threshold Th2 is “0”. For the places “company”, “leisure”, and “others”, a first threshold value Th1 and a second threshold value Th2 that are not zero are respectively designated.
The relationship between each location described in the threshold management table 152 and the threshold is determined at the design stage, for example. Then, for example, the latitude / longitude of a home, company, leisure, or the like is input to the terminal device 10a by the operation of the operation unit 12 of the user, whereby the threshold management table 152 is configured.
Note that the parentheses shown in FIG. 6 are not actually described in the threshold value management table 152 but explain the magnitude relationship with other values (the same applies to other tables described later).

Next, a functional configuration realized by the control unit 11 will be described with reference to FIG.
The control unit 11 executes the program to realize functions corresponding to the remaining amount specifying unit 111, the operation control unit 112, the off control unit 113, the position specifying unit 114, and the threshold setting unit 115.
The position specifying unit 114 acquires position information from the position detection unit 18 and specifies the position of the terminal device 10 based on the position information.
The threshold setting unit 115 uses the position specified by the position specifying unit 114 as a condition, and changes at least one of the first threshold Th1 and the second threshold Th2 according to the specified position. Specifically, the threshold setting unit 115 sets the first threshold Th1 and the second threshold Th2 based on the position specified by the position specifying unit 114 and the contents of the threshold management table 152, respectively. For example, when the position specified by the position specifying unit 114 represents “company”, the threshold setting unit 115 sets “Th11” that is the first threshold Th1 associated with the place “company” in the threshold management table 152. Then, “Th21” which is the second threshold Th2 associated with the place “company” is set.

[Operation of Second Embodiment]
Next, the operation of the terminal device 10a will be described.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a procedure of operations executed by the control unit 11 of the terminal device 10a. In FIG. 7, the processing steps denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 4 are the same as those in the first embodiment.
First, the control part 11 specifies the position of the terminal device 10a based on the position detected by the position detection part 18 (step S11). Next, the control unit 11 sets the first threshold value Th1 and the second threshold value Th2 defined in the threshold value management table 152 based on the position specified in the process of step S11 (step S12). The control unit 11 stores the first threshold value Th1 and the second threshold value Th2 specified in the process of step S12 in the memory, and performs the following steps S1 to S1 in the same procedure as the first embodiment described above based on these threshold values. Each processing step of S6 is executed.

  Incidentally, the relationship between the location defined in the threshold management table 152 and the magnitude of the threshold is determined according to the frequency with which the terminal device 10 is located at that location. For example, in the case of “home”, both the first threshold Th1 and the second threshold Th2 are “0”. That is, when the terminal device 10 is at the user's home (that is, when the user is at home), the terminal device 10 is not automatically switched from the normal mode to the power saving mode and is not automatically turned off. This is because the charging environment of the battery 17 is considered to be in place at the user's home, and it is considered that there is a substitute for the terminal device 10a. For example, even when the terminal device 10 is urgently needed, the battery 17 can be charged immediately, and when the terminal device 10a is necessary for the purpose of communication, there are also means for substituting a fixed telephone or a personal computer. Probably in the vicinity. Further, if the remaining battery level of the battery 17 is ignored, it is considered preferable for the user that there is no automatic switching or automatic off of the operation mode in the terminal device 10a.

For example, in the case of “company”, the first threshold Th1 is “Th11” and the second threshold Th2 is “Th21”, which are not zero but relatively small values. This is because the user's company is relatively easy to charge the battery 17 and substitute means are considered to be relatively easy to obtain. This is because it is not always possible to charge the battery when it is present, and alternative means are not always available. In this way, if the frequency at which the terminal device 10a is located is medium, the operation mode is not automatically switched or automatically turned off so as not to impair the user's convenience. A medium threshold value is adopted so that the terminal device 10a can be used even when unexpected use is required.
For example, in the case of “leisure”, the first threshold Th1 is “Th13” and the second threshold Th2 is “Th23”, which are relatively large values. The place specified by leisure is an extraordinary place for the user, and it is considered that there are many cases where the charging environment is not prepared, and it is also considered that a substitute means is difficult to obtain. In addition, it is considered that the frequency of use of the terminal device 10a is higher than that in a daily place, such as members meeting in such a place. Therefore, in a place where the frequency of the terminal device 10a is low, the first threshold value Th1 is increased to increase the time for which the terminal device 10a can be used, and it is possible to use a certain amount of time in an emergency. As described above, the second threshold Th2 is also increased.
In the case of “others”, the first threshold Th1 is set to “Th12” and the second threshold “Th22”, which is also determined according to the frequency at which the terminal device 10a is located.

As described above, the threshold setting unit 115 sets different thresholds depending on the position specified by the position specifying unit 114. Here, the threshold value setting unit 115 sets the threshold value to be higher because the frequency that the user visits decreases as the distance from the location serving as the reference increases.
According to the terminal device 10a of this embodiment, it is possible to set a threshold suitable for the location where the user is located without exerting a burden on the user while having the same effect as the first embodiment described above. The convenience for the user can be further enhanced.

[C; Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The terminal device of the third embodiment includes a configuration for automatically setting a variable first threshold Th1 in addition to the configuration of the terminal device 10 of the first embodiment. In the following description, among the configurations included in the terminal device of the present embodiment, those common to the configuration included in the terminal device 10 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description and illustration of those configurations are given. Omitted where appropriate.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the terminal device 10b of this embodiment. The terminal device 10 b includes a control unit 11, an operation unit 12, a communication unit 13, a display unit 14, a storage unit 15, a battery control unit 16, and a battery 17. In FIG. 8, what is shown in the block diagram of the control unit 11 is a functional configuration of functions realized by the control unit 11.
In FIG. 8, the operation unit 12, the communication unit 13, the display unit 14, the battery control unit 16, and the battery 17 are not shown.
The storage unit 15 stores power consumption information 153 in addition to an operation mode management table 151 (not shown) similar to that of the first embodiment.

Next, a functional configuration realized by the control unit 11 will be described with reference to FIG.
The control unit 11 implements functions corresponding to the remaining amount specifying unit 111, the operation control unit 112, the off control unit 113, the position specifying unit 114, the threshold setting unit 115, and the first power prediction unit 116 by executing a program. To do.
The operation control unit 112 stores power consumption information 153 in the storage unit 15 as information indicating a time-series change in the amount of power consumed in the battery 17.
When the operation control unit 112 performs control according to the normal mode, the first power prediction unit 116 is based on the power consumption information 153 read from the storage unit 15 and within a predetermined period (for example, a period until the date changes). (Until 24 o'clock)), the amount of power required to execute the control by the operation control unit 112 is predicted. The amount of power predicted by the first power prediction unit 116 is referred to as “first predicted power amount” in the following description.
In addition, what was designated by the user may be employ | adopted about what period 1st prediction electric energy PF1 is calculated | required from the present time, for example.

The threshold setting unit 115 has a first predicted power amount PF1 or more before the remaining amount ER specified by the remaining amount specifying unit 111 falls below the first predicted power amount PF1 predicted by the first power prediction unit 116. 1 threshold value Th1 is set. That is, the threshold setting unit 115 sets the first threshold Th1 on the condition of the first predicted power amount PF1.
In this embodiment, the threshold setting unit 115 does not set the second threshold Th2.

Each functional configuration of the control unit 11 will be described more specifically with reference to FIG.
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the data structure of the power consumption information 153.
FIG. 9A is a graph showing the data structure of the power consumption information 153. In this graph, the horizontal axis represents each time in the day from 0:00 to 24:00, and the vertical axis represents the amount of power consumption of the battery 17. FIG. 9B is a graph showing a time-series change in the battery remaining amount ER of the battery 17 when the power consumption shown in the graph of FIG. Also in this graph, the horizontal axis represents each time from 0:00 to 24:00, and the vertical axis represents the battery remaining amount ER. The power consumption information 153 is information in which time and power consumption are associated with each other in a table format, for example.

  For example, based on the control executed in the terminal device 10b, the operation control unit 112 calculates the amount of power consumed by the terminal device 10b by executing the control. For example, the difference between the remaining battery level specified by the remaining amount specifying unit 111 at a certain time and the remaining battery level specified by the remaining amount specifying unit 111 at a later time is consumed during this time. Therefore, the operation control unit 112 calculates the amount of power consumption based on the difference. Then, for example, the operation control unit 112 calculates an average value of the amount of power consumed at each time in the past week, and accumulates the history of the amount of power consumption in the storage unit 15 as power consumption information 153. That is, the storage unit 15 realizes a function corresponding to the history storage unit of the present invention.

In the case of the example of FIG. 9A, it can be seen that the power consumption at 8:00 and 14:00 is large. At this time, for example, the terminal device 10 is considered to be in a time zone in which there are many controls such as activation of a browser and a mailer, and the user is particularly busy. Here, consider a case where the current time is 17:00. In this case, among the power consumption indicated by the power consumption information 153, it can be said that the current information after 19:00 means the amount of power that is predicted to be consumed during the day.
For the above reason, the first power prediction unit 116 analyzes the power consumption information 153 and time-integrates the amount of power consumption at each time within a predetermined period (shaded area in FIG. 9) from the present time. The predicted power amount PF1 is calculated.

  The threshold value setting unit 115 sets the first threshold value Th1 so that the normal mode is switched to the power saving mode when the remaining battery power ER matches the power amount obtained by adding the first predicted power amount PF1 and the power amount α. . Referring to FIG. 9B, the threshold value setting unit 115 sets the first amount of power α added to the first predicted power amount PF1 before the remaining battery level ER falls below the first predicted power amount PF1. It can be seen that the threshold value Th1 is set. The amount of power α is the amount of power added to give a certain margin, and may be an arbitrary amount of power including zero. The amount of power α is set to a value that does not cause the battery 17 to run out even when extra power is consumed for some reason, for example, for 3 minutes of voice communication.

In the operation of the terminal device 10b, instead of the process of step S11 shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 11 calculates the first predicted power amount PF1, and based on this, the first threshold Th1 is set in the process of step S12. Equivalent to what you set.
In addition, instead of the power consumption information 153, the operation control unit 112 accumulates a history indicating the control executed by itself and the time when the control is performed, and specifies the power consumed in each control, thereby One predicted power amount PF1 may be calculated.
According to the configuration of this embodiment, the terminal device 10c learns the usage status of the user device by the user, and sets the first threshold Th1 suitable for the learned usage status. According to the terminal device 10c, while having an effect equivalent to 1st Embodiment, it can further suppress possibility that the battery 17 will run out of a battery, and can perform a daily use more reliably for a user.

[D; Fourth Embodiment]
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The terminal device according to the fourth embodiment includes a configuration for automatically setting a variable second threshold Th2 in addition to the configuration included in the terminal device 10 according to the first embodiment. In the following description, among the configurations included in the terminal device of the present embodiment, those common to the configuration included in the terminal device 10 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description and illustration of those configurations are given. Omitted where appropriate.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the terminal device 10c of this embodiment. The terminal device 10 c includes a control unit 11, an operation unit 12, a communication unit 13, a display unit 14, a storage unit 15, a battery control unit 16, and a battery 17. In FIG. 10, what is shown in the block diagram of the control unit 11 is a functional configuration of functions realized by the control unit 11.
In FIG. 10, the operation unit 12, the communication unit 13, the display unit 14, the battery control unit 16, and the battery 17 are not shown.
The storage unit 15 stores control history information 154 in addition to an operation mode management table 151 (not shown) similar to that of the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration of the control history information 154. As shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 11, the control history information 154 is obtained by associating two types of information, “control content” and “date / time information”. In the “control content” field, information representing the content of control performed by the operation control unit 112 is described. In this field, for example, control content indicating which communication partner terminal has performed voice communication, control content related to a browser, control related to a mailer, and the like are described. In the “date and time information” field, information (date and time information) indicating the date and time when the terminal device 10c executes control of the associated contents is described. More specifically, in the “date and time information” field, as can be seen from FIG. 11, the date on which the control was performed and the time zone in which the control was performed are described.
In the example shown in FIG. 11, it can be seen that voice communication addressed to Mr. A is regularly performed. The reason is that the same content is controlled every day and the times at which the control is performed are close to each other. In other words, it can be said that this control relates to regular use for the user, and for example, relates to voice communication for contacting the home. Therefore, when the battery 17 runs out of battery and the terminal device 10c cannot perform this control, it is considered that the inconvenience for the user is greater than when other controls cannot be performed.
From the above viewpoint, when there is a control that the operation control unit 112 periodically performs at a predetermined time or a predetermined time zone, the terminal device 10c sets the second threshold Th2 so that the control can be performed at least.

Next, a functional configuration realized by the control unit 11 will be described with reference to FIG.
The control part 11 implement | achieves each function corresponded to the residual amount identification part 111, the operation control part 112, the off control part 113, the threshold value setting part 115, and the 2nd electric power prediction part 117 by running a program.
The operation control unit 112 causes the storage unit 15 to store, as control history information 154, information that associates the content of the control executed in the terminal device 10c with the date and time information indicating the date and time when the control was performed.
When the second power prediction unit 117 acquires the control history information 154 from the storage unit 15 and determines that there is control performed by the operation control unit 112 in a predetermined time period based on the content of the control history information 154, Predict the amount of power required to execute the control. If the second power predicting unit 117 determines that there is control performed for a certain time range (for example, a time range within 3 hours) for a certain number of days, the control is performed periodically. It is determined that the control is executed. Then, the second power prediction unit 117 calculates the amount of power consumed by the battery 17 by the execution of the control as the second predicted power amount PF2. For example, the second power prediction unit 117 calculates the average power consumption amount and the maximum power consumption amount in the control performed periodically as the second predicted power amount PF2.

The threshold value setting unit 115 is specified by the remaining amount specifying unit 111 before the time period in which the control determined to be periodic control is performed (in the example of FIG. 11, for example, before 21:10:04). Before the remaining amount falls below the second predicted power amount PF2 predicted by the second power prediction unit 117, a second threshold Th2 that is equal to or greater than the second predicted power amount PF2 is set. That is, the threshold setting unit 115 sets the second threshold Th2 on the condition of the second predicted power amount PF2.
The threshold setting unit 115 may set the second threshold Th2 in the aspect of this embodiment at least before the time indicated by the earliest date / time information in the control history information 154, for example.

In the operation of the terminal device 10c, instead of the process of step S11 shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 11 calculates the second predicted power amount PF2, and based on this, the second threshold Th2 is set in the process of step S12. Equivalent to what is set.
According to the configuration of this embodiment, the terminal device 10c learns the usage status of the terminal by the user, and sets the second threshold Th2 suitable for the learned usage status. That is, when there is control that is periodically performed in a certain time zone (or time), the terminal device 10c sets the second threshold Th2 so as to secure the amount of power consumption required for the control. Thereby, even if the user is not always aware of the remaining battery level, it is possible to reliably use the user regularly while suppressing the possibility that the battery 17 will run out.

[E; Fifth Embodiment]
Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The terminal device according to the fifth embodiment includes a configuration for automatically setting a variable first threshold Th1 and second threshold Th2 in addition to the configuration included in the terminal device 10 according to the first embodiment. In the following description, among the configurations included in the terminal device of the present embodiment, those common to the configuration included in the terminal device 10 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description and illustration of those configurations are given. Omitted where appropriate.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the terminal device 10d of this embodiment. The terminal device 10 d includes a control unit 11, an operation unit 12, a communication unit 13, a display unit 14, a storage unit 15, a battery control unit 16, and a battery 17. In FIG. 10, what is shown in the block diagram of the control unit 11 is a functional configuration of functions realized by the control unit 11.
In FIG. 10, the operation unit 12, the communication unit 13, the display unit 14, the battery control unit 16, and the battery 17 are not shown.
The storage unit 15 stores a threshold management table 155 and a schedule book 156 in addition to an operation mode management table 151 (not shown) similar to that of the first embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of the threshold management table 155.
As shown in FIG. 13, in the threshold management table 155, three types of information “schedule ID”, “first threshold Th1”, and “second threshold Th2” are described in association with each other. In the “schedule ID” field, information for identifying the type of schedule described in the schedule book 156 is described. For example, an icon indicating the type of the schedule is input to the schedule book of the terminal device 10d together with the character string input by the user. For this icon, for example, the “Home” icon is selected for a schedule at home, the “Department Store” icon is selected for shopping, and the “Airplane” icon is selected for travel. The item related to the contents of the schedule is selected. When describing the schedule data in the schedule book, the control unit 11 accepts an operation for designating an icon by the operation unit 12. Therefore, the control unit 11 specifies a schedule ID assigned in advance to the icon and stores it in the schedule book 156. deep. Here, the schedule ID “SCE1” is assigned to the “house” icon, the schedule ID “SCE2” is assigned to the “department” icon, and the schedule ID “SCE3” is assigned to the “airplane” icon. In the threshold management table 155, “first threshold Th1” and “second threshold Th2” are described in association with this schedule ID. The usage of these pieces of information is the same as the threshold management table 152 of the second embodiment.

For example, in the case of a home schedule, since the charging environment is in place, the first threshold Th1 and the second threshold Th2 are set to “0”. If it is a shopping schedule, the charging environment is not prepared, but it is in an environment where it is easy to purchase a charger. Therefore, the first threshold Th1 is set to “Th14” as a non-zero threshold, and the second threshold Th2 is set to “Th24”. It is said. In the case of a travel schedule, the first threshold Th1 is set to “Th15”, which is larger than Th14, and the second threshold Th2 is set to “Th25”, which is larger than Th24, for the reason that there is a high possibility that the charging environment is not in place. .
As described above, in the threshold management table 155, threshold values suitable for the schedule contents of the schedule book 156 are described in advance.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the configuration of the schedule book 156.
In the schedule book 156, the time “14:00” is designated, and it is designated that three members “Yamada”, “Tanaka”, and “Suzuki” participate. Further, a schedule ID “SCE2” is assigned to the schedule book 156. When the contents of the schedule book 156 are displayed on the display unit 14, an icon of “department” corresponding to the schedule ID “SCE2” is displayed.

Next, a functional configuration realized by the control unit 11 will be described with reference to FIG.
The control unit 11 implements functions corresponding to the remaining amount specifying unit 111, the operation control unit 112, the off control unit 113, and the threshold setting unit 115 by executing a program.
When the operation unit 12 is operated by the user and an input operation of the schedule book is performed by the user, the operation control unit 112 writes contents corresponding to the input in the schedule book 156.
The threshold value setting unit 115 reads out the threshold value management table 155 and the schedule book 156, such as when the date changes, and first specifies the contents of the schedule for the current day. Then, the threshold setting unit 115 identifies the schedule ID assigned to the schedule, and sets the first threshold Th1 and the second threshold Th2 associated with the schedule ID in the threshold management table 155. That is, the threshold setting unit 115 sets the threshold on the condition of the contents of the schedule book 156.

In the operation of the terminal device 10d, instead of the process of step S11 shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 11 specifies the schedule ID, and based on this, the first threshold Th1 and the second threshold Th2 are processed in step S12. Is equivalent to setting
If it does in this way, while having the same effect as a 1st embodiment, the threshold suitable for the contents (type) of the schedule can be set up with reference to schedule book 156 with which terminal unit 10d is provided.
When a plurality of schedules are described in the schedule book 156, the control unit 11 may calculate a threshold value for each schedule and adopt a threshold value obtained by adding the threshold values. May be adopted. Moreover, the threshold value corresponding to the content of the schedule may be designated by the user, and the control unit 11 may rewrite the threshold value management table 155 with the designated content. In addition, the threshold setting unit 115 is not limited to the configuration in which the schedule ID is specified from the icon, but is separately provided with a configuration for specifying the contents of the schedule by analysis described in the schedule book 156, specifying the schedule ID from the analysis result, You may set the threshold value according to a schedule.

[F: Modification]
The present invention can be implemented in a form different from the above-described embodiment. The present invention can also be implemented in the following forms, for example. Further, the following modifications may be combined as appropriate.
[Modification 1]
It is good also as a terminal device which combined suitably the composition about the setting of the threshold in the 2nd-5th embodiment mentioned above. For example, combining the configurations of the terminal devices of the third and fourth embodiments described above, the terminal device sets the first threshold Th1 based on the power consumption information 153, and the second threshold Th2 based on the control history information 154. May be set.

[Modification 2]
In each embodiment mentioned above, when there exists automatic OFF, the control part 11 may alert | report that to an external device by communication. Even if the terminal device is automatically turned off, many other users cannot grasp the terminal device itself. For example, it is inconvenient because voice communication is not possible.
Therefore, when the terminal device is automatically turned off by the off control unit 113, the operation control unit 112 notifies the predetermined external device that the automatic turning off is present. In this case, for example, when the remaining amount of the battery that is automatically turned off is, for example, 5%, the operation control unit 112 sends an e-mail to that effect to a predetermined external device, assuming that automatic turning off cannot be avoided. The predetermined external device is, for example, a communication destination designated in advance by the user.
Further, by combining the configuration of the present modification with the configuration of the fifth embodiment, the terminal device may perform similar notification to all or some of the users involved in the schedule.
Note that this notification mode is not limited to transmission of an electronic message, but may be voice communication or the like, and any notification mode may be used as long as other users can recognize automatic off.

[Modification 3]
In the terminal device according to each of the embodiments described above, if the user manually turns on the power after the automatic turn-off, the subsequent usage depends on the user. However, this automatic off is provided for the purpose of enabling the user to use the terminal device 10 when he / she really wants to use it. Therefore, the control unit 11 may allow only part of the control to be executed and prohibit the execution of other controls. For example, if the second threshold Th2 is determined as an amount of power that allows voice communication for 5 minutes, the control unit 11 permits only execution of voice communication and prohibits other controls. Alternatively, the control unit 11 may allow transmission of an electronic message or the like, permit only control related to communication by the communication unit 13, and prohibit other control.

[Modification 4]
In the second embodiment described above, the correspondence relationship described in the threshold management table 152 is merely an example, and a group related to another place may be described. Further, the position detection unit 18 may detect, for example, in which base station area the terminal device 10a is located, instead of being measured by the GPS positioning function. In this case, threshold values are described in the threshold management table 152 for each area of the base station. The threshold setting unit 115 sets a threshold corresponding to the area of the base station specified by the position specifying unit 114. In this case, for example, according to the distance from the user's home, for example, it is possible to determine whether or not the frequency of the terminal device 10a being located in the area is high. Therefore, the threshold value decreases as the frequency increases. It is good to do. In short, as long as the location of the terminal device 10a can be specified by the user, the position detection configuration does not matter.
In addition, the control unit 11 accumulates the history of the position detected by the position detection unit 18 in the storage unit 15, and the higher the frequency of being located at the position in a predetermined period in the past, the higher the first threshold Th1 and the second threshold Th2. A threshold value may be set to lower at least one of the values.

[Modification 5]
In 4th Embodiment mentioned above, the control part 11 may set 2nd threshold value Th2 according to controls other than voice communication, and it may be control regarding another communication, such as a thing regarding a browser, Other than control related to communication may be used. For example, when the control unit 11 periodically executes a predetermined application program at a predetermined time, for example, the second threshold Th2 for securing the power required for executing the application program before that time is set. It may be set.

[Modification 6]
In the fifth embodiment described above, the correspondence relationship described in the threshold management table 155 is merely an example, and other types of schedules may be employed.
Further, in the above embodiment, both the first threshold Th1 and the second threshold Th2 are automatically set, and only one of them may be automatically set.

[Modification 7]
In each of the embodiments described above, the terminal device operates in accordance with either the normal mode or the power saving mode. However, there may be three or more operation modes in which the amounts of power consumed per unit time are different from each other. That is, the control unit 11 may be configured to automatically switch from an operation mode with a large amount of power consumption to an operation mode with a small amount and automatically turn off when the amount falls below the second threshold.
In each of the above-described embodiments, what is defined as “greater than the threshold” may be defined as “more than the threshold” or may be defined as “smaller than the threshold”. What has been defined may be replaced with “below threshold”. Of course, the reverse replacement may be performed. However, the second threshold value Th2 is determined such that the remaining battery level of the battery 17 secures the amount of power necessary for executing the predetermined control.

[Modification 8]
In each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the terminal device of the present invention is applied to a mobile phone terminal has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to other terminal devices. The present invention can be applied to a terminal device (portable terminal) manufactured for the purpose of carrying, such as a smartphone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), and a portable game machine, and has no communication function. Application to a terminal device is also possible. In this case, for example, the present invention can be specified by appropriately configuring the operation unit 12, the display unit 14, the storage unit 15, and the battery 17 as external configurations. The battery 17 is a secondary battery, but may be another battery such as a dry battery as long as it is a power supply source and its supply amount is limited.
Moreover, each function which the control part 11 of each terminal device mentioned above implement | achieves is implement | achieved by the combination of a some program, or may be implement | achieved by cooperation of a some hardware resource.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,10a-10d ... Terminal device, 11 ... Control part, 111 ... Remaining quantity specific | specification part, 112 ... Operation | movement control part, 113 ... Off control part, 114 ... Position specification part, 115 ... Threshold setting part, 116 ... 1st prediction , 117 ... second prediction unit, 12 ... operation unit, 13 ... communication unit, 114 ... display unit, 15 ... storage unit, 151 ... operation mode management table, 152 ... threshold value management table, 153 ... power consumption information, 154 ... Control history information, 155 ... threshold management table, 156 ... schedule book, 16 ... battery control unit, 17 ... battery, 18 ... position detection unit.

Claims (5)

A control device for a terminal device that operates by receiving power supply from a battery,
A remaining amount identifying unit for identifying the remaining amount of the battery;
When the remaining amount specified by the remaining amount specifying unit exceeds a first threshold, the operation is controlled according to a first mode that receives a predetermined amount of power supply, and the specified remaining amount is equal to or less than the first threshold. And when the second threshold value that is below the first threshold value and exceeds the second threshold value that represents the amount of power required for execution of the predetermined control, the operation is performed according to the second mode that receives a smaller amount of power than the first mode. An operation control unit to control;
When the operation control unit controls according to the second mode, if the specified remaining amount is equal to or less than the second threshold, an off control unit that powers off the terminal device;
The time and the user of another terminal device acquire the specified schedule, and before the time specified in the acquired schedule, the specified remaining amount indicates the amount of power required for execution of the control related to the schedule. A threshold value setting unit that sets the second threshold value that is equal to or greater than the amount of power before
The operation controller is
When the power is turned off by the off control unit, the communication unit that communicates with an external device is controlled so as to notify that the user specified in the schedule has the power off to the other terminal device. Control device. Provided with a position identifying unit that identifies the position of its own device
The threshold setting unit includes:
Control device according to claim 1 in response to the position specified by the position specifying unit, and wherein the changing at least one of the first and second threshold. If there is a control of the operation control unit time or a given time period of Jo Tokoro executes comprises to that power predicting unit predicting the amount of power needed to execute the control,
The threshold setting unit includes:
In the time before or the time period before, the prior below the amount of predicted power specified remaining quantity by the previous SL power prediction unit, setting the second threshold value is greater than or equal to the amount of the power The control device according to claim 1, wherein: A control device according to any one of 請 Motomeko 1 to 3,
A battery control unit that controls the amount of power supplied from the battery into the terminal device, wherein the power control unit supplies power in an amount according to the first or second mode that the terminal device follows. And a battery control unit that cuts off the supply of the power when the power is turned off. The computer of the control device of the terminal device which operates upon receipt of power supply from the batteries,
A battery level identifying step for identifying the remaining battery level,
When the remaining amount specified in the remaining amount specifying step exceeds a first threshold value, the operation is controlled according to a first mode in which a predetermined amount of power is supplied from the battery, and the specified remaining amount is When the first threshold value is lower than the first threshold value and exceeds the second threshold value that is below the first threshold value and indicates the amount of power required for execution of the predetermined control, the first operation is performed by receiving a smaller amount of power than in the first mode. An operation control step for controlling the operation according to two modes;
When controlled in the operation control step according to the second mode, when the specified remaining amount is equal to or less than the second threshold, an off control step of powering off the terminal device;
The time and the user of another terminal device acquire the specified schedule, and before the time specified in the acquired schedule, the specified remaining amount indicates the amount of power required for execution of the control related to the schedule. Setting the second threshold value to be greater than or equal to the amount of power before
In the operation control step,
When the power is turned off by the off control unit, a program for controlling a communication unit that communicates with an external device so as to notify the other terminal device of the user specified in the schedule that the power is off .

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