JPH1013288A - Portable radio unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable radio unit which can be viewed easily and handled by a user, regardless of the holding state of the ratio unit by detecting the direction of this unit and changing the display direction of a display means. SOLUTION: When a weight 82 is not touching a sensor 81 of a sensor part 8, a decision part 10 decides that an upper casing 1 is set at a position higher than a lower casing 2. Then the part 10 operates the liquid crystal parts 4 and 5 as a display part and an operation part, respectively and also turns on the telephone receiver part of a telephone transmitter-receiver part 6 and the telephone transmitter part of a telephone transmitter-receiver part 7. Furthermore, the part 10 shows the display information of both the parts 4 and 5 rotated by 0 degree. When the casing 2 is set at a position higher than the casing 1, the parts 4 and 5 function as an operation part and a display part, respectively. At the same time, the telephone transmitter part of the part 6 and the telephone receiver part of the part 7 are turned on. Furthermore, the part 10 shows the display information of both the parts 4 and 5 rotated by 180 degrees.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a radio, and more particularly, to a portable radio having a liquid crystal display or a transmission / reception unit.

[0001]

2. Description of the Related Art Some small portable radios, such as a radio pager, have a display portion rotatable with respect to a hinge portion. Further, there is also a type in which a touch sensor is provided around the display unit, the hinge is unlocked by contact with a human body, and the display unit is rotated to an arbitrary angle, for example, a position that is easy to see.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of this type of paging receiver.

In FIG. 7, a display housing 52 having a display 56 is rotatably connected to a main housing 51 by a hinge mechanism 53. The hinge mechanism 53 is a lock mechanism 5
4, the lock mechanism 54 is locked in a closed state, and the lock mechanism 54 is unlocked by the contact of the touch sensor 55 with the human body. When the lock is released, the display housing 52 rotates and stops at a preset easy-to-view position.

[0004] Such a paging receiver is described, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-104817.

[0005]

In the above-mentioned conventional paging receiver, since the display housing rotates, there is no problem if characters displayed on the display are viewed in the correct direction. In a portable wireless device such as a foldable mobile phone having the above, the display unit may be viewed without knowing the vertical and horizontal directions when opened, and in this case, the displayed characters may be seen upside down.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable wireless device capable of displaying information and the like so that a user can easily see the information regardless of the holding state of the portable wireless device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable wireless device in which an operation unit and a display unit are switched according to a holding state of the portable wireless device.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a portable wireless device in which a transmitting function and a receiving function of a transmitting / receiving section are switched according to a holding state of the portable wireless device.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a portable wireless device according to the present invention comprises a detecting device for detecting an orientation of the portable wireless device, a displaying device for displaying information, and the detecting device. And control means for changing the display direction of the display means in accordance with the detection result.

Preferably, the display means is a liquid crystal display.

It is desirable that the liquid crystal display unit is switched between a touch panel type operation unit and a display unit such as a telephone number according to the detection result of the detection means.

Further, the portable wireless device has a transmission / reception unit, and the transmission / reception unit can be switched between a transmission unit and a reception unit in accordance with a detection result of the detection unit.

[0013] Also, the portable wireless device of the present invention comprises a detecting means for detecting the orientation of the portable wireless device, two transmitting and receiving means, and one of the two transmitting and receiving means according to the detection result of the detecting means. Control means for switching one of the transmitters to the receiver.

The portable wireless device has a display means, and the display means can be switched between a touch panel type operation unit and a display unit such as a telephone number according to the detection result of the detection unit.

It is preferable that the detecting means detects an orientation of the portable wireless device with respect to a horizon.

As described above, the portable wireless device according to the present invention comprises:
Detects the direction of the transceiver and automatically assigns the display unit and operation unit to the liquid crystal unit, and the transmitting unit and receiving unit to the transmitting and receiving unit according to the direction, so that the user can use more comfortably. It is possible to provide.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the foldable portable telephone comprises an upper case 1, a lower case 2, and a hinge 3. The hinge part 3 is for making one housing rotatable with respect to the other housing.

The upper housing 1 is provided with a first liquid crystal section 4, a first transmission / reception section 6, and a sensor section 8. on the other hand,
The lower housing 2 is provided with a second liquid crystal unit 5 and a second transmission / reception unit 7.

When one of the first liquid crystal section 4 and the second liquid crystal section 5 constitutes a display section, the other constitutes an operation section. For example, when the liquid crystal unit 4 constitutes a display unit for displaying information such as a telephone number, the liquid crystal unit 5 constitutes a touch panel type operation unit such as a numeric keypad for inputting a telephone number or the like.

Similarly, when one of the first transmission / reception section 6 and the second transmission / reception section 7 functions as a reception section, the other functions as a transmission section. For example, when the transmission / reception unit 6 functions as a reception unit, the transmission / reception unit 7 functions as a transmission unit. Preferably, each transmission / reception unit has a transmitter and a receiver, and only one is in a usable state, for example, an ON state, and the other is in a disabled state, for example, an OFF state.

Switching between the transmission / reception units 6 and 7 and the liquid crystal units 4 and 5 is determined based on the detection result of the sensor unit as described later.

The sensor section 8 detects the orientation of the foldable portable telephone, and detects whether or not it is substantially perpendicular to the horizon or the ground surface. The horizon or ground surface serving as a reference to be detected by the sensor unit 8 may be replaced with a water surface or a horizontal surface. That is, the sensor section may be any as long as it can detect the reference of the orientation of the foldable mobile phone.

The sensor section 8 shown in FIG. 1 comprises a sensor 81, a weight 82 and a groove 83. The sensor 81 is fixed to the upper housing 1, but the weight 82 is held movably in the groove 83.

When the upper housing 1 is above the lower housing 2 as shown in FIG. 1, the weight 82 is in contact with the side surface of the groove 83 and is in a non-contact state with the sensor 81. On the other hand, when the lower housing 2 is located above the upper housing 1, the weight 82 slides in the groove 83 and comes into contact with the sensor 81.

For example, the sensor section senses its own weight when the weight contacts the sensor, and outputs a high-level signal at this time, and outputs a low-level signal otherwise.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a portion related to the present invention of the foldable portable telephone shown in FIG.

In FIG. 2, an upper housing 1 includes a determination unit 10 in addition to the liquid crystal unit 4, the transmission / reception unit 6, and the sensor unit 8 shown in FIG.
have. The lower housing 2 has the liquid crystal unit 5 and the transmission / reception unit 7 shown in FIG. Note that the portable radio usually has an antenna, a radio unit, and other circuits necessary for communication, but it is not shown in FIG. 2 because it is not directly related to the present invention.

The judging section 10 detects the orientation of the foldable portable telephone based on a signal from the sensor section 8, and based on the detection result, one of the transmitting and receiving sections 6 and 7 as a transmitter and the other as a receiver. Function and the liquid crystal units 4 and 5
Is an operation unit and the other is a display unit.

Next, the operation of one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

The judging section 10 detects a vertical positional relationship between the upper casing 1 and the lower casing 2 based on a signal from the sensor section 8 (step S101). That is, when the weight 82 is not in contact with the sensor 81, it is determined that the upper housing 1 is above the lower housing 2, and when the weight 82 is in contact with the sensor 81, the lower housing 2 is It is determined that it is above body 1.

When the weight 82 is not in contact with the sensor 81 as shown in FIG.
It is determined to be above. This is determined when a low-level signal is supplied from the sensor unit 8 to the determination unit 10.

When it is determined that the upper housing 1 is above the lower housing 2 (step S101, YES), the determination unit 10 operates with the liquid crystal unit 4 as a display unit and the liquid crystal unit 5 as an operation unit. (Step S102). Also, the judgment unit 1
0 turns on the receiver of the transmitter / receiver 6 and turns on the transmitter of the transmitter / receiver 7.

Subsequently, the judging unit 10 rotates the display information by 0 degrees to display it on the liquid crystal units 4 and 5 (step S10).
3). In this case, the display is performed with the X-axis and Y-axis segments of the liquid crystal units 4 and 5 as they are. The liquid crystal unit 5
A numeric keypad, various function keys, and the like required as an operation unit are displayed on the, and when the keys are pressed, a destination telephone number and the like are transmitted.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the lower housing 2 is above the upper housing 1 (step S101, NO), the liquid crystal unit 4 operates as an operation unit and the liquid crystal unit 5 operates as a display unit ( Step S104). Further, the transmission section of the transmission / reception section 6 is turned on, and the reception section of the transmission / reception section 7 is turned on.

Further, the determination section 10 rotates and displays the display information of the liquid crystal sections 4 and 5 by 180 degrees (step S10).
5). Therefore, the display is upside down from the display in step S103 described above.

As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, the display on the liquid crystal unit matches the direction in which the user looks, regardless of the orientation of the wireless portable device. Further, the function of the transmission / reception unit can be controlled by the direction of the wireless portable device.

In the above example, only the up-down relationship is detected. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the up-down, left-right relationship can be detected, and the display direction and the transmission / reception unit can be controlled accordingly.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the foldable portable telephone comprises an upper case 1, a lower case 2, and a hinge 3. The hinge part 3 is for making one housing rotatable with respect to the other housing.

The upper housing 1 is provided with a first liquid crystal unit 4, a first transmission / reception unit 6, and three types of sensor units 8, 9, and 11. On the other hand, the lower housing 2 has a second liquid crystal unit 5
And a second transmission / reception unit 7.

When one of the first liquid crystal section 4 and the second liquid crystal section 5 constitutes a display section, the other constitutes an operation section. For example, when the liquid crystal unit 4 constitutes a display unit for displaying information such as a telephone number, the liquid crystal unit 5 constitutes an operation unit such as a numeric keypad for inputting a telephone number or the like.

Similarly, when one of the first transmitting / receiving section 6 and the second transmitting / receiving section 7 constitutes a receiving section, the other constitutes a transmitting section. For example, when the transmitting and receiving unit 6 constitutes a receiving unit, the transmitting and receiving unit 7 constitutes a transmitting unit.

The sensor units 8, 9 and 11 detect the orientation of the foldable portable telephone, and determine whether the sensor unit 8 is substantially perpendicular to the horizon or the ground surface.
1 detects whether it is substantially horizontal with respect to the horizon or the ground surface. Each sensor unit may detect the reverse, and the horizon or the ground surface may be replaced with a water surface or a horizontal surface. In other words, the sensor units 8, 9 and 11 only need to be able to detect the reference of the orientation of the foldable mobile phone.

The sensor section 8 comprises a sensor 81, a weight 82 and a groove 83, and the sensor section 9 comprises a sensor 91, a weight 92 and a groove 93. The sensor unit 11 includes a sensor 111,
It comprises a weight 112 and a groove 113. The sensors 81, 91 and 111 are fixed to the upper housing 1,
92 and 112 are grooves 83, 93 and 113, respectively.
It is held to be movable inside.

When the upper housing 1 is above the lower housing 2 as shown in FIG. 1, or when the upper housing 1 and the lower housing 2 are arranged horizontally as shown in FIG. And is in a non-contact state with the sensor 81. On the other hand, when the lower housing 2 is located above the upper housing 1,
The weight 82 slides in the groove 83 and comes into contact with the sensor 81.

The weight 92 is in contact with the side surface of the groove 93 when the upper housing 1 and the lower housing 2 are in a vertical positional relationship and when the upper housing 1 is located on the left side of the lower housing 2. . On the other hand, when the upper housing 1 is located on the right side of the lower housing 2, the weight 92 slides along the groove 93 and contacts the sensor 91.

Similarly, when the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 are in a vertical positional relationship, and when the upper case 1 is located on the right side of the lower case 2, the weight 112 is formed on the side surface of the groove 113. In contact. On the other hand, when the upper housing 1 is located on the left side of the lower housing 2, the weight 112 slides along the groove 113 and contacts the sensor 111.

For example, the sensor unit senses its own weight when the weight contacts the sensor. At this time, the sensor unit outputs a high-level signal, and otherwise outputs a low-level signal.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a portion of the foldable portable telephone shown in FIG. 4 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 5, the upper housing 1 has a judgment unit 12 in addition to the liquid crystal unit 4, the transmission / reception unit 6, the sensors 8, 9 and 11 shown in FIG. The lower housing 2 is shown in FIG.
The liquid crystal unit 5 and the transmission / reception unit 7 shown in FIG. still,
Usually, the portable wireless device has an antenna, a radio section, and other circuits necessary for communication, but is omitted in FIG. 5 because it has no direct relation to the present invention.

The judging section 12 comprises the sensor sections 8, 9 and 11
The direction of the foldable portable telephone is detected based on the signal from the mobile phone. Based on the detection result, one of the transmitter / receiver units 6 and 7 is used as a transmitter and the other is used as a receiver.
Is an operation unit and the other is a display unit.

Next, the operation of another embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

The judging section 12 judges whether there is a vertical positional relationship between the upper housing 1 and the lower housing 2 based on the signals from the sensor sections 8, 9 and 11 (step S201).
This is determined by whether or not the weight in the sensor units 9 and 11 is not in contact with the sensor.

When it is determined that the upper housing 1 is above the lower housing 2 (step S101, YES), that is, the weights of the sensors 9 and 11 are not in contact with the sensors and the weight of the sensor 8 is When the sensor 82 is not in contact with the sensor 81, the determination unit 12 causes the liquid crystal units 4 and 5 to operate as a display unit and an operation unit, respectively, and causes the transmission / reception units 6 and 7 to operate as a receiver and a transmitter, respectively (step S20).
3).

Subsequently, the determination section 12 rotates the display information by 0 degrees on the liquid crystal sections 4 and 5 to display the information (step S20).
4). In this case, the display is performed with the X-axis and Y-axis segments of the liquid crystal units 4 and 5 as they are. The liquid crystal unit 5
A numeric keypad, various function keys, and the like required as an operation unit are displayed on the, and when the keys are pressed, a destination telephone number and the like are transmitted.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the lower housing 2 is above the upper housing 1 (step S202, NO), that is, the sensor units 9 and 11 indicate non-contact, and the weight 82 of the sensor unit 8 When it is in contact with the sensor 81, the liquid crystal unit 4 operates as an operation unit, and the liquid crystal unit 5 operates as a display unit (Step S205). Further, the transmission section of the transmission / reception section 6 is turned on, and the reception section of the transmission / reception section 7 is turned on.

Further, the determination section 12 rotates the display information of the liquid crystal sections 4 and 5 by 180 degrees and displays it (step S20).
6). Therefore, the display is upside down from the display in step S204 described above.

In step S201, when the upper casing 1 and the lower casing 2 are not in the vertical relationship, that is, when at least one of the sensor units 9 or 11 is in a contact state,
It is determined whether the upper housing 1 is on the left side of the lower housing 2 (step S207).

When the upper housing 1 is on the left side of the lower housing 2, that is, when the weight 92 of the sensor section 9 is in contact with the sensor 91, the determination section 12 causes the liquid crystal sections 4 and 5 to display the display section, respectively. And operate as an operation unit (step S
208). In this case, the transmission / reception unit may be controlled in the same manner as in the case where the transmission / reception unit is in the vertical position. The example which does not control a part is shown.

Subsequently, the determination section 12 displays the display information by rotating it clockwise by 90 degrees (step S209). For example, the relationship between the segments on the X axis and the Y axis is defined as the relationship between the (-Y) axis and the X axis.

On the other hand, when the upper housing 1 is at the right position with respect to the lower housing 2 (step S207, NO), the determination unit 12 operates the liquid crystal units 4 and 5 as an operation unit and a display unit, respectively ( Step S210). Further, the determination unit 12 displays the display information by rotating it counterclockwise by 90 degrees (step S211). For example, the relationship between the segments on the X axis and the Y axis is the relationship between the Y axis and the (−X) axis.

In the above-described embodiment, a description has been given using a foldable portable telephone. However, the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to other portable wireless devices and other devices.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a touch sensor using a weight is used to detect the direction of the portable wireless device. However, other detection devices may be used as long as the direction can be detected.

Further, the orientation detecting device is not limited to being provided in the upper housing.

[0067]

As described above, according to the present invention, the orientation of the wireless device is detected, and the display unit and the operation unit are automatically assigned to the liquid crystal unit according to the orientation. , Necessary information is displayed in an easily viewable state.

Further, since the transmitting and receiving sections are automatically set in the transmitting and receiving section according to the direction of the wireless device, even if the wireless device is held upside down, it can be used as it is.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration block diagram of the present invention shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration block diagram in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is an external perspective view of a conventional portable wireless device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Upper housing 2 Lower housing 3 Hinge part 4 Liquid crystal part 5 Liquid crystal part 6 Transmission / reception part 7 Transmission / reception part 8 Sensor part 9 Sensor part 10 Judgment part 81 Sensor 82 Weight 83 Groove 91 Sensor 92 Weight 93 Groove

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A portable wireless device, comprising: detecting means for detecting an orientation of the portable wireless device; display means for displaying information; and control for changing a display direction of the display means in accordance with a detection result of the detecting means. A portable wireless device comprising: 2. The portable wireless device according to claim 1, wherein said display means is a liquid crystal display. 3. The portable wireless device according to claim 2, wherein the liquid crystal display unit is switched between a touch panel type operation unit and a display unit such as a telephone number according to a detection result of the detection unit. 4. The portable radio device according to claim 1, further comprising a transmitting / receiving unit, wherein the transmitting / receiving unit is switched between a transmitting unit and a receiving unit in accordance with a detection result of the detecting unit. Portable radio. 5. A portable wireless device, comprising: detecting means for detecting an orientation of the portable wireless device; two transmitting / receiving means; and transmitting one of the two transmitting / receiving means in accordance with a detection result of the detecting means. Control means for switching from the talker to the receiver. 6. The portable wireless device has a display unit, and switches the display unit between a touch panel type operation unit and a display unit such as a telephone number according to a detection result of the detection unit. 5. The portable wireless device according to 5. 7. The portable wireless device according to claim 5, wherein said detecting means detects an orientation of said portable wireless device with respect to a horizon.