JP2001022472A - Portable information terminal with closing/opening state detecting function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely grasp an opened/closed condition of a portable information terminal and to realize miniaturization and lightweight of the portable information terminal. SOLUTION: This device is a portable information terminal 10 equipped with a hinge part 12 of a foldable mechanism, an upper part terminal 14 and a lower part terminal 16 connected by this hinge part 12, a light emitting part 20 for emitting light 18 in order to detect an opened/closed condition of the portable information terminal 10, a light reception part 22 for receiving the light 18, and a control part 24 which controls the light emission part 20 and the light reception part 22 and which judges the opened/closed condition of the portable information terminal 10. Here, the light emitting part 20 and the light reception part 22 are equipped to either the upper part terminal 14 or the lower part terminal 16. Also, miniaturization and lightweight of the portable information terminal 10 can be attained by closely disposing the light emitting part 20 and the light reception part 22 to each other.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable information terminal having a folding mechanism or a cover, and more particularly to a portable information terminal having an open / closed state detecting means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Cellular phones, pagers, PDAs (Performers)
2. Description of the Related Art Some portable information terminals such as a personal digital assistant have a folding mechanism or a lid in their structure. In a portable information terminal equipped with the folding mechanism, etc.,
There are two states, an open state and a closed state.

[0003] These states will be described with reference to FIG. First, the open state refers to a state in which the operation surface 90-1 of the upper terminal device 90 and the operation surface 92-1 of the lower terminal device 92 are separated and communication operation is possible, as shown in FIG. Say. On the other hand, the closed state refers to the operation surface 90-1 of the upper terminal 90 and the lower terminal 92 as shown in FIG.
The operation surface 92-1 is in the approaching state, and the operation using these operation surfaces is impossible.

[0004] As described above, whether or not the operation can be performed on the operation surface is determined depending on the difference between the open and closed states. Therefore, this feature can be used to save power. That is, it is not necessary to supply power in the closed state for functions that are required only in the open state, such as display of communication information by the LCD and lighting of the backlight of the operation unit. Thus, power consumption can be made more efficient.

[0005] In order to realize such an efficient power consumption, a method of judging the open / closed state of a portable information terminal has been developed. For example, limit switch O
A method of detecting opening and closing using an N / OFF operation is used.

An example of the prior art for judging the open / close state of a portable telephone having a folding mechanism is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-74.
No. 691 discloses a portable telephone with a folding mechanism. The folding mechanism-equipped mobile phone disclosed in this publication has an LED, which constantly flashes when the power is turned on, provided on the lid of the mobile phone.
Further, an optical sensor for receiving the light emitted from the LED is provided on the main body side. According to such a configuration, for example, in a state where the lid is closed, the LED and the optical sensor approach, the light emitted from the LED reaches the optical sensor, and it is possible to detect that the lid is in the closed state. it can.

Further, an example of the prior art for detecting that a portable telephone having a foldable main body is in an open state is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2850794 as a portable telephone with a ring tone automatic adjustment function. According to the mobile phone with a ringtone automatic adjustment function disclosed in this publication, as one of methods for detecting that the foldable main body is in an open state, an optical sensor for detecting incident light in the open state is provided. Thus, a method of detecting the open state is described.

[0008]

However, the detection method using the limit switch requires structural precision, and may cause problems in operational stability and mechanical durability. When a circuit incorporating a limit switch is mounted (assembled), manual assembling is often performed, resulting in an increase in the number of assembling steps.

In the portable telephone with a folding mechanism disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-74691, it is not appropriate to dispose an LED on the lid in order to maintain the function of the lid. That is, although the lid is connected to the main body via the folding mechanism, it is necessary to incorporate wiring to the LED in the folding mechanism. However, since the folding mechanism is opened and closed each time the mobile phone is used, the wiring provided therein may be deformed in accordance with this, causing abrasion of the coating due to friction and disconnection of the fixed portion of the wiring.

[0010] Further, in the portable telephone with a ring tone automatic adjustment function disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2850794, natural light is measured by an optical sensor in order to determine the open state. And the open state is targeted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and includes a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit for reliably grasping the open / closed state and reducing the size and weight of the portable information terminal. It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable information terminal having an opening / closing detection function that enables the opening and closing.

[0012]

In order to achieve this object, according to the opening / closing detection function using infrared rays according to the first aspect of the present invention, the upper terminal and the lower terminal can be opened / closed via a fork. In the portable information terminal connected to the, the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit provided in either the upper terminal or the lower terminal, and while controlling the light emission of the light emitting unit, by the light receiving signal output from the light receiving unit A control unit for judging the open / close state, and provided on one of the lower terminal or the upper terminal without the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit, a reflecting member for reflecting light emitted from the light emitting unit. There is a configuration.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to detect the open / closed state of the portable information terminal, and to reduce the power consumption by turning off the power of the display and other functions which are not required to be used in the closed state. Can be planned.

By providing the light-emitting unit and the light-receiving unit in one of the upper terminal and the lower terminal, the light-emitting unit and the light-receiving unit can be arranged close to each other. In addition, the size of the portable information terminal can be reduced. Further, by providing the reflecting member, the light emitted from the light emitting unit can be efficiently reflected, and the open / closed state of the portable information terminal can be reliably detected.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a portable information terminal in which an upper terminal and a lower terminal are connected to be openable and closable via a stub, either the upper terminal or the lower terminal is used. A light-emitting unit and a light-receiving unit provided on one side, a control unit that controls light emission of the light-emitting unit, and determines an open / close state based on a light-receiving signal output from the light-receiving unit; A shielding member provided on one of the terminal device and the upper terminal device for shielding light emitted from the light emitting unit is provided.

By providing the blocking member as described above,
Since the arrival or non-arrival of light to the light receiving unit coincides with the open or closed state of the portable information terminal, the open / closed state of the portable information terminal can be reliably detected.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the light emitting section is provided with an infrared LED, and the light receiving section is provided with a photoelectric element. According to such a configuration, by using small general-purpose components such as infrared LEDs and photodiodes, the circuit can be configured at low cost, and the size and weight of the portable information terminal can be reduced. be able to.

Further, the range of the operational sensitivity can be easily set by the control current of the light emitting section, and since the structure is not easily affected by magnetism, the open / close state of the portable information terminal can be reliably detected.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the control unit is configured to adjust the luminous intensity of the light emitted from the light emitting unit. According to such a configuration, a necessary luminous intensity can be set, and thus power consumption can be made more efficient.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the control unit is configured to adjust a blinking cycle of light emitted from the light emitting unit. According to such a configuration, the required blinking time can be adjusted, so that the power consumption can be made more efficient.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the control unit is configured to stop emitting light from the light emitting unit during operation of the portable information terminal. According to such a configuration, since it is clear that the portable information terminal is in the open state during the operation thereof, it is not necessary to detect the open / closed state. Thereby, power consumption can be suppressed.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. [First Embodiment] First, a first embodiment of a portable information terminal with an open / close detection function of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a structural diagram showing the structure of the first embodiment of the present invention. Also, (a) shows an open state of the portable information terminal, and (b) shows a closed state.

As shown in FIG. 1, a portable information terminal 10 having a folding mechanism has a folding part
2 and the upper terminal 1 connected by the hinge 12
4 and a lower terminal 16. A light emitting unit 20 that emits light 18 and a light receiving unit 22 that receives the light 18 in order to detect the open / close state of the portable information terminal 10.
And a control unit 24 that controls the light emitting unit 20 and the light receiving unit 22 and determines the open / closed state of the portable information terminal 10.

Here, the light emitting section 20 and the light receiving section 22 are provided in one of the upper terminal 14 and the lower terminal 16. As a result, the size of the connection wiring or the connection circuit can be reduced, and material costs can be reduced. Further, by arranging the light emitting unit 20 and the light receiving unit 22 close to each other, the size of the portable information terminal 10 can be reduced.

Although FIG. 1 shows a configuration in which the light emitting unit 20, the light receiving unit 22, and the control unit 24 are provided in the lower terminal 16, these may be provided in the upper terminal 14. However, in the following description, the light emitting unit 20 and the like will be
The following describes a case in which the user is prepared.

The light emitting section 20 includes a light emitting element such as an infrared LED (light emitting diode using the light 18 as infrared light) or a visible light emitting diode. The light receiving section 22 includes a power receiving element such as a photodiode or a phototransistor. A configuration may be provided. Of these, the use of infrared LEDs and photodiodes, which are small general-purpose components, makes it possible to reduce the size and weight of the portable information terminal device 10 and to configure the circuit at low cost.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the upper terminal 14 is provided with a reflection member 26 at a portion where the light 18 emitted from the light emitting section 20 is reflected. This reflection member 26
Is formed of a material having a high reflectance, for example, aluminum. When the case body of the upper terminal 14 has a high reflectance, the case body itself is the reflection member 2.
It becomes 6.

It is desirable that the reflecting member 26 is small and lightweight. The first reason is to reduce the size and weight of the portable information terminal 10. The second reason is that when the upper terminal 14 has only the function of a lid and includes the reflection member 26, the upper terminal 14 opens and closes each time the portable information terminal 10 is used. For this reason, the shape and weight should not interfere with opening and closing.

The amount of light 18 emitted from the light emitting section 20 can be adjusted by the control section 24. To adjust the light emission amount, for example, when the light emitting unit 20 is configured by an infrared LED, the infrared light LE
It can be adjusted by the amount of current flowing through D. By enabling the adjustment of the light emission amount, it is possible to select an appropriate light emission amount, and it is possible to achieve efficient power consumption.

The light emission cycle of the light 18 can be adjusted. The light emission cycle of the light 18 may be set to a constant cycle at all times, or may be set to different cycles between the open state and the closed state. For example, the light emission cycle may be set longer in the open state and shorter in the closed state.

By setting different light emission periods for the open state and the closed state in this way, when the state changes from the open state to the closed state, the detection of the open / closed state is slightly delayed because the light emission cycle in the open state is long. . However, even if the disconnection of power supply to each device linked to the detection of the closed state is slightly delayed, no operational problem occurs. On the other hand, when shifting from the closed state to the open state, since the light emission cycle in the closed state is short, the closed state is immediately detected and the state can be returned to the operable state when the state is shifted to the open state.

Furthermore, setting the light emission cycle longer in the open state also reduces the load on the power supply device that supplies power to other functions. Therefore, power consumption can be reduced and efficiency can be improved by changing the light emission cycle.

When a call, key operation, or the like is being performed by the portable information terminal 10, the control unit 24 can stop the emission of the light 18 from the light emitting unit 20. When the operation by the portable information terminal 10 is being performed, it is apparent that the portable information terminal 10 is in the open state, so that it is not necessary to detect the open / closed state. From this, audio input and output,
Alternatively, emission of light from the light emitting unit 20 can be stopped based on a key input or the like, thereby suppressing power consumption.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, first, when the power of the portable information terminal 10 is turned on (step 5).
0), the control unit 24 causes the light emitting unit 20 to emit the light 18 (Step 52).

When the light 18 reaches the member facing the light emitting section 20 and is reflected therefrom and reaches the light receiving section 22 (step 54), the light receiving section 22 transmits a light receiving signal to the control section 24 and performs control. In the part 24, it is determined that the portable information terminal 10 is in the closed state (step 56).

On the other hand, even if the light 18 does not reach the portion facing the light emitting portion 20 or reaches and is reflected,
When the light does not reach 2 (step 54), no light receiving signal is output from the light receiving unit 22, so that no light receiving signal is received by the control unit 24. From this, the control unit 24
Determines that the portable information terminal 10 is open (step 58).

As described above, the provision of the light emitting section 20 and the light receiving section 22 makes it possible to reliably detect the open / close state of the portable information terminal 10. By transmitting the result of the determination of the open or closed state by the control unit 24 to other functions of the portable information terminal 10, the power consumption of each function can be made more efficient based on the result of the determination.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of the second embodiment. In addition, about the same structure as FIG. 1, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted. The portable information terminal 10 includes a light emitting unit 20 and a light receiving unit 22.
And a control unit 24 for controlling these, and a shielding member 28 for shielding the light 18 emitted from the light emitting unit 20 from reaching the light receiving unit 22.

Here, the shielding member 28 shields the passage of the light 18 when the portable information terminal 10 is closed, and is provided at a position separated from the passage of the light 18 when the portable information terminal 10 is open. Specifically, it is provided at a portion of the upper terminal 14 facing the lower terminal 16 provided with the light emitting section 20 and the light receiving section 22.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, first, when the power of the portable information terminal 10 is turned on (step 7).
0), the control unit 24 causes the light emitting unit 20 to emit the light 18 (Step 72).

When the light 18 reaches the light receiving section 22 (step 74), the light receiving section 22 transmits the light receiving signal to the control section 2.
4 and the control unit 24 transmits the information to the portable information terminal 10.
Is determined to be in the open state (step 76).

On the other hand, when the light 18 is blocked by the blocking member 28 and does not reach the light receiving section 22 (step 7).
4) Since the light receiving section 22 does not output the light receiving signal, the control section 24 cannot receive the light receiving signal. From this, it is determined that the portable information terminal 10 is in the closed state (step 7).
8).

As described above, the provision of the light emitting section 20 and the light receiving section 22 makes it possible to reliably detect the open / close state of the portable information terminal 10. By transmitting the result of the determination of the open or closed state by the control unit 24 to other functions of the portable information terminal 10, the power consumption of each function can be made more efficient based on the result of the determination.

[0044]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a light-emitting unit and a light-receiving unit for surely grasping the open / closed state and to reduce the size and weight of the portable information terminal. I do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of a first embodiment of a portable information terminal with an open / close detection function of the present invention.

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

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of a second embodiment.

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

FIG. 5 is a state diagram showing an open state and a closed state.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 portable information terminal 12 hinge section 14 upper terminal 16 lower terminal 18 light 20 light emitting section 22 light receiving section 24 control section 26 reflecting member 28 shielding member 90 upper terminal 90-1 operation surface 92 lower terminal 92-1 Operation surface

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04M 1/02 H04M 1/02 C 1/73 1/73 G06F 1/00 312E F-term (Reference) 5B019 BC06 BC07 5G055 AA01 AD12 AD19 AE22 AE46 AG31 5K023 AA07 BB04 DD06 DD08 FF08 HH08 LL04 LL06 5K027 AA11 BB17 EE01 EE11 MM05 MM16

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A portable information terminal in which an upper terminal and a lower terminal are connected to be openable and closable via a hinge, wherein a light emitting unit provided on one of the upper terminal and the lower terminal. And a light receiving unit, and a control unit that controls light emission of the light emitting unit and determines an open / closed state based on a light receiving signal output from the light receiving unit; and the lower terminal device not including the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit or And a reflecting member provided on one of the upper terminals for reflecting light emitted from the light emitting section. 2. A portable information terminal in which an upper terminal and a lower terminal are connected to be openable and closable via a fork, wherein a light emitting unit provided on one of the upper terminal and the lower terminal. And a light receiving unit, and a control unit that controls light emission of the light emitting unit and determines an open / closed state based on a light receiving signal output from the light receiving unit; and the lower terminal device not including the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit or A portable information terminal with an opening / closing detection function, comprising: a shielding member provided on one of the upper terminals for shielding light emitted from the light emitting unit. 3. The portable information terminal with opening / closing detection function according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting unit includes an infrared LED, and the light receiving unit includes a photoelectric element. 4. The portable information terminal with open / close detection function according to claim 1, wherein the control unit adjusts the luminous intensity of light emitted from the light emitting unit. 5. The portable information terminal with opening / closing detection function according to claim 1, wherein the control unit adjusts a blinking cycle of light emitted from the light emitting unit. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit stops emitting light from the light emitting unit while the portable information terminal is operating. Portable information terminal with open / close detection function.