JP2001211123A - Electronic equipment with optical communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stably provide communication environment wherein an electronic equipment can execute an optical communication by radio while obtaining a communication rate which is impossible by a conventional optical communication and/or reducing the power consumption of an optical communication device as much as possible. SOLUTION: This electronic equipment is provided with the optical communication device capable of performing radio communication. When the equipment detects an optical communication, which repeats an optical communication with external electronic equipment and has its main part formed of an optical fiber, being positioned for the optical communication device, a high-speed communication is requested of the external electronic equipment in case of a low-speed communication, thereby carrying out a communication at a high speed as long as the high-speed communication is possible. In addition or if it has been in a high-power-consumption mode a still lower power-consumption mode is requested of the other equipment, and the communication is carried out in the low-power-consumption mode as long as the low-power-consumption mode is possible.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic device having an optical communication device that enables wireless communication between two or more electronic devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method for performing data communication between a plurality of electronic devices, there are an ASK method, a cordless communication method which is being standardized by IrDA (International Infrared Data Communication Association), and the like. Among the electronic devices, portable information devices such as notebook personal computers (hereinafter referred to as “notebook PCs”) include infrared communication ports supporting various communication rates in addition to wired communication ports such as serial and Centronics. Is mounted, and infrared communication conforming to a serial communication standard, a Centronics communication standard, and the like can be performed.

By the way, in the portable information device, a wired communication port is theoretically unnecessary, and if only an infrared communication port is mounted, the portable information device can be downsized. However, among the wired communication port and the infrared communication port, the wired communication port is mainly used, and the infrared communication port is hardly used. In a wristwatch-type portable information device equipped with a wired communication port and an infrared communication port, the metal part of the communication contact is exposed as the wired communication port is mounted, and thus the portable information device is exposed. Not only the water resistance of the communication contacts is reduced, but also it becomes difficult to secure the corrosion resistance and dustproof (dust) resistance of the communication contacts. And, for example, when the communication contact corrodes,
The reliability of communication decreases. As described above, in each portable information device, it is preferable to mount only an infrared communication port without mounting a wired communication port.

[0004] By the way, a portable information device equipped with only an infrared communication port has a wireless optical communication function without using a cable, so that it is possible to use a mobile device while moving. A user who often uses the device or a user who is not used to using the portable information device may have anxiety. This is because there are many electronic devices in which the communication direction of the optical communication device is fixed, and the optimal direction when performing wireless communication with external electronic devices, and the user can operate the switch optimally and look at the display device. This is because the direction of the electronic device does not always match.

In view of the above, various communication assisting devices using an optical cable for assisting wireless optical communication have been provided, and the following gazettes are part of them. JP-A-8-191
493, JP-A-9-258072, JP-A-9-318852 and PCT / JP99 / 05
318

[0006] By using the communication assisting device described in each of the above publications, the user can operate the switch optimally without worrying about the communication direction of the optical communication device, and watching the external electronic device while watching the display device. Wireless communication with the device becomes possible. At the same time, the optical communication using the communication auxiliary device is a conventional wired communication using an optical fiber cable,
Compared to wireless communication such as IrDA, it can be said that the communication environment is intermediate between them. Conventional wired communication using an optical fiber cable has already realized a communication speed of 100 times or more, although the wavelength of light used is slightly different from wireless communication represented by IrDA. Therefore, by applying the above technology, an electronic device equipped with a wireless optical communication device such as IrDA can switch to high-speed communication if the communication auxiliary device is detected, or can reduce power consumption. An electronic device that can be switched to the mode is conceivable. However,
The techniques disclosed in the above publications use an optical fiber as a main material, and have a problem that the connection of a cable cannot be electrically detected.

The communication speed of the conventional optical communication device is, for example, 4 Mbps at maximum in IrDA1.1. Although a 16 Mbps prototype has been released, commercialization is still ahead, and a draft standard for 100 Mbps has just begun to appear. On the other hand, for wired communication, for example, IEEE 1394 already has a maximum of 400 Mbps.
And there is a difference of up to 100 times. 4Mb
At a communication speed of ps, the transfer of characters and still images is practically limited and cannot be said to be sufficient for communicating large amounts of data expected in the future, such as digital cameras and digital videos. Depending on the communication environment, 2
A device that switches the communication speed is known. However, even if the communication speed is switched in the wireless communication, there are only options in a range of about 10 times.

[0008] Also, as a problem with portable information devices,
There is a reduction in power consumption. If the power consumption of the optical communication device is reduced, the communicable area is thereby reduced. For example, IrDA has a standard that is suitable for portable information devices and has a communicable area of 1 m or less. However, the greater the communicable area, the higher the convenience for the user. The communicable area of 1 m is a standard determined not by convenience but by hardware restrictions such as power consumption, and can be said to be the minimum necessary condition. F that standardizes high-speed communication among IrDA 1.1
In the IR, the radiation intensity of the transmitter is set to 100 to 500 mW /
sr, and the incident sensitivity of the receiving unit is 10 μW to 500 mW.
/ Cm2. By increasing the sensitivity of the receiver,
Weak against afterglow and noise. Naturally, this standard does not assume optical communication using an optical communication repeater, and is an epoch-making system that can stably communicate while suppressing the intensity of radiated light from the transmitter and the incident sensitivity of the receiver. Technology was not known.

[0009] As described above, the conventional wireless communication has not been improved epoch-makingly in communication speed and power consumption. The main causes were that the amount of light arriving at an external electronic device becomes small due to scattering of light, and that a process for blocking communication due to wireless communication was added. If high-speed communication or low-power-consumption communication is realized without a means for detecting the communication auxiliary device, the electronic device cannot determine whether the communication is performed in an unstable state without using the communication auxiliary device, and a communication error occurs. Is likely to remain. Therefore, without detection of the communication auxiliary device,
High-speed communication or low-power-consumption communication cannot be stably provided. Further, as another reason, as a wireless communication device mounted on a portable information device for which reduction in size and weight is desired,
The fact that radio waves compete at a practical level cannot be ignored. It has been considered that the power consumption of a conventional radio communication device is higher than that of an optical communication device. However, from among the radio communication devices, Bl
A small-scale communication standard called “e-tooth” has been put to practical use, and has already realized a communication speed of 16 Mbps with power consumption equal to or less than that of an optical communication device.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and has been made in the following, in an electronic apparatus having an optical communication device capable of wireless communication, (a) the possibility of breakage is low; (B) detecting that the communication auxiliary device has been positioned, (c) enabling a communication speed that was impossible with conventional optical communication, and (d) reducing power consumption of the optical communication device as much as possible. (E) It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic apparatus including an optical communication device, which stably provides the communication environment.

[0011]

For this purpose, in an electronic apparatus provided with an optical communication apparatus according to the present invention, an optical communication apparatus which relays optical communication with an external electronic apparatus and whose main part is formed of an optical fiber. Positioning detection means is provided for detecting that the relay device has been positioned with respect to the optical communication device. The positioning detection means may be of a type that detects that the optical communication repeater is connected to a mechanical connector,
Another method may be used. Another method is that, for example, the receiving unit strongly receives the reflected light of the transmission light transmitted by the transmitting unit of the optical communication device, and also receives the optical signal transmitted from the optical communication device of the external electronic device so that the optical communication can be performed. In such a case, there is a high possibility that the optical communication repeater is connected, and the positioning is detected based on the state. Further, the optical communication device can switch to a communication speed that was impossible with conventional wireless communication, that is, two or more communication speeds including the wired communication mode of the present invention.

The main control of the optical communication device is performed by an optical communication control program, and the optical communication control program includes a communication speed control program. The communication speed control program, when the positioning detecting means detects that the optical communication repeater is positioned, if it is a low-speed communication until then, requests a higher speed communication to an external electronic device, the external electronic device If the request is accepted, try high-speed communication,
If the communication can be normally performed, the communication is switched to the high-speed communication. For example, in IrDA,
5-5 commands and responses to detect blocking
Transmission is performed every 00 ms, and it is confirmed that the optical communication path has been established. However, high-speed communication is realized by suitably adjusting the optical communication repeater by reducing the frequency or shortening the light emission time. There is a way to do that. As another method, there is a method of applying a communication standard used in conventional wired communication using an optical fiber cable.

The optical communication control program includes a power consumption control program. The power consumption control program, when the positioning detection unit detects that the optical communication relay device is positioned, if it is a high power consumption mode until then, requests a lower power consumption mode to external electronic devices, If the external electronic device accepts the request, the low power consumption mode is tried, and if communication is normally performed, the mode is switched to the low power consumption mode, and the communication is performed in the low power consumption mode while the low power consumption mode is enabled. Do. For example, in the FDA that standardizes high-speed communication in IrDA1.1, the emission light intensity of the transmitting unit is set to 1
00 to 500 mW / sr, and the incident sensitivity of the receiver is 1
0 μW to 500 mW / cm 2,
In the wired communication mode of the present invention, the radiated light intensity of
It is possible to reduce the incident sensitivity of the receiving section to 10 mW / sr or less.
μW / cm 2 or less, or of course, both can be implemented. As a result, the power consumption of the optical communication device can be reduced.

Although there is a trade-off between high-speed communication and low power consumption, the optical communication control program can simultaneously implement the high-speed communication control program and the power consumption control program. For example, a high-speed communication control program is executed when a large amount of data transfer is started, and a power consumption control program is executed when only a command for detecting communication interruption is exchanged. Communication is performed by suitably combining high-speed communication and low-power-consumption communication based on preset conditions. The set value can be input by a user using a keyboard. Further, the optical communication does not need to be constantly operating, and the keyboard is also used for an operation for activating the optical communication. Further, it is a matter of course that a method of switching to the low-speed communication mode when the communication amount decreases according to the communication amount, and switching to the high-speed communication mode when the communication amount increases, is effective. In addition, an electronic device in which both programs are mounted can make a suitable selection based on other factors such as a remaining battery level. For a portable information device for which reduction in size and weight is desired, it is desirable that the optical communication control program is incorporated in the optical communication device to form one module.

The positioning means for positioning the optical communication repeater with respect to the optical communication device may be provided in the electronic device, or may be provided separately as a cradle of a mobile phone. As a mounting method of the positioning means, for example, a mechanical connector can be considered, but a mechanism for loosely connecting the optical communication repeater compared to a metal communication cable is desirable. The reason is that the conventional wireless communication standard also copes with sudden disconnection of communication, and protects both the electronic device and the optical communication repeater from damage in the long term.

As a method of requesting higher speed communication from an external electronic device, other methods are conceivable besides a method of simply requesting high speed communication. This is a method in which an external electronic device is notified that the optical communication relay device is positioned, and similar information is also notified from the external electronic device. This is performed, for example, by providing flag data for the optical communication repeater and notifying between the electronic devices.

The technology according to the present invention is effective for portable information equipment which is portable and has an optical communication device. One of the representative portable information devices is a mobile phone. Furthermore, in addition to the optical communication device and the positioning means, it is needless to say that an electronic device provided with an optical communication relay device as one of the components of the device is effective, and the present invention includes this.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, as for the optical communication repeater which relays the optical communication with an external electronic device and whose main part is formed of an optical fiber, the technology described in the following international application is referred to in each drawing. PCT / JP99 / 05318

First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a use state of an electronic device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a main part of the electronic device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the electronic device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, an electronic device 10 includes an optical communication device 12 such as an infrared communication port. The optical communication device 12 is switchable between two or more communication speeds and / or power consumption modes. The optical communication repeater 19 is positioned by the positioning unit 13 and notified to the control unit 15 by the positioning detecting unit 14. On the communication side of the optical communication device 12,
A filter panel (not shown) that transmits infrared light and blocks ultraviolet light, visible light, and the like is provided.

In FIG. 2A, the communication surface of the optical communication device 12 is exposed to almost the same position as the housing 101 of the electronic device. In FIG. 1B, the optical communication device 12 is retracted inside the electronic device and is positioned by the positioning means 13. The means by which the optical communication device 12 retreats inside the electronic device may be a spring type such as a toggle switch. Then, an optical communication control program for controlling the optical communication device 12 is loaded, and the control unit 15 controls each unit. When the positioning detection unit 14 detects that the optical communication relay device 19 has been positioned, the optical communication control program requests high-speed communication and / or low-power-consumption communication to an external electronic device. If the communication is accepted, the communication is tried, and if the communication can be normally performed, the communication is switched to the communication.

In FIG. 3, an optical communication control program 11 for controlling the optical communication device is provided by a ROM or loaded into the RAM unit 104 and executed by the control unit 15. The optical communication control program 11 is mainly provided as a part of an operating system (OS) on a recording medium such as a compact disk (CD) and is mainly stored in a storage unit 103 such as a hard disk device. The optical communication control program 11 includes a communication speed control program for controlling the communication speed of the optical communication device 12 and / or a power consumption control program for controlling power consumption. Further, in the case of the present embodiment, the electronic device 10 is a notebook PC, and includes a power supply unit 102, a keyboard unit 105, and a display unit 106.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a use state of the electronic device according to the second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a main part of the electronic device according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 4, the electronic device 20 includes an optical communication device such as an infrared communication port (not shown) hidden by a filter panel 27 that transmits infrared light and blocks ultraviolet light, visible light and the like. Similarly, the optical communication relay device 29 is positioned facing the optical communication device by a positioning means (not shown). The optical communication device can be switched to two or more communication speeds and / or power consumption modes.

In FIG. 5, when the optical communication repeater 29 is positioned by the positioning means 23, the positioning detecting means 24 notifies the control unit 25, and the optical communication apparatus 22 is notified.
2 starts communication. The optical communication control program requests high-speed communication and / or low-power-consumption communication from an external electronic device,
If the external electronic device accepts the request, the communication is attempted, and if the communication can be normally performed, the communication is switched to the communication, and the communication is performed at high speed and / or with low power consumption as much as possible. Further, the optical communication switching means 26 switches the optical communication devices 221 and 222 as necessary, but the optical communication devices 221 and 222 can also communicate simultaneously with different electronic devices.
In the present embodiment, the number of optical communication devices does not need to be plural, but may be one. This can be implemented by providing one optical communication device so that the communication direction can be switched.

In FIG. 6, an optical communication control program 21 for controlling an optical communication device is executed by a control unit 25. The optical communication control program 21 includes an optical communication device 22
1 and 222, and / or a power consumption control program for controlling power consumption. Further, in the case of the present embodiment, the electronic device 20 is a public telephone, and includes a power supply unit 202, a communication line unit 207 for connecting to a public line, a keyboard unit 205 for inputting a telephone number, and a display unit for displaying various data. 206, a handset 209, and a communication unit 208 for communicating with the handset 209.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a use state of an electronic device according to the third embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a main part of an optical communication device according to the third embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to the third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a processing flow chart of the positioning detection means according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 7, the electronic device 30 includes an optical communication device such as an infrared communication port hidden by a filter panel 37 that transmits infrared light and blocks ultraviolet light, visible light and the like. The optical communication device is switchable between two or more communication speeds and / or power consumption modes. Optical communication repeater 3
9 is provided integrally with the positioning means 33 and is not directly connected to the electronic device 30. The electronic device 30 further includes a keyboard unit 305 for mainly inputting a telephone number, a display unit 306 for displaying various information, a call communication unit 308 for inputting / outputting voice, and an antenna unit 3 for radio communication with a base station.
09. It is effective to notify the user of the communication state of the conventional optical communication mode or the wired communication mode of the present invention using the display unit 306 or the low power LED. By doing so, a user can selectively use high-speed communication and low-power consumption optical communication instead of automatically selecting an electronic device.

In FIG. 8, the UART modem 324 performs conventional low-speed communication, the HDLC controller 325 performs conventional medium-speed communication, and the quaternary PPM controller 326.
Controls conventional high-speed communication. Then, the wired communication mode controller 326 provides higher speed communication and / or lower power consumption communication that can be performed in the wired communication mode of the present invention than the conventional wireless communication mode. The communication controller 323 selectively controls each of the controllers. In IrDA1.1, as a modulation method of an optical signal, an RZ modulation method is adopted for low-speed communication, and a PPM modulation method is adopted for high-speed communication. On the other hand, in the wired communication mode of the present invention, there is a method of shortening the signal interval, that is, the light emission interval, by applying the above method. In the wired communication mode, basically, the PPM modulation method is applied by reducing the frequency of error determination processing, or a method in which wired communication using a conventional optical fiber cable is applied. It is not limited.

As for the optical signal, the optical signal 391 transmitted from the transmitting section 321 is divided into an incident light 392 incident from an incident surface of the optical communication repeater and a reflected light 393 reflected by the incident surface.
And separated. In the present embodiment, the receiving unit 322
However, by strongly receiving the reflected light 393 and receiving the received light 394 transmitted from an external electronic device, it is detected that the optical communication repeater is positioned. In the case of IrDA, the optical signals 391 to 394 have wavelengths of 850 to 9
It is invisible because it is a near-infrared ray of 00 nm.

In FIG. 9, an optical communication control program 31 for controlling the optical communication device is executed by the control unit 35. The optical communication control program 31 includes an optical communication device 32
And / or a power consumption control program for controlling power consumption. Further, in the case of the present embodiment, the electronic device 30
Is a mobile phone, and the antenna unit 309 is a communication line unit 3
07 and connected to the control unit 35 to transmit and receive radio waves to and from the base station. In the present embodiment, the optical communication control program 31 controls the optical communication device through a control unit that controls the entire electronic device, and the positioning detection unit 34 that detects the position based on the light intensity notifies the optical communication device 32 directly. I do. However, as another system, it is a matter of course that there is a system in which all functions related to the optical communication device are provided in one module and the optical communication control program directly controls the optical communication device. This is effective for portable information devices.

In FIG. 10, the receiving unit of the optical communication device receives the reflected light of the optical signal transmitted from the transmitting unit strongly and receives the received light transmitted from the external electronic device, thereby obtaining the optical signal. It detects that the communication relay device is positioned. Even if the reflected light is received, if the received light transmitted from the external electronic device is not received, it can be determined that the reflected light is reflected by some obstacle. Further, in order to filter the reflected light at the receiving unit, a threshold is calculated from the light intensity of the reflected light. By feeding back the transmission information from the transmission unit to the reception unit and using a threshold value, reflected light as noise can be cut. For conventional low-speed communication,
Although it is possible to leave a sufficient interval between transmission and reception and not mix the reflected light with the received light, the threshold value calculation is effective for implementing higher-speed communication in the wired communication mode of the present invention. .

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the main processing of a power consumption control program for controlling the power consumption of an optical communication apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the fourth embodiment of the present invention. 7 is a processing flowchart of a power consumption control program for controlling power consumption of the optical communication device according to the embodiment.

In FIGS. 11 and 12, the receiving section of the optical communication device receives the received light transmitted from the external electronic device and measures the light intensity. In IrDA1.1-FIR, the incident sensitivity of the receiving unit is set to 10 μW to 500 mW / cm 2.
However, if the sensitivity of the receiving unit is increased, it becomes weak against afterglow and noise. Naturally, the standard does not assume optical communication using an optical communication repeater. If an optical signal is received via an optical communication repeater, the received light with a high light intensity is received without being affected by the communication distance. Therefore, the intensity of the optical signal may be reduced with respect to external electronic devices. Can be notified.
In IrDA1.1-FIR, the emitted light intensity is 100 to 5
Although it is set to 00 mW / sr, optical communication using an optical communication repeater is not assumed in the standard. And, naturally, the electronic device of the present invention can stably communicate while suppressing the emission light intensity of the transmission unit and the incident sensitivity of the reception unit to be low, and can reduce power consumption even during communication. It is. The power consumption control program according to the present invention includes a low power communication mode by switching to a low-speed communication mode when the traffic is small in accordance with the traffic in addition to measuring the light intensity of the optical signal. Of course, there is a method of switching to the mode.

Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 13 is a processing flowchart of a communication speed control program for controlling the communication speed of the optical communication device according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 13, the communication speed control program optimally switches between the wireless communication mode and the wired communication mode. It is detected whether the optical communication repeater is positioned at each of two or more electronic devices in communication. However, there is a possibility that the optical communication repeater is separate and is interrupted on the way. Therefore, the wired communication of the present invention is attempted, and if the communication is successful, it is determined that the mode is the wired communication mode. When it is detected that the optical communication repeater has been positioned, if it is a low-speed communication, a higher-speed communication is requested to an external electronic device, and the communication is performed at a high speed while the high-speed communication is possible. Do. By the way, the standard speed in the processing flow chart is, for example, 9600 bps in IrDA-SIR,
9600 bps or 576 Kbps for A-FIR
It is. It is not always effective to always perform high-speed communication just by positioning the optical communication repeater. In the communication speed control program of the present invention, a method of switching to the high-speed communication mode when the communication amount is large according to the communication amount is more effective, and it goes without saying that the communication speed control program of the present invention includes this. .

[0037]

The present invention is embodied in the form described above and has the following effects.

It is possible to use high-speed communication, which was impossible with electronic equipment equipped with a conventional optical communication device such as IrDA, and to use it stably. The high-speed communication uses the conventional I
at least several times higher than rDA and 10
A high speed communication of about 0 times is assumed. Therefore, an electronic device equipped with the optical communication device according to the present invention has options within a range of several hundred times in communication speed, including low-speed communication, and switches the communication mode according to the communication amount. The convenience that the user enjoys is clearly more effective than conventional electronic devices.

Since the communication auxiliary device is used for optical communication and the device can be detected, the intensity of radiated light can be suppressed to be low and the incident sensitivity can be suppressed to be low. As a result, power consumption can be reduced. Of course, wireless communication is also possible depending on the communication environment. Further, although the communication speed and the power consumption are in a trade-off relationship, it is not necessary to increase the power consumption of an optical communication device or the like so as to be proportional to the speed difference in order to realize the high-speed communication. It is preferable for a portable information device to be driven. One of the representative portable information devices is a mobile phone. Further, it is a matter of course that a portable information device provided with an optical communication relay device as one of the components of the device in addition to the optical communication device and the positioning means is effective, and the present invention includes this.

With one communication port, both wireless communication and wired communication can be used, and the user can select two communication modes according to the situation. For example, wireless communication is carried during carrying, and wired communication is used for use on a desk. Therefore, when performing optical communication, it is possible to perform optimal optical communication by switching the communication direction of the optical communication device while turning the electronic device in the direction in which the user can optimally operate the switch and look at the display device, Convenience increases. In particular, by enabling the electronic device to detect the optical communication relay device, it is possible to stably maintain optical communication at high speed and / or low power consumption.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a usage state of an electronic device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a main block diagram of the electronic apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the electronic device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a use state of an electronic device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a main part block diagram of an electronic device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a use state of an electronic device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a main block diagram of an electronic device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a processing flowchart of a positioning detection unit according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a processing flowchart of a power consumption control program according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a processing flowchart of a power consumption control program according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a processing flowchart of a communication speed control program according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 20, 30 Electronic equipment 11, 21, 31 Optical communication control program 12, 32 Optical communication device 13, 23, 33 Positioning means 14, 24, 34 Positioning detection means 15, 25, 35 Control unit 26 Optical communication switching means 27 , 37 Filter panel 19, 29, 39 Optical communication relay device 101, 201 Electronic device housing 102, 202, 302 Power supply unit 103 Storage unit 104 RAM unit 105, 205, 305 Keyboard unit 106, 206, 306 Display unit 207, 307 Communication line unit 208, 308 Call communication unit 209 Handset 221, 222 First and second optical communication devices 309 Antenna unit 321 Transmission unit 322 Receiver 323 Communication controller 324 UART modem 325 HDLC controller 326 4-value PPM Controller 327 wired communication mode controller 391 transmits light 392 incident light 393 reflected light 394 received light

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An electronic device comprising an optical communication device capable of wireless communication, wherein (a) an optical communication device which relays optical communication with an external electronic device and whose main part is formed of an optical fiber. Positioning detection means for detecting that the relay device is positioned with respect to the optical communication device is provided, (b) the optical communication device can be switched to two or more communication speeds, and (c)
A communication speed control program for controlling the communication speed of the optical communication device, wherein the communication speed control program comprises:
(D) If the positioning detecting means detects that the optical communication repeater has been positioned, if it is a low-speed communication, it requests a higher-speed communication from an external electronic device. If you accept the request, try high-speed communication,
An electronic device comprising an optical communication device, wherein the communication is switched to the high-speed communication if the communication is normally performed, and (f) the communication is performed at a high speed while the high-speed communication is possible. 2. An electronic device comprising an optical communication device capable of wireless communication, wherein (a) an optical communication device which relays optical communication with an external electronic device and whose main part is formed of an optical fiber. Positioning detection means for detecting that the relay device is positioned with respect to the optical communication device is provided; (b) the optical communication device can be switched to a power consumption mode for two or more communications; A) a power consumption control program for controlling power consumption of the optical communication device, the power consumption control program comprising: (d) when the positioning detection unit detects that the optical communication relay device has been positioned, Until then, if the high power consumption mode is set, the lower power consumption mode is requested from the external electronic device. (E) If the external electronic device accepts the request, the low power consumption mode is tried and the communication can be normally performed. Low power consumption (F) communication is performed in the low power consumption mode while the low power consumption mode is enabled. 3. The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising the communication speed control program and the power consumption control program, wherein the communication is performed by suitably combining high-speed communication and low-power consumption communication based on a preset condition. Electronic equipment comprising the optical communication device according to 2. 4. A positioning device for positioning the optical communication repeater with respect to the optical communication device, wherein the positioning detection device detects the position by detecting a state of the positioning device. An electronic apparatus comprising the optical communication device according to claim 1. 5. A light intensity measuring means for measuring an intensity of light received by a receiving section of the optical communication device, wherein the positioning detecting means transmits the light intensity measuring means from a transmitting section of the optical communication device. 4. A method of detecting a position based on a result of measuring an intensity of a reflected light of an applied optical signal.
An electronic apparatus comprising the optical communication device according to any one of the above. 6. A method for controlling the communication speed of an optical communication device by a computer, the method comprising: (a) when the positioning detecting means detects that the optical communication relay device has been positioned, the low-speed communication is performed until then; If so, the external electronic device requests the external electronic device to perform higher speed communication. (B) If the external electronic device accepts the request, the high-speed communication is tried. A communication speed control method characterized by performing high-speed communication while high-speed communication is possible. 7. A recording medium storing a communication speed control program for controlling a communication speed of an optical communication device by a computer, wherein (a) said positioning detecting means detects that said optical communication relay device has been positioned. Upon detection, if the communication is a low-speed communication, a higher-speed communication is requested to an external electronic device. (B) If the external electronic device accepts the request, a high-speed communication is tried. A recording medium for recording a communication speed control program, wherein the communication speed is switched to communication, and (c) communication is performed at high speed while the high-speed communication is possible. 8. A method for controlling the power consumption of an optical communication device by a computer, comprising: (a) when the positioning detection means detects that the optical communication relay device has been positioned, the power consumption has been increased until then; If the external electronic device accepts the request, the low power consumption mode is tried. If the external electronic device accepts the request, the low power consumption mode is tried. (C) performing communication in the low power consumption mode while the low power consumption mode is enabled. 9. A recording medium on which a power consumption control program for controlling power consumption of an optical communication device by a computer is recorded, wherein (a) said positioning detecting means detects that said optical communication relay device has been positioned. If it is detected, if it is the high power consumption mode, the lower power consumption mode is requested to the external electronic device. (B) If the external electronic device accepts the request, the low power consumption mode is tried, and (C) communication is performed in the low power consumption mode while the low power consumption mode is enabled, wherein the power consumption control program is switched to the low power consumption mode.