JP2009290504A - Portable electronic instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a portable electronic device capable of preventing secondary damage relating to an electronic circuit resulting from an impact such as dropping.
A mobile phone 1 determines the direction and strength of an impact based on an acceleration sensor 33, an electronic circuit such as a charging control unit 35, a vibration motor 34, an OLED 21a or an LED 21b, and an acceleration value detected by the acceleration sensor 33. A CPU 30 that determines an impact level to be shown and restricts energization of the electronic circuit in accordance with the determined impact level.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable electronic device provided with an acceleration sensor.

  Conventionally, a portable electronic device such as a mobile phone or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) may be accidentally dropped when used while being carried by a user. Therefore, various countermeasures against damage caused by dropping have been proposed.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus that protects data by retracting a hard disk head when an impact is detected by an acceleration sensor. Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a mobile phone that displays an impact on a display unit when an impact greater than a set value is detected by an impact sensor.

Further, Patent Document 3 discloses a portable terminal having a function of recording the number of times dropped, a location, acceleration, and the like, and outputting the recorded information to the outside for use in repairing or guaranteeing the dropped portable terminal. Has been.
JP-A-4-60956 JP 11-225188 A JP 2006-254207 A

  However, if the control circuit is damaged by a strong impact such as a drop or collision of the portable electronic device, recording cannot be performed. Furthermore, even if the damage due to the impact is partially avoided, if the casing of the portable electronic device is deformed due to the impact, for example, the electronic circuit and the other conductive part may contact each other to cause secondary damage. There is a case.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a portable electronic device that can prevent secondary damage related to an electronic circuit resulting from an impact such as dropping.

  The portable electronic device according to the present invention includes an acceleration sensor, an electronic circuit, a determination unit that determines an acceleration level based on an acceleration value detected by the acceleration sensor, and the electronic device according to the acceleration level determined by the determination unit. And a control unit that limits energization to the circuit.

  Further, the portable electronic device according to the present invention includes a plurality of types of the electronic circuits, and the control unit selects any one of the plurality of types of electronic circuits according to the acceleration level determined by the determination unit. It is preferable to determine whether to limit the energization.

  The acceleration sensor is preferably a triaxial acceleration sensor that detects acceleration values in three directions independent of each other.

  The portable electronic device of the present invention further includes a storage unit that stores a determination table in which the acceleration level is classified based on a value expressed by a square of acceleration, and the determination unit is detected by the three-axis acceleration sensor. Preferably, the acceleration level is determined by comparing a sum of values obtained by squaring the acceleration values in the three directions to a value in a determination table stored in the storage unit.

  In addition, the portable electronic device of the present invention includes a storage unit that stores a determination table in which the acceleration levels are classified according to a value represented by a jerk, and the determination unit uses an acceleration value detected by the three-axis acceleration sensor. It is preferable to determine the acceleration level by comparing the calculated jerk and the value of the determination table stored in the storage unit.

  In the determination table, the storage unit includes a ratio of an acceleration value in the second direction to an acceleration value in the first direction among the three independent directions, and a first value for the acceleration value in the first direction. The acceleration level is further classified and stored in accordance with the acceleration value ratio in the direction of 3 and the acceleration direction represented by the acceleration direction, and the determination unit detects the magnitude of the acceleration detected by the three-axis acceleration sensor and the acceleration value. It is preferable to determine the acceleration level by comparing the direction and the value of the determination table stored in the storage unit.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the said control part restrict | limits the electricity supply to the said electronic circuit, when the state where the said acceleration value is below a fixed value including 0 continues for predetermined time or more.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the secondary damage regarding an electronic circuit resulting from an impact can be prevented.

  Hereinafter, an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described. In addition, although the mobile telephone 1 is demonstrated as an example of a portable electronic device, this invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to various portable electronic devices such as a PHS (Personal Handyphone System) and a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant).

  FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1 shows a so-called foldable mobile phone, but the mobile phone according to the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a sliding type in which one casing is slid in one direction from a state in which both casings are overlapped, or a rotary type in which one casing is rotated around an axis along the overlapping direction ( Turn type), or a type (straight type) in which the operation unit and the display unit are arranged in one housing and does not have a connecting unit.

  The mobile phone 1 includes an operation unit side body 2 and a display unit side body 3. The operation unit side body 2 includes an operation unit 11 and a microphone 12 into which a voice uttered by a user of the mobile phone 1 is input on the surface unit 10. The operation unit 11 includes a function setting operation button 13 for activating various functions such as various setting functions, a telephone book function, and a mail function, and an input operation button 14 for inputting numbers of telephone numbers, mail characters, and the like. , And a determination operation button 15 for performing determination and scrolling in various operations.

  The display unit side body 3 includes a display unit 21 for displaying various types of information on the surface unit 20 and a receiver 22 for outputting the voice of the other party of the call.

  Further, the upper end portion of the operation unit side body 2 and the lower end portion of the display unit side body 3 are connected via a hinge mechanism 4. In addition, the mobile phone 1 relatively rotates the operation unit side body 2 and the display unit side body 3 connected via the hinge mechanism 4, so that the operation unit side body 2 and the display unit side body are rotated. The body 3 can be in an open state (open state), or the operation unit side body 2 and the display unit side body 3 can be folded (folded state).

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing functions of the mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment. The mobile phone 1 includes an operation unit 11, an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) 21 a and an LED (Light Emitting Diode) 21 b as a display unit 21, a CPU 30, a radio unit 31, an audio unit 32, an acceleration sensor 33, and the like. A vibration motor 34, a charge control unit 35, a secondary battery 36, and a memory 37.

  The CPU 30 controls the entire mobile phone 1. For example, the CPU 30 controls the display unit 21, the radio unit 31, the audio unit 32, the vibration motor 34, or the charging control unit 35 related to charging the secondary battery 36. Predetermined control is performed. In addition, the CPU 30 receives input from the operation unit 11, the acceleration sensor 33, and the like, and executes various processes. Then, the CPU 30 controls the memory 37 to read various programs and data, and write data when executing processing.

  The display unit 21 (OLED 21a, LED 21b) performs predetermined image processing under the control of the CPU 30. Then, the processed image data is stored in the frame memory and output to the screen at a predetermined timing.

  The wireless unit 31 communicates with an external device in a predetermined use frequency band (for example, 800 MHz). Then, the radio unit 31 demodulates the signal received from the antenna (not shown), supplies the processed signal to the CPU 30, modulates the signal supplied from the CPU 30, and transmits the signal from the antenna to the external device. Send.

  The sound unit 32 performs predetermined sound processing on the signal supplied from the wireless unit 31 according to the control of the CPU 30, and outputs the processed signal to the receiver 22. The receiver 22 outputs the signal supplied from the audio unit 32 to the outside. Note that this signal may be output from a speaker (not shown) instead of the receiver 22 or together with the receiver 22.

  In addition, the voice unit 32 processes the signal input from the microphone 12 according to the control of the CPU 30 and outputs the processed signal to the wireless unit 31. The radio unit 31 performs predetermined processing on the signal supplied from the audio unit 32 and outputs the processed signal from the antenna.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the acceleration sensor 33 is a three-axis (three-dimensional) type that detects acceleration in three directions orthogonal to each other in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction. Based on force (F) and mass (m), acceleration (a) is measured (acceleration (a) = force (F) / mass (m)). In addition, although the acceleration sensor 33 of this embodiment was a 3-axis type, it is not restricted to this. For example, the number of axes may be simply one or two, or a multi-axis sensor having four or more axes may be used for accurate detection.

  Moreover, the acceleration sensor 33 measures the force applied to a predetermined mass by a piezoelectric element, for example, calculates the acceleration for each axis, converts it into numerical data, and buffers it. And CPU30 reads the acceleration data buffered periodically. The acceleration sensor 33 is not limited to a piezoelectric element (piezoelectric type), but may be a MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) type such as a piezoresistive type, a capacitance type, a thermal detection type, or a feedback coil by moving a movable coil. And a servo gauge type that measures strain caused by acceleration with a strain gauge, or the like.

  The vibration motor 34 generates vibration according to the control of the CPU 30, and is used for notification of incoming calls and mails, effects when an application is executed, and the like.

  The charging control unit 35 is a circuit that controls charging of the secondary battery 36 that supplies power to each unit of the mobile phone 1.

  The memory 37 includes, for example, a working memory and is used for arithmetic processing by the CPU 30. Specifically, for example, an impact determination table (FIG. 3), a restriction content table (FIG. 4), a notification content table (FIG. 5), etc., which will be described later, are stored. Note that the memory 37 may also serve as a removable external memory.

  Hereinafter, operations of the acceleration sensor 33 and the CPU 30 will be described. The acceleration sensor 33 periodically detects the acceleration value applied to the mobile phone 1 as acceleration data. And CPU30 reads this.

  The CPU 30 calculates the strength and direction of the generated impact (acceleration greater than a predetermined value) based on the detected acceleration data. Specifically, the impact strength is calculated by squaring the acceleration values in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction, and calculating the sum of these three square values. This sum is equal to the square of the magnitude of the acceleration, thereby judging the strength of the impact caused by dropping or the like.

  The direction of the impact is determined by the ratio of the acceleration value in the Y-axis direction to the acceleration value in the X-axis direction (Y / X), the ratio of the acceleration value in the Z-axis direction to the acceleration value in the X-axis direction (Z / X), , Represented by These show tan θ when the angle between the XZ plane and the acceleration vector is θ, and tan φ when the angle between the XY plane and the acceleration vector is φ.

  The direction of impact may be expressed using polar coordinates, but can be calculated by four arithmetic operations by using tangent (tan), so that the processing load can be reduced and the numerical accuracy can be further increased.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an impact determination table according to the present embodiment. Based on this table, the impact level (acceleration level) when the mobile phone 1 falls is determined.

  Here, the impact level is classified by the folder state (open state or folded state) of the mobile phone 1 and the direction of impact. Further, the impact level is subdivided according to the strength and duration of the impact. For example, even in the same impact direction, the impact level is classified into “impact level A” and “impact level B” according to the impact strength. .

  In addition, regarding the impact direction, a range is provided, and within the range, the direction is the same. According to the data in the first row of FIG. 3, for example, “1.00: 1.50: −2.00” and “1.00: 1.60: −2.10” are the same as the impact direction. Is recognized as a direction.

Further, according to the data in the first row of FIG. 3, if an impact of “1200000G ² ” or more and less than “4800000G ² ” continues for “300 msec” or more, an impact of “impact level A” and “4800000G ² ” or more is “ If it lasts for “300 milliseconds” or more, it is determined as “impact level B”.

  In FIG. 3, ranges are provided independently for “Y / X” and “Z / X” as impact directions, but are not limited thereto. For example, a range may be provided as a predetermined polygon surface. In this case, when the line segment indicated by the impact direction intersects a predetermined triangular surface, the same impact direction is set.

  In the impact determination table in FIG. 3, the square of the magnitude of acceleration is used as the impact strength, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the impact strength may be expressed by jerk (time differentiation of acceleration, jerk). Since the impact caused by the drop generates a large acceleration, depending on the type of the acceleration sensor 33 to be used, the detection range may be exceeded or the acceleration sensor 33 itself may be damaged. In such a case, the impact level may be determined before the acceleration sensor 33 is damaged by determining the impact level based on the jerk.

  Next, CPU30 restrict | limits the electricity supply to the electronic circuit with which the mobile telephone 1 is provided according to the determined impact level. Specifically, for example, energization is limited to the charging control unit 35 having a charging circuit, the vibration motor 34 in which brush sparks or the like are concerned, the OLED 21a and the LED 21b having a boosting circuit, and the like.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a restriction content table according to the present embodiment. Here, for each electronic circuit block that restricts energization, the restriction content according to the impact level is defined.

  In FIG. 4, for example, the “charging circuit” is subject to restriction for both “impact level A” and “impact level B”, and the restriction content is prohibition of energization. “OLED” is not a restriction target at “impact level A”, but energization is prohibited at “impact level B”. In addition, “LED” is set to the low-light mode by prohibiting boosting in the boosting circuit at “impact level B”.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a notification content table according to the present embodiment. The CPU 30 restricts energization to the electronic circuit and notifies the user of the restriction content on the display unit 21. Here, the notification content corresponding to the impact level is defined for each electronic circuit block or predetermined event.

  According to FIG. 5, for example, immediately after detecting an impact, the mobile phone 1 notifies the user that the impact has been detected and prompts the user to undergo an inspection. In addition, when a request for using an electronic circuit block whose energization is restricted is received, the fact that the electronic circuit block is restricted is notified.

  Hereinafter, the flow of processing in the CPU 30 is shown. In the present embodiment, energization restriction is started in response to the detection of a drop, and the restriction content is adjusted in response to detection of an impact.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flow of processing associated with detection of a drop of the mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment. When the acceleration sensor detects that the magnitude of acceleration is “0G” or a predetermined range near “0G” by the acceleration sensor, the CPU 30 determines that there is a possibility of falling, and starts this processing by interruption. .

  In step S <b> 11, the CPU 30 determines, based on the detection value of the acceleration sensor 33, whether or not a state near the acceleration “0G” indicating that the vehicle is falling has passed a predetermined time. If this determination is YES, it is determined that the mobile phone 1 has dropped, and the process proceeds to step S13. On the other hand, if this determination is NO, the state in the vicinity of “0G” continues only for a short time, and there is a possibility that the state has become “0G” instantaneously instead of dropping, and the process proceeds to step S12.

  In step S12, the CPU 30 determines whether or not the state near the detected acceleration “0G” continues. If this determination is YES, there remains a possibility that the predetermined time has passed and it is determined that the vehicle has fallen, so the process returns to step S11. On the other hand, if this determination is NO, it is determined that it is not dropped, and energization is not limited at this point.

  In step S13, since the CPU 30 determines that the cellular phone 1 is falling, the CPU 30 stops energization of the electronic circuit block to be restricted in preparation for the possibility of receiving an impact after that.

  By this processing, the CPU 30 can stop the electronic circuit block in preparation for damage before receiving an impact caused by dropping. Therefore, for example, even when damage caused by an impact is severe and control becomes impossible, an electronic circuit block that can cause secondary damage can be stopped before the impact is received.

  Thereafter, when the acceleration changes from a state near “0G” and an impact is detected, the CPU 30 starts a new limiting process (FIG. 7).

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a flow of processing when the mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment detects an impact.

  In step S <b> 21, the CPU 30 calculates the direction and strength of the impact based on the detection value of the acceleration sensor 33.

  In step S22, the CPU 30 determines the impact level by comparing the direction and strength of the impact calculated in step S21 with the impact determination table (FIG. 3). When the impact level is less than A, it is determined that the limiting operation is unnecessary, and the normal operation is performed. If the impact level is greater than or equal to A and less than B, the process proceeds to step S23 to start the limiting operation. On the other hand, if the impact level is B or higher, the process proceeds to step S26 to start the limiting operation.

  In step S23, the CPU 30 acquires the restriction target list 1 corresponding to the “impact level A” from the restriction content table (FIG. 4). Thereby, the electronic circuit block which should restrict | limit electricity supply is determined.

  In step S24, the CPU 30 acquires the restriction content a corresponding to the restriction target electronic circuit block determined in step S23 from the restriction content table (FIG. 4).

  In step S25, the CPU 30 refers to the notification content table (FIG. 5), acquires the notification content i regarding “impact level A”, and displays the notification data corresponding to the control event “immediately after detection”. Thereafter, the CPU 30 shifts to a limiting operation (FIG. 8).

  In step S26, the CPU 30 acquires the restriction target list 2 corresponding to “impact level B” from the restriction content table (FIG. 4). Thereby, the electronic circuit block which should restrict | limit electricity supply is determined.

  In step S27, the CPU 30 acquires the restriction content b corresponding to the restriction target electronic circuit block determined in step S26 from the restriction content table (FIG. 4).

  In step S28, the CPU 30 refers to the notification content table (FIG. 5), acquires the notification content B regarding “impact level B”, and displays the notification data corresponding to the control event “immediately after detection”. Thereafter, the CPU 30 shifts to a limiting operation (FIG. 8).

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a flow of processing when there is an operation input after the mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment starts the restriction operation.

  In step S31, the CPU 30 receives an operation input from the user. When the mobile phone 1 is in a normal operation, the related electronic circuit block is operated in response to the operation input. However, when the mobile phone 1 is in a limiting operation, the process proceeds to step S32.

  In step S32, based on the restriction content table (FIG. 4), the CPU 30 determines whether or not the operation input received in step S31 requests a restriction target event or a restriction target electronic circuit block operation. Determine whether. If this determination is YES, the process proceeds to step S34, and if the determination is NO, the process proceeds to step S33.

  In step S33, the CPU 30 determines that the requested event is not related to the electronic circuit block to be restricted, and performs normal control without restriction.

  In step S34, since the requested event is to operate the electronic circuit block to be restricted, the CPU 30 displays the notice content indicating that the restriction is being made based on the notice content table (FIG. 5).

  Note that the limiting operation of this process may be initialized by a predetermined operation input. That is, when it is determined by the inspection that there is no possibility of secondary damage, the restriction operation can be canceled and the normal operation can be restored.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not restricted to embodiment mentioned above. The effects described in the embodiments of the present invention are only the most preferable effects resulting from the present invention, and the effects of the present invention are limited to those described in the embodiments of the present invention. is not.

1 is an external perspective view of a mobile phone 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function of the mobile telephone 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the impact determination table which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the restriction | limiting content table which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the notification content table which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the flow of the process accompanying the detection of the fall of the mobile telephone 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the flow of a process when the mobile telephone 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention detects an impact. It is a figure which shows the flow of a process when there exists operation input, after the mobile telephone 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention starts restriction | limiting operation | movement.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cellular phone 11 Operation part 21 Display part 21a OLED (electronic circuit)
21b LED (electronic circuit)
30 CPU (determination unit, control unit)
31 Radio unit 32 Audio unit 33 Acceleration sensor 34 Vibration motor (electronic circuit)
35 Charge control unit (electronic circuit)
36 Secondary battery 37 Memory

Claims (7)

An acceleration sensor;
Electronic circuit,
A determination unit that determines an acceleration level based on an acceleration value detected by the acceleration sensor;
A portable electronic device comprising: a control unit that limits energization to the electronic circuit according to the acceleration level determined by the determination unit. A plurality of the electronic circuits are provided,
2. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines which one of the plurality of types of electronic circuits is restricted in energization according to the acceleration level determined by the determination unit. Portable electronic devices.   The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the acceleration sensor is a three-axis acceleration sensor that detects acceleration values in three directions independent of each other. A storage unit that stores a determination table that classifies the acceleration level according to a value represented by a square of acceleration;
The determination unit compares the sum of values obtained by squaring the acceleration values in the three directions detected by the three-axis acceleration sensor with a value in a determination table stored in the storage unit, thereby determining the acceleration level. The portable electronic device according to claim 3, wherein: A storage unit for storing a determination table in which the acceleration levels are classified according to values represented by jerk;
The determination unit determines the acceleration level by comparing a jerk calculated from an acceleration value detected by the triaxial acceleration sensor and a value of a determination table stored in the storage unit. The portable electronic device according to claim 3. In the determination table, the storage unit includes a ratio of the acceleration value in the second direction to the acceleration value in the first direction among the three independent directions, and a third value for the acceleration value in the first direction. The acceleration level is further classified and stored according to the ratio of acceleration values in the direction and the direction of acceleration represented by:
The determination unit determines the acceleration level by comparing the magnitude of the acceleration detected by the three-axis acceleration sensor and the direction of the acceleration with the value of the determination table stored in the storage unit. The portable electronic device according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that:   3. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit limits energization to the electronic circuit when the state where the acceleration value is equal to or less than a certain value including 0 continues for a predetermined time or longer. .

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