HK1122929B - Mobile telephone - Google Patents

Description

Portable telephone set

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a mobile phone, and more particularly, to an improvement of a mobile phone capable of viewing television broadcasts.

Background

The portable telephone includes the following types: television broadcasting can be viewed by providing an antenna for receiving television broadcast waves transmitted from a television station, displaying a television image on a display screen based on the television broadcast waves, and outputting television sound corresponding to the television image (for example, patent documents 1 and 2).

The audio output device for outputting television audio includes a speaker built in the mobile phone to amplify and output television audio, and an external output device such as an earphone connected to an external output terminal provided in the mobile phone. When a user watches a television broadcast in an environment where no person is present around the user's house, or when several friends gather to watch a television broadcast, a television sound can be output through a speaker. In contrast, in an environment where many people are uncertain around, such as in a train, television broadcasts can be viewed without causing annoyance to surrounding people by outputting television sounds using an external output device such as an earphone.

On the other hand, when a call is made with an opposite telephone, the user can listen to a sound transmitted from the opposite telephone by bringing the ear close to a receiver of the mobile telephone.

In addition, even when a call is made with the opposite-end telephone, it is possible to output the sound from the opposite-end telephone through a speaker or an external output device. In this way, in a general mobile phone capable of receiving television broadcasts, it is possible to select any one of a receiver, a speaker, and an external output device for receiving a call and to select any one of the speaker and the external output device for receiving a television broadcast.

The cellular phones disclosed in patent documents 1 and 2 include a display body having a display screen and an operation body in which a plurality of operation keys are arranged, and the display body is rotatably supported by the operation body in a plane horizontal to the display screen. In such a mobile phone, for example, the display screen is formed in a rectangular shape, and the display body is rotated with respect to the operation body, so that the mobile phone can be used while being switched between a vertically long state in which the longer direction of the display screen is displayed in the vertical direction and a horizontally wide state in which the shorter direction of the display screen is displayed in the vertical direction.

Generally, since a television image has a horizontal aspect ratio, the television image can be displayed well by setting the display screen to a horizontal state. On the other hand, when a call is made after receiving a call from the other end telephone, the display screen of the mobile telephone is used in a vertically long state. A typical mobile phone includes a microphone for speech input at one end in the longitudinal direction of an operation body thereof, and a receiver for receiving speech output from an opposite-end phone at one end in the longitudinal direction of a display body. Therefore, a good call can be made by bringing the display screen into a vertically long state, bringing the mobile phone close to the face, bringing the mouth close to the microphone for calling, and bringing the ear close to the receiver for receiving.

In addition, as an example of a mobile phone capable of viewing a television broadcast, for example, patent documents 3 and 4 propose a mobile phone capable of confirming reception of an electronic mail without interrupting viewing of a television broadcast by displaying an electronic mail on a display screen when the electronic mail is received while the television broadcast is viewed. In such a mobile phone, when it is found that an electronic mail is received, a user executes a predetermined operation to start an application program for viewing character information of the electronic mail, and the full text of the electronic mail is displayed on a display screen to be viewed. Further, by executing an operation to start an application program for creating an electronic mail when necessary, an electronic mail of credit can be created back for the received electronic mail.

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2004-215180

Patent document 2: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2005-12344

Patent document 3: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2005-130132

Patent document 4: japanese unexamined patent application publication No. 2005-198259

In the portable telephone set capable of receiving television broadcasts as described above, in the case of receiving a call to an opposite-end telephone set while viewing a television broadcast, it is necessary to perform an operation to suspend viewing of the television broadcast and then perform an operation to respond to the call. Therefore, when a call is received from the opposite-end telephone, the viewing of the television broadcast must be suspended, and the call with the opposite-end telephone and the viewing of the television broadcast cannot be simultaneously realized.

In addition, the direction of the display screen on which a call can be favorably made and the direction of the display screen on which a television broadcast can be favorably viewed are usually different. Therefore, when a call is received from the telephone at the opposite end while watching a television broadcast in the landscape state, it is necessary to perform an operation of rotating the display body to the portrait state and an operation of responding to the call; on the other hand, when viewing a television broadcast, it is necessary to perform an operation of rotating the display main body from the portrait orientation to the landscape orientation and an operation of starting the television broadcast viewing.

Further, since the amount of power consumed by the mobile phone when viewing a television broadcast is large, it is desirable to stop display of a television image or the like when it is not necessary to communicate with the opposite-end phone. In addition, when a call is received from the telephone at the opposite end and the call is answered while the television broadcast is being viewed, the viewing of the television broadcast must be suspended, and therefore, there is a problem that the television broadcast cannot be viewed thereafter.

In the conventional mobile phones disclosed in patent documents 3 and 4, when an electronic mail is received while watching a television broadcast, although this can be confirmed, the character information of the received electronic mail cannot be confirmed. Therefore, in order to confirm the character information of the electronic mail, the viewing of the television broadcast has to be interrupted and the application program for viewing the electronic mail has to be started, which has a problem that the character information of the electronic mail cannot be viewed while the television broadcast is being viewed.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a portable telephone set capable of continuing to watch television broadcasting even when a call is received from a telephone set at the opposite end. Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable telephone set which can improve convenience. It is another object of the present invention to provide a mobile phone with reduced operational complexity. Another object of the present invention is to provide a mobile phone capable of effectively reducing power consumption. Another object of the present invention is to provide a mobile phone capable of improving convenience in the case of receiving a call from an opposite-end phone while watching a television broadcast. Another object of the present invention is to provide a mobile phone capable of viewing text information of a received electronic mail while watching television broadcasting.

The invention provides a portable telephone of type 1, comprising: television broadcast receiving means for receiving television broadcast waves; a television output device for displaying a television image on a display screen according to the received television broadcast wave, while outputting a television sound corresponding to the television image; a wireless communication means for performing transmission and reception of a call signal and a response signal; an incoming call answering device for establishing a call state by generating an answer signal in accordance with a user operation during a period in which an answer to the call signal is possible, the television output device comprising: volume reducing means for maintaining a display state of the television image on the display screen and reducing a volume of the television sound corresponding to the television image when the call signal is received in a state where the television image is being displayed on the display screen; and a character information display device for extracting character information corresponding to the television image from the television broadcast wave and displaying the character information on the display screen when the television sound corresponding to the television image is turned down by the volume reduction device.

With this configuration, when a call is received from the telephone at the opposite end while the television image is being displayed on the display screen, the display state of the television image on the display screen is maintained, and the volume of the television sound corresponding to the television image is reduced to make a call with the telephone at the opposite end. In this case, since text information such as subtitles corresponding to the television image can be displayed on the display screen, it is possible to continue watching the television broadcast based on the television image and the text information even during the call with the telephone at the opposite end.

The invention provides a mobile phone of type 2, comprising: a body on which the display screen is formed; a first sound output device used in a state that the user puts the ears on the surface of the machine body; a second sound output device used in a state that the user leaves the ear from the surface of the body; and an output selection device for selecting the same sound output device as used when the television sound is outputted before to output the sound from the telephone set at the opposite end when the volume of the television sound corresponding to the television image is reduced by the volume reduction device.

With this configuration, when a call is received from the opposite-end telephone set while a television image is being displayed on the display screen, it is possible to output a sound from the opposite-end telephone set using the sound output device that is outputting a television sound at that time. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform an operation of switching the audio output device in order to communicate with the opposite-end telephone, and communication can be continued using the audio output device that has been used so far, and convenience can be improved.

In the mobile phone of claim 3, the television output device includes an image display stopping device for stopping the display of the television image on the display screen if an operation for switching to the output of the sound by the first sound output device is performed when the sound from the telephone at the opposite end is output by the second sound output device while the display of the television image on the display screen is maintained.

With this configuration, when the second sound output device outputs the sound from the telephone set at the opposite end while watching the television image being displayed on the display screen, the display of the television image on the display screen can be stopped in accordance with the fact that the operation of switching to the output of the sound by the first sound output device is already performed. When the operation of switching to outputting the audio through the first audio output device is performed, the user must bring his ear close to the surface of the main body for communication, and the display screen cannot be seen.

The mobile phone of claim 4 is configured to include a recording device for recording a television image according to a television broadcast wave when the graphic display stopping device stops displaying the television image.

With this configuration, it is possible to record a television broadcast that cannot be viewed due to display on the display screen being stopped for later viewing, and therefore, it is possible to improve convenience.

The mobile phone of claim 5 is configured to include a hold switching means for switching to a hold state in which the output of a communication voice to the opposite-end phone is stopped when a call state is established; the television output device has a volume increasing device for increasing the volume of the television sound if the hold switching device switches to the hold state when the television image is displayed on the display screen in the state where the volume of the television sound is reduced.

With this configuration, when the volume of the television sound is turned down while the display of the television image on the display screen is maintained and a call is made with the telephone of the opposite party, if the user wants to listen to the television sound in the content of the television image, the user can temporarily listen to the television sound by switching to the hold state and turning up the volume of the television sound, thereby further improving convenience.

The mobile phone of claim 6 is configured to include: a display body having a rectangular display screen formed on a surface thereof; a sound output device disposed in the display body and located at one end of the display screen in the longitudinal direction, the sound output device being used in a state where the user brings his or her ear close to the surface of the display body; a support device for supporting the display body in a plane horizontal to the display screen so as to be rotatable to place the display screen in a vertically long state and a horizontally wide state; a rotation operation detection device for detecting a rotation operation of the display body by a user; television broadcast receiving means for receiving television broadcast waves; a television image display device for displaying a television image generated from the received television broadcast wave and rotated in accordance with the rotation operation on the display screen; a wireless communication means for performing transmission and reception of a call signal and a response signal; and an incoming call answering device for generating an answering signal and establishing a call state in accordance with a rotation operation for shifting the display screen displaying a television image from a horizontally wide state to a vertically long state during a period in which the answering to the calling signal is possible.

With this configuration, when a call signal is received while the display main body is in the horizontally wide state and a television image is displayed on the display screen, the call can be answered by rotating the display main body from the horizontally wide state to the vertically long state. Therefore, when a call is received from the telephone at the other end while the television broadcast is being viewed, the call can be answered by rotating the display body, and therefore, it is not necessary to perform both the operation of rotating the display body and the operation of answering the call, and the complexity of the operation can be reduced.

In the mobile phone of claim 7, the television image display device includes an image display stopping device for stopping display of the television image on the display screen when the call answering device establishes a call state.

With this configuration, the display of the television image on the display screen can be stopped by rotating the display body to respond to a call from the telephone at the opposite end. When the display body is rotated from the horizontally wide state to the vertically long state to answer a call, the user must bring his or her ear close to the display body for communication and cannot see the display screen.

A mobile phone according to claim 8 is configured to include a recording device for recording a television image according to a television broadcast wave when the graphic display stopping device stops displaying the television image.

With this configuration, it is possible to record a television broadcast that cannot be viewed due to display on the display screen being stopped, for later viewing. Therefore, even if the user receives a call from the telephone set at the opposite end during the watching of the television broadcast, the television broadcast is automatically recorded without worry, and the user can make a call without hesitation. Therefore, the convenience in the case of receiving the call of the opposite-end telephone set in the process of watching the television broadcast can be improved.

In the mobile phone of claim 9, the television image display device includes a first image rotation device for rotating the display of the television image on the display screen by 90 ° in accordance with a rotation operation for shifting the display screen on which the television image is being displayed from the horizontally wide state to the vertically long state during a period in which the response to the call signal is not possible.

With this configuration, if the display main body is rotated from the horizontally wide state to the vertically long state while the television image is displayed on the display screen during a period in which the response to the call signal is not possible, the orientation of the television image can be matched with the rotational position by rotating the display of the television image on the display screen by 90 °.

In the mobile phone according to claim 10, the television image display device includes a character information display device for displaying a television image and character information corresponding to the television image extracted from a television broadcast wave on the display screen in a vertical state.

With this configuration, in a state where the display body is rotated to the vertical state, character information such as subtitles corresponding to the television image can be displayed in a vacant region generated on the display screen due to the difference between the aspect ratio of the display screen and the aspect ratio of the television image. Therefore, when it is desired to display character information, the character information can be displayed by rotating the display body to the vertically long state, and convenience can be further improved.

In the mobile phone of claim 11, the television image display device includes an image display starting device for starting display of a television image on the display screen in response to a rotation operation for shifting the display screen on which a television image is not displayed from a portrait orientation state to a landscape orientation state.

With this configuration, the television image can be automatically displayed on the display screen by rotating the display main body from the portrait orientation to the landscape orientation. Therefore, when a television broadcast is desired to be viewed, it is not necessary to perform both the operation of rotating the display main body and the operation of starting displaying a television image, and the complexity of the operation can be reduced.

In the mobile phone of claim 12, the television image display device includes second image rotating means for rotating the display of the television image on the display screen by 90 ° in accordance with a rotation operation for shifting the display screen on which the television image is being displayed from a portrait orientation to a landscape orientation.

With this configuration, if the display main body is rotated from the vertically long state to the horizontally wide state in a state where the television image is displayed on the display screen, the direction of the television image can be matched with the rotational position by rotating the display of the television image on the display screen by 90 °.

A mobile phone according to a 13 th aspect of the present invention includes: television broadcast receiving means for receiving television broadcast waves; television image display means for displaying a television image in a display screen according to the received television broadcast wave; an electronic mail receiving means for receiving an electronic mail composed of text information from a base station; a scroll display device for scroll-displaying character information of an electronic mail on the display screen so as to move with time when the electronic mail is received in a state where the television image display device displays the television image on the display screen; and an application starting device for starting an application for displaying character information of the received e-mail or starting an application for creating an e-mail according to a user operation after the scroll display is started.

With this configuration, when an electronic mail is received while a television image is being displayed on the display screen, the character information of the received electronic mail can be scroll-displayed on the display screen while maintaining the display state of the television image, and therefore, the character information of the received electronic mail can be viewed while watching a television broadcast. By scrolling and displaying the character information of the received email on the display screen, the full text of the email can be displayed while securing an area for displaying the television image.

Therefore, when the user wants to view the full text or create a credit email by scrolling while watching the television broadcast to confirm the text information of the received email, the user can operate the start-up application. On the other hand, when the user wants to view the television broadcast preferentially, the user operation is not executed at the present time, but the television broadcast is viewed, and the application program is restarted later.

In the mobile phone of claim 14, the application starting device includes an e-mail viewing program application starting device for starting an application for viewing character information other than the character information which has been scroll-displayed on the display screen, when the user operation is performed before all character information of the received e-mail is scroll-displayed on the display screen.

With this configuration, if a user operation is performed before all the character information of the electronic mail is scroll-displayed on the display screen in order to immediately view the full text while the character information of the received electronic mail is confirmed by scroll display while watching the television broadcast, an application program for viewing the character information other than the character information scroll-displayed on the display screen can be started. When the application is started, the text information other than the text information that has been scroll-displayed on the display screen can be viewed, and therefore the full text of the received electronic mail can be viewed with the minimum display.

In the mobile phone of claim 15, the application startup device includes an electronic mail creation application startup device for starting an application for creating an electronic mail to reply to a received electronic mail when the user operation is performed within a certain time period after all character information of the received electronic mail is scroll-displayed on the display screen.

With this configuration, if a user wants to create an email to reply to the received email after confirming the text information of the email by scrolling while watching a television broadcast, the user can start an application program for creating an email to reply to credit by performing a user operation for a certain time after the scrolling is completed. Therefore, the operation for specifying the e-mail address of the recipient can be omitted, and the e-mail of the credit can be sent back easily.

A mobile phone according to claim 16 of the present invention is configured to include: a display body on which a rectangular display screen is formed; a support device for supporting the display body in a plane horizontal to the display screen so as to be rotatable to place the display screen in a vertically long state and a horizontally wide state; a rotation operation detection device for detecting a rotation operation of the display body by a user; the television image display device displays a television image rotated in accordance with the rotation operation on the display screen, and the application startup device starts an application in accordance with a rotation operation for shifting the display screen from a horizontally wide state to a vertically long state.

With this configuration, it is possible to start an application for viewing text information of a received electronic mail or an application for creating an electronic mail in response to an operation of rotating the display main body from the horizontally wide state to the vertically long state.

A mobile phone according to claim 17, wherein said television image display means continues to display the television image on one side in the longitudinal direction of said display screen in the vertically long state after said application startup means starts the application, and said application startup means displays a screen for viewing or creating an electronic mail on the other side in the longitudinal direction of said display screen.

With this configuration, while the horizontally wide television image is displayed on one side in the longitudinal direction of the display screen in the vertically long state, the screen for viewing or creating an electronic mail is displayed in the vacant area formed on the other side in the longitudinal direction of the display screen.

According to the present invention, when a call is received from the opposite-end telephone while a television image is being displayed on the display screen, the display state of the television image on the display screen can be maintained, the volume of television sound corresponding to the television image can be reduced, and a call can be made to the opposite-end telephone, and at the same time, text information such as subtitles corresponding to the television image can be displayed on the display screen.

In addition, according to the present invention, when a call is received from a telephone at the opposite end while a television image is being displayed on the display screen, it is possible to continue a call using the audio output device that has been used so far, and thus it is possible to improve convenience. In addition, when the display of the television image on the display screen is maintained and the volume of the television sound is turned down and the telephone is communicated with the opposite terminal, if the television sound in the content of the television image is desired to be listened to, the television sound can be temporarily listened to by switching to the reserved state and turning up the volume of the television sound, thereby further improving the convenience.

Further, according to the present invention, when a call is received from an opposite telephone while a television broadcast is being viewed, the call can be answered by rotating the display unit, and therefore, it is not necessary to perform both an operation of rotating the display unit and an operation of answering the call, and the complexity of the operation can be reduced.

In addition, according to the present invention, the display of the television image on the display screen can be automatically stopped by rotating the display body to respond to the call of the opposite-end telephone, and the power consumption can be effectively reduced.

In addition, according to the present invention, since it is possible to record a television broadcast that cannot be viewed due to display stoppage on the display screen for later viewing, it is possible to improve convenience in the case where an opposite-end telephone call is received during viewing of the television broadcast.

Further, according to the present invention, when an electronic mail is received while a television image is being displayed on a display screen, it is possible to scroll and display character information of the received electronic mail on the display screen while maintaining the display state of the television image, and thus it is possible to view character information of the received electronic mail while watching television broadcast.

In the process of confirming the character information of the received E-mail by scrolling while watching TV broadcast, if a user wants to immediately view the full text, the user can view the character information except the character information which is already scrolled and displayed on the display screen by executing the user operation before the character information of the E-mail is all scrolled and displayed on the display screen.

On the other hand, if a user wants to create an email to reply to the received email after confirming the character information of the email by scrolling while watching a television broadcast, the user operates the application for creating an email to return credit by executing the user within a predetermined time after the scrolling is completed.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a portable telephone set according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which a state in which a body is closed is shown.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where the body of the portable telephone set of fig. 1 is unfolded.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a state after the display body of the portable telephone set of fig. 2 is rotated, in which a state after being rotated clockwise by about 45 ° from the state of fig. 2 is shown as viewed from the front.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a state after the display body of the portable telephone set of fig. 2 is rotated, wherein a state after being rotated clockwise by 90 ° from the state of fig. 2 is shown as viewed from the front.

Fig. 5 is a rear view of the mobile phone in the state of fig. 2, showing a state in which the structure in the support portion is viewed in perspective.

Fig. 6 is a rear view of the cellular phone in the state of fig. 3, showing a state in which the structure in the support portion is viewed in perspective.

Fig. 7 is a rear view of the cellular phone in the state of fig. 4, showing a state in which the structure in the support portion is viewed in perspective.

Fig. 8 is a front view of a hinge (hinge) portion in the state of fig. 2.

Fig. 9 is a front view of the hinge portion in the state of fig. 3.

Fig. 10 is a front view of the hinge portion in the state of fig. 4.

Fig. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of an electrical configuration of the mobile phone.

Fig. 12 is a block diagram for explaining an operation when a signal is received by the communication unit and the television broadcast receiving unit.

Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of call response processing executed when a call is received from a telephone set at the opposite end during reception of a television broadcast wave.

Fig. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of call response processing executed in a case where a call to an opposite-end telephone set is received during reception of a television broadcast wave, and shows a continuation of fig. 13.

Fig. 15 is a block diagram showing an example of an electrical configuration of a mobile phone according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 16 is a block diagram for explaining an operation when a signal is received by the communication unit and the television broadcast receiving unit.

Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing an example of the horizontal width state switching process executed when the display main body is switched from the portrait orientation state to the horizontal width state.

Fig. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of the case where the body is switched from the landscape state to the portrait state in the portrait state.

Fig. 19 is a block diagram showing an example of an electrical configuration of a mobile phone according to embodiment 3 of the present invention.

Fig. 20 is a block diagram for explaining an operation when a signal is received by the communication unit and the television broadcast receiving unit.

Fig. 21 is a diagram showing an example of a mode in which the text information of the main body of the electronic mail received by the scroll display unit of fig. 20 is scroll-displayed on the main display unit.

Fig. 22 is a diagram showing an example of a mode in which the application startup unit starts up an application in response to a user operation after the scroll display is started.

Fig. 23 is a flowchart showing an example of mail reception processing executed in a case where an electronic mail is received while the display body is in the landscape state.

Detailed Description

First embodiment

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a portable telephone 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state in which a body is closed. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the body of the mobile phone 1 of fig. 1 is unfolded. The mobile phone 1 is a so-called folding mobile phone, and is configured such that a display body 2 and an operation body 5 each having a rectangular shape are connected by a hinge portion 3 and can be folded in a state where body surfaces of the display body 2 and the operation body 5 face each other.

The display main body 2 has a main display unit 2a and a receiver 8 disposed on an inner surface thereof facing the operation main body 5 in the folded state. The main display unit 2a is formed in a rectangular shape, and is disposed so that the longitudinal direction thereof coincides with the longitudinal direction of the display main body 2. The receiver 8 is disposed at an end of the display body 2 opposite to the hinge portion 3.

The operation body 5 is provided with a plurality of operation keys 4 and a microphone 7 for communication on an inner surface facing the display body 2 in the folded state. The microphone 7 for communication is disposed at an end of the operation body 5 opposite to the hinge portion 3.

The folding mobile phone 1 can be carried in a compact folded state, and when the body is unfolded, the operation keys 4 can be operated while viewing the main display unit 2 a. In addition, when the mobile phone 1 is used, the main display 2a is placed in the vertically long state as shown in fig. 2, and the inner surface of the display main body 2 is brought close to the ear, so that the mouth can be brought close to the microphone 7 for communication and the ear can be brought close to the receiver 8 for receiving, thereby enabling a good communication.

That is, in order to transmit sound of higher quality, it is preferable to bring the mouth close to the microphone 7 for communication and bring the ear close to the receiver 8 for reception, and therefore, it is necessary to secure a certain distance between the microphone 7 for communication and the receiver 8 for reception. In the mobile phone 1 of the present embodiment, the distance between the microphone 7 for telephone call and the receiver 8 for telephone call can be secured when the mobile phone is in the vertically long state by disposing the microphone 7 for telephone call at the end of the operation body 5 opposite to the hinge portion 3 and disposing the receiver 8 for telephone call at the end of the display body 2 opposite to the hinge portion 3.

The hinge portion 3 is integrally formed with a connecting portion 3a rotatably connected to the operating body 5 and a support portion 3b facing the outer surface of the display body 2 and supporting the display body 2. The coupling portion 3a is formed of 2 cylindrical bodies, and the 2 cylindrical bodies are formed to protrude at a predetermined interval at one end of the support portion 3 b. A cylindrical body 6 is formed at one end portion in the longitudinal direction of the inner surface of the operation body 5 so as to extend in the shorter direction, and the cylindrical body 6 is disposed on the same axis between the 2 coupling portions 3a and is attached so as to be rotatable with respect to each other, whereby the hinge portions 3 are coupled so as to be rotatable with respect to the operation body 5.

The support portion 3b is formed in a rectangular plate shape, and faces approximately half of the hinge portion 3 side on the outer surface of the display main body 2 when the main display portion 2a is in the vertically long state. The support portion 3b supports the display main body 2 to be rotatable in a plane horizontal to the main display portion 2a, and the display main body 2 is rotatable while maintaining an inclination angle with respect to the operation main body 5. A sub display portion 11 is disposed on an outer surface of the support portion 3b on the side opposite to the display main body 2, and is mainly used for displaying in a state where the main body is closed.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the display body 2 of the mobile phone 1 of fig. 2 is rotated, and shows a state in which the display body is rotated clockwise by about 45 ° from the state of fig. 2 as viewed from the front. Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the display body 2 of the mobile phone 1 of fig. 2 is rotated, and shows a state in which the display body is rotated clockwise by about 90 ° from the state of fig. 2 as viewed from the front. When the user holds the operation body 5 and rotates the display body 2 within an angle range of 90 ° in a plane horizontal to the main display unit 2a, the display body 2 can be rotated between the vertically long state shown in fig. 2 and the horizontally wide state shown in fig. 4.

The mobile phone 1 can view television broadcasts, rotates the display main body 2 from the state shown in fig. 2, and sets the main display unit 2a shown in fig. 4 to the horizontally wide state through the state shown in fig. 3, thereby displaying a good television image on the main display unit 2a in the horizontally wide state corresponding to the aspect ratio of the television image. The main display portion 2a is formed in a rectangular shape having a ratio of a long side to a short side of 16: 9, which is in accordance with an aspect ratio of a television image used in a normal television broadcast.

When the display main body 2 is rotated clockwise from the state shown in fig. 2, a biasing force rotating counterclockwise with respect to the display main body 2 is generated by a biasing device provided in the support portion 3b of the hinge portion 3 before the state shown in fig. 3 is reached. Therefore, in the state of fig. 2, the display main body 2 is held in the state shown in fig. 2 without an external force by an urging force rotating counterclockwise with respect to the display main body 2.

On the other hand, if the display main body 2 is further rotated clockwise after the state shown in fig. 3 is exceeded, the force acting on the display main body 2 is switched to the clockwise direction, and the display main body 2 is fixed in the state shown in fig. 4. Thereby, the display main body 2 is maintained in the state shown in fig. 4 without an external force.

In the present embodiment, the display main body 2 does not rotate about a rotation axis fixed at a fixed position, but rotates about a rotation axis that moves as the display main body 2 rotates. Accordingly, even when one end in the longitudinal direction of the display main body 2 is rotated by 90 ° to be close to the operation main body 5 as shown in fig. 2, one end in the short direction of the display main body 2 is close to the operation main body 5 as shown in fig. 4, and a television screen is displayed on the main display portion 2a which is originally in a compact horizontal width state, thereby enabling television broadcasting to be viewed.

Further, the display body 2 is rotated from the portrait orientation to the landscape orientation with the hand-held operation body 5 kept still, and television broadcasting can be viewed without turning the mobile phone 1 upside down. In this case, the display main body 2 can be smoothly switched between the vertically long state and the horizontally wide state by the urging force applied to the display main body 2.

Fig. 5 to 7 are rear views of the mobile phone 1 in the states of fig. 2 to 4, which show the states when the structures in the support portions 3b are viewed in perspective. Fig. 8 to 10 are front views of the hinge portion 3 in the states of fig. 2 to 4. Fig. 5 and 8 correspond to the lengthwise state shown in fig. 2, fig. 6 and 9 correspond to the state shown in fig. 3 after the display body 2 is rotated by about 45 °, and fig. 7 and 10 correspond to the widthwise state shown in fig. 4.

A rectangular support plate 16 is disposed in the support portion 3b, and the display main body 2 is rotatably supported on the support plate 16. The support plate 16 is formed with an arc hole 12 extending in an arc shape in the lateral direction and a linear hole 14 extending linearly in the longitudinal direction. The vertex of the central portion of the circular arc hole 12 is close to one end of the linear hole 14, and the linear hole 14 extends in the normal direction of the vertex.

In the circular hole 12 and the linear hole 14, a slide shaft 13 and a rotation shaft 15 respectively formed on the back surface side of the display body 2 are rotatably engaged. The slide shaft 13 and the rotary shaft 15 are integrally formed with a shaft support member 18 fixed to the rear surface of the display main body 2, and are disposed at a predetermined interval from the center of the display main body 2. The shaft support member 18 is engaged with the support plate 16 in the support portion 3b through an opening 3d formed in the front surface of the support portion 3 b.

The shaft support member 18 is fixed to the support plate 16 by a torsion coil spring 20, which is one example of a spring as a biasing means. One end of the torsion coil spring 20 is connected to the slide shaft 13 of the shaft support member 18, and the other end is connected to a mounting shaft 19 formed on the support plate 16. The mounting shaft 19 is rotatably disposed on a normal line of the apex of the circular hole 12. In the display unit 2, an end portion of a flexible substrate 21 extending from the hinge portion 3 side is attached to the vicinity of the rotary shaft 15, and the display unit 2 and the operation unit 5 are electrically connected to each other through the flexible substrate 21.

In the vertically long state shown in fig. 5 and 8, the rotating shaft 15 abuts against the lower end of the linear hole 14, and the slide shaft 13 abuts against one end of the arcuate hole 12. In this state, the slide shaft 13 is urged by the torsion coil spring 20 to one end side of the circular hole 12, and the display main body 2 is kept in this state as long as no external force is applied.

When the display body 2 is rotated with respect to the hinge portion 3 from this state, the rotation shaft 15 moves upward along the linear hole 14, and the slide shaft 13 moves toward the other end side along the circular hole 12. At this time, the torsion coil spring 20 also rotates about the mounting shaft 19, and one end portion and the other end portion thereof approach each other and contract. As shown in fig. 6 and 9, when the body 2 is rotated by about 45 °, the rotary shaft 15 abuts against the upper end of the linear hole 14, and the slide shaft 13 reaches the apex of the circular hole 12.

In this state, one end portion of the torsion coil spring 20 is in the closest state to the other end portion, and if the display body 2 is further rotated, the left and right positions of the slide shaft 13 and the mounting shaft 19 are reversed, and the one end portion and the other end portion of the torsion coil spring 20 are separated again. Therefore, the display 2 is rotated beyond the rotational position shown in fig. 6 and 9, and then further rotated by the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 20, thereby being in the horizontally wide state shown in fig. 7 and 10.

When the display body 2 is in the horizontally wide state, the rotary shaft 15 abuts against the lower end of the linear hole 14, and the slide shaft 13 abuts against the other end of the circular hole 12. In this state, the slide shaft 13 is urged by the torsion coil spring 20 to the other end side of the circular hole 12, and the display main body 2 is kept in this state as long as no external force is applied.

Fig. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of the mobile phone 1. The mobile phone 1 includes a speaker 9, an external input/output terminal 10, a communication unit 23, a television broadcast receiving unit 24, and a rotational position detecting unit 25, in addition to the main display unit 2a, the sub display unit 11, the receiver 8, the microphone 7, and the operation keys 4, and the operations thereof are controlled by a control unit 30 including a processor.

The speaker 9 is used for: the sound is amplified and outputted compared with the case of being outputted from the receiver 8 for listening, so that the sound can be heard in a state where the ear is removed from the display body 2. Further, if an external input/output device 26 such as a headset is connected to the external output terminal 10, sound can be input and output through the external input/output device 26. The receiver 8, the speaker 9, and the external input/output terminal 10 constitute an audio output device.

Here, the receiver 8 is used in a state where the user's ear is brought close to the inner surface of the display main body 2, and the speaker 9 and the external input/output terminal 10 are used in a state where the user's ear is removed from the inner surface of the display main body 2. Therefore, the display of the television image or the like on the main display unit 2a can be seen when the speaker 9 or the external input/output terminal 10 is used, but cannot be seen when the receiver 8 is used.

When a call is made between the speaker 9 and the opposite-end telephone, the voice transmitted from the opposite-end telephone is amplified and output from the speaker 9, and the input signal from the call microphone 7 is amplified, so that the call can be made in a so-called hands free (hands free) manner without holding the mobile phone 1. At this time, an input signal from the microphone for communication 7 is input to a cancellation circuit for preventing Howling (Howling). Switching between normal conversation and hands-free conversation using the receiver 8 can be performed by operation of the operation keys 4.

The external input/output terminal 10 is configured to be attachable to or detachable from a connection terminal of the external input/output device 26, and to switch between a normal call using the receiver 8 and a call using the external input/output device 26 in accordance with the attachment or detachment of the connection terminal. That is, by installing the connection terminal of the external input/output device 26 into the external input/output terminal 10, it is possible to switch from the ordinary call to the call using the external input/output device 26; by removing the connection terminal of the external input/output device 26 from the external input/output terminal 10, the normal call using the receiver 8 can be restored.

The communication unit 23 transmits and receives radio waves to and from the base station via the communication antenna 23a, thereby transmitting and receiving communication voice. In a state where a call state is established with the counterpart telephone set, a voice signal based on the voice communication of the user is transmitted through the communication section 23, and a voice signal based on the voice communication from the counterpart telephone set is received through the communication section 23, thereby transmitting and receiving the voice communication in real time.

The television broadcast receiving unit 24 receives a television broadcast wave transmitted from a television station via a television broadcast receiving antenna 24 a. Television broadcast waves transmitted from television stations include analog broadcast waves corresponding to analog broadcasts and digital broadcast waves corresponding to digital broadcasts. The digital broadcast wave received by the television broadcast receiving unit 24 is a broadcast wave of 1 frequency band allocated to a mobile phone in a fixed frequency band of a normal digital high-definition television broadcast wave, and includes text information such as subtitles or related reports corresponding to a television image in addition to the television image and the television sound.

The television broadcast received by the television broadcast receiving unit 24 is viewed by displaying a television image on the main display unit 2a and outputting a television sound corresponding to the television image through the speaker 9 or the external input/output terminal 10. By extracting character information included in television broadcast waves and displaying the extracted information on the main display unit 2a, it is possible to display character information such as subtitles simultaneously with a television image.

The rotational position detecting unit 25 is constituted by, for example, a mechanical or electrical switch, and detects the rotational position of the display main body 2. The rotational position detecting unit 25 is a rotational operation detecting device for detecting a rotational operation of the display main body 2 by a user.

The operation key 4 includes a hold button 4a for stopping the output of the communication voice to the opposite telephone set and switching to the hold state when the call state has been established. When the hold button 4a is operated in a state where the call state is established, the opposite telephone cannot hear the voice of the user any more, and the opposite telephone hears a hold sound such as music based on an output signal outputted from the mobile telephone 1 to the opposite telephone.

Fig. 12 is a block diagram for explaining an operation when a signal is received by the communication unit 23 and the television broadcast receiving unit 24. In the present embodiment, the control unit 30 performs computer program processing to function as the incoming call processing unit 31, the response unit 32, the recording unit 33, the television output unit 34, and the output selection unit 39.

When a call signal from the opposite-end telephone is received by the communication section 23, the incoming call processing section 31 executes incoming call processing so that the user can respond by an off-hook (off hook) operation. During incoming call processing, an incoming call alert tone is output, typically through the speaker 9, to notify the user that the opposite-end telephone is calling. The incoming call processing is continued until the call of the counterpart telephone is terminated or the user performs an off-hook operation.

Here, the off-hook operation includes various operations necessary for the user to answer a call from the opposite telephone, and may be performed by, for example, an operation using the operation key 4, or may be performed by an operation of rotating the display main body 2 from the horizontally wide state to the vertically long state during incoming call processing.

In the incoming call processing, when the user performs an off-hook operation and answers a call to the opposite-end telephone, an answer signal is transmitted from the communication section 23 to the opposite-end telephone, so that a call state is established and voice communication with the opposite-end telephone is possible. In a state where the call state is established, the sound from the opposite telephone is output from any one of the receiver 8, the speaker 9, and the external input/output device 26 connected to the external input/output terminal 10. The output selection section 39 selects whether or not the sound from the telephone at the opposite end is output from the receiver 8, the speaker 9, and the external input/output device 26 connected to the external input/output terminal 10.

When the television broadcast receiving unit 24 is receiving a television broadcast wave, a signal indicating a television image, television sound, character information, and the like corresponding to the television broadcast wave is input to the television output unit 34 via the recording unit 33. The recording unit 33 can record a television broadcast by recording a television image, a television sound, character information, and the like in a memory (not shown) according to a television broadcast wave received by the television broadcast receiving unit 24, if necessary.

The television output unit 34 includes a television image display unit 35 and a television audio output unit 36. The television image display unit 35 displays a television image and character information corresponding to the television broadcast wave on the main display unit 2a, and includes an image rotating unit 37 for rotating the image displayed on the main display unit 2a, and a character information display unit 38 for extracting the character information included in the television broadcast wave and displaying the character information on the main display unit 2 a. The television audio output unit 36 outputs television audio corresponding to television broadcast waves to the speaker 9 or the external input/output device 26 connected to the external input/output terminal 10.

The image rotating unit 37 rotates the image displayed on the main display unit 2a in accordance with the input signal from the rotational position detecting unit 25 when the television broadcast receiving unit 24 is receiving a television broadcast wave. That is, when the display main body 2 is switched from the portrait orientation to the landscape orientation when receiving television broadcast waves, the short direction of the main display unit 2a in the landscape orientation is set to the vertical direction to display a television image; when the display main body 2 is switched from the horizontally wide state to the vertically long state, the long direction of the main display unit 2a in the vertically long state is set to the vertical direction to display the tv image, and the direction of the tv image is matched with the rotational position.

The recording unit 33 and the television output unit 34 receive signals from the response unit 32. In addition, a signal is input to the television audio output unit 36 in response to the reception of a call signal or the operation of the hold button 4a in the communication unit 23.

Fig. 13 and 14 are flowcharts showing an example of call response processing executed when a call is received from a telephone set at the opposite end during reception of a television broadcast wave. When the television broadcast receiving section 24 is receiving a television broadcast wave (steps S101, Yes in fig. 13), if a call signal of the opposite-end telephone is received (steps S102, Yes), the television sound output section 36 stops the output of the television sound being output at that time (step S103). As a result, the television image based on the television broadcast wave is still displayed on the main display section 2a, and in this state, the television sound corresponding to the television image is no longer audible.

At this time, the character information display unit 38 extracts character information included in the television broadcast wave, and displays subtitles corresponding to the television image on the main display unit 2a (step S104). In this way, the incoming call processing section 31 executes the incoming call processing (step S105) in a state where the output of the television sound is stopped, whereby the user can easily hear the incoming call sound output by the incoming call processing.

An incoming call prompt tone based on incoming call processing is output from the audio output device that is being used from this time. That is, if the television sound is output through the speaker 9 and the television broadcast is viewed, the incoming call prompt tone is output from the speaker 9; if a television sound is being output through the external input/output device 26 connected to the external input/output terminal 10 to view a television broadcast, an incoming call sound is output from the external input/output device 26. In addition, when it is set that the incoming call alert sound is not output at the time of incoming call processing, the user may be notified that the opposite telephone is calling by vibration of a vibration device (not shown) provided in the mobile phone 1, display of the main display unit 2a, or the like.

Thereafter, when the user performs an off-hook operation and answers a call to the opposite-end telephone (steps S106, Yes), the call state is established, and the output selection unit 39 selects the same audio output device as that used when outputting the television audio and outputs the audio from the opposite-end telephone.

Thus, if television sound is output through the speaker 9 and television broadcasting is viewed, sound from the opposite-end telephone is output from the speaker 9; if television sound is output through the external input output device 26 connected to the external input output terminal 10 and television broadcasting is viewed, sound from the opposite-end telephone is output from the external input output device 26. Therefore, when an incoming call sound is output during incoming call processing, the sound is output from the same sound output device as that for outputting the incoming call sound.

In the present embodiment, when a call is received from the telephone at the opposite end while the main display unit 2a is displaying the television image, the display state of the television image on the main display unit 2a is maintained, the output of the television sound corresponding to the television image is stopped, and a call can be made with the telephone at the opposite end. In this case, since text information such as subtitles corresponding to a television image can be displayed on the main display unit 2a, it is possible to continue watching a television broadcast from the television image and subtitles even during a call with an opposite-end telephone.

When a call from the opposite telephone is received while the main display unit 2a displays a television image, it is possible to output a voice from the opposite telephone using a voice output device that outputs a television voice at that time. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform an operation of switching the audio output device in order to communicate with the opposite-end telephone, and communication can be continued using the audio output device used up to that point, and convenience can be improved.

As described above, in a state where the speaker 9 or the external input/output device 26 connected to the external input/output terminal 10 is selected and the call state is established, the user can switch to output the sound from the opposite telephone from the receiver 8 by performing a predetermined operation.

For example, if it is a state in which sound is output from the speaker 9, such a switching operation is performed by the operation of the operation key 4; whereas, if it is a state in which sound is output from the external input output device 26, such switching operation is performed by an operation of detaching the connection terminal of the external input output device 26 from the external input output terminal 10. Further, the output of the sound from the telephone at the opposite end may be switched from the receiver 8 in response to the operation of rotating the display main body 2 from the horizontally wide state to the vertically long state.

When switching to output of the audio from the telephone receiver 8 for the opposite party (Yes at step S108), the television image display unit 35 stops displaying the television image on the main display unit 2a (step S109), and the recording unit 33 records the television image and the television audio based on the television broadcast wave thereafter in the memory, thereby recording the television broadcast (step S110).

In this way, when the user views the tv image being displayed on the main display unit 2a while outputting the audio from the telephone set at the opposite end through the speaker 9 or the external input/output device 26, the display of the tv image on the main display unit 2a can be stopped in accordance with the fact that the operation of switching to the audio output through the receiver 8 is already performed. When switching to the operation of outputting the audio by the receiver 8 is performed, the user needs to bring his ear close to the inner surface of the main body 2 for communication, and the main display portion 2a is no longer visible.

In addition, since a television broadcast that cannot be viewed due to the display stop in the main display unit 2a can be recorded for later viewing, convenience can be improved.

On the other hand, when the hold button 4a is operated in a state in which the call state is established, and the response unit 32 stops outputting the call sound to the counterpart telephone set based on the input signal indicating this and sets the hold state (steps S108 and No in fig. 13; steps S201 and Yes in fig. 14), the television sound output unit 36 outputs the television sound corresponding to the television image being displayed on the main display unit 2a at this time (step S202). At this time, the television sound is output from the same sound output device as that used when the sound from the opposite-end telephone is output, among the speaker 9 and the external input/output device 26.

In this way, the television sound corresponding to the television image is output during the time when the hold button 4a is set in the hold state, and when the hold state is released by operating the hold button 4a again (steps S203 and Yes), the television sound output unit 36 stops the output of the television sound again (step S204). Therefore, when the user keeps the display of the tv image on the main display unit 2a and stops the output of the tv sound and makes a call with the telephone on the other end, if the user wants to listen to the tv sound in the contents of the tv image, the user can output the tv sound by switching to the hold state, and the user can listen to the tv sound temporarily, thereby further improving convenience.

The configuration described in the present embodiment is such that, when a call is received from the telephone at the opposite end while the television broadcast wave is being received, the television audio output unit 36 completely stops the output of the television audio being output at that time, but the configuration is not limited to this, and the configuration may be such that the volume of the television audio is reduced to such an extent that the call is not disturbed.

In the present embodiment, the mobile phone 1 in which the display body 2 is rotatable in a plane horizontal to the main display unit 2a is described, but the present invention is not limited to such a mobile phone 1, and may be applied to a mobile phone in which the display body 2 is not rotatable in a plane horizontal to the main display unit 2 a.

Second embodiment

Fig. 15 is a block diagram showing an example of an electrical configuration of the mobile phone 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The mobile phone 1 includes a main display unit 2a, a sub display unit 11, a receiver 8, a microphone 7 and operation keys 4 for telephone conversation, a speaker 9, an external input/output terminal 10, a communication unit 23, a television broadcast receiving unit 24, and a rotational position detecting unit 25, as in the first embodiment, and their operations are controlled by a control unit 30 including a processor. The mobile phone 1 has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment shown in fig. 1 to 10. The same components as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

Fig. 16 is a block diagram for explaining an operation when a signal is received by the communication unit 23 and the television broadcast receiving unit 24. In the present embodiment, the control unit 30 performs computer program processing to function as the incoming call processing unit 41, the response unit 42, the recording unit 43, and the television output unit 44.

In the case of receiving a call signal from the counterpart telephone set through the communication section 23, incoming call processing is performed in the incoming call processing section 41 so that the user can answer by an off-hook operation. During incoming call processing, an incoming call alert tone is output, typically through the speaker 9, to notify the user that the opposite-end telephone is calling. The incoming call processing is continued until the call of the counterpart telephone is terminated or the user performs an off-hook operation. Here, the off-hook operation includes various operations required for the user to answer the call of the opposite-end telephone set.

In the incoming call processing, when the user performs an off-hook operation and answers a call to the opposite telephone, an answer signal is transmitted from the communication section 23 to the opposite telephone, so that a call state is established and a communication voice can be transmitted to the opposite telephone. In a state where the call state is established, the sound from the opposite telephone is output from any one of the receiver 8, the speaker 9, and the external input/output device 26 connected to the external input/output terminal 10.

When the television broadcast receiving unit 24 is receiving a television broadcast wave, a signal indicating a television image, television audio, character information, and the like based on the television broadcast wave is input to the television output unit 44 via the recording unit 43. The recording unit 43 records television images, television audio, character information, and the like in a memory (not shown) according to television broadcast waves received by the television broadcast receiving unit 24, as necessary, and thereby can record television broadcasts.

The television output unit 44 includes a television image display unit 45 and a television audio output unit 46. The television image display unit 45 displays a television image and character information based on television broadcast waves on the main display unit 2a, and includes an image rotating unit 47 for rotating the image displayed on the main display unit 2a, and a character information display unit 48 for extracting character information included in the television broadcast waves and displaying the character information on the main display unit 2 a. The television sound output unit 46 outputs television sound based on television broadcast waves to the speaker 9 or the external input/output device 26 connected to the external input/output terminal 10. The recording unit 43 and the television output unit 44 receive signals from the response unit 42.

Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing an example of the horizontal width state switching process executed when the main body 2 is switched from the portrait orientation state to the horizontal width state. When the display main body 2 is rotated and the rotational position detecting unit 25 detects that the vertical direction state is switched to the horizontal direction state (steps S301 and Yes), if the television broadcast receiving unit 24 is receiving the television broadcast wave at this time (steps S302 and Yes), the display of the television image based on the television broadcast wave is rotated by 90 ° by the image rotating unit 37 (step S303). This makes it possible to display a television image by setting the shorter direction of the main display unit 2a in the horizontally wide state to the vertical direction, and to match the direction of the television image with the rotational position.

On the other hand, when the display main body 2 is switched from the portrait orientation to the landscape orientation, if the television broadcast receiving section 24 does not receive the television broadcast wave (step S302, No), the reception of the television broadcast wave is started, and the television image and the television sound based on the television broadcast wave are output from the television output section 44 (step S304). Thus, when the display main body 2 is rotated from the vertically long state to the horizontally wide state, the television image can be automatically displayed on the main display section 2 a. Therefore, when viewing a television broadcast, it is not necessary to perform both the operation of rotating the display main body 2 and the operation of starting to output a television image and a television sound, and the complexity of the operation can be reduced.

Fig. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of the vertical length state switching process executed when the main body 2 is switched from the horizontal width state to the vertical length state. When the display main body 2 is rotated and the rotational position detecting section 25 detects that the horizontal width state is switched to the vertical length state (steps S401 and Yes), if the television broadcast receiving section 24 is receiving a television broadcast wave at this time (steps S402 and Yes) and the incoming call processing section 41 is performing incoming call processing (steps S403 and Yes), the response section 42 responds to the call and establishes a call state (step S404). At this time, the operation of switching the display main body 2 from the horizontally wide state to the vertically long state functions similarly to the user off-hook operation.

Then, in response to the input signal from the response unit 32, the television output unit 44 stops outputting the television image and the television sound based on the television broadcast wave (step S405), and at the same time, the recording unit 43 records the television image and the television sound based on the television broadcast wave thereafter in the memory, thereby recording the television broadcast (step S406).

In this way, when the incoming call processing is executed in a state where the display main body 2 is in the horizontally wide state and the main display section 2a displays a television image, the call can be answered by simply rotating the display main body 2 from the horizontally wide state to the vertically long state. Therefore, when a call is received from the other end telephone while the television broadcast is being viewed, the call can be answered by simply rotating the display main body 2, and therefore, it is not necessary to perform both the operation of rotating the display main body 2 and the operation of answering the call, and the complexity of the operation can be reduced.

In addition, when the display body 2 is rotated to respond to a call from the other telephone, the output of the television image and the television sound can be stopped. When the display body 2 is rotated from the horizontally wide state to the vertically long state to answer a call, the user must bring his or her ear close to the inner surface of the display body 2 for communication and cannot see the main display portion 2a any more, and therefore, by automatically stopping the output of the television image and the television sound, power consumption can be effectively reduced.

In addition, television broadcasts that cannot be viewed due to the stop of output on the display screen can be recorded for later viewing. Therefore, even if the user receives a call from the telephone set at the opposite end during the watching of the television broadcast, the television image is automatically recorded without worry, and the user can make a call without hesitation. Therefore, the convenience in the case of receiving the call of the opposite-end telephone set in the process of watching the television broadcast can be improved.

On the other hand, when the display main body 2 is switched from the horizontally wide state to the vertically long state, if the television broadcast receiving section 24 is receiving a television broadcast wave and the incoming processing section 41 is not performing incoming processing (steps S403 and No), the display of a television image based on the television broadcast wave is rotated by 90 ° by the image rotating section 47 (step S407). This makes it possible to display a tv image by setting the longitudinal direction of the main display unit 2a in the vertically long state to the vertical direction, and to match the direction of the tv image with the rotational position.

In this case, since the main display unit 2a is in the vertically long state in the horizontal width mode in which the aspect ratio of the television image based on the television broadcast wave is 16: 9, when the width of the television image is adjusted and displayed on the main display unit 2a, a vacant region is generated in the display screen of the main display unit 2 a.

The character information display unit 48 displays character information such as subtitles corresponding to the television image in the free area (step S408). Therefore, when it is desired to display character information, the character information can be displayed by rotating the display main body 2 to the vertically long state, and convenience can be further improved.

The configuration described in the present embodiment is such that the display main body 2 does not rotate about a rotation axis fixed at a fixed position, but rotates about a rotation axis that moves up and down with the rotation of the display main body 2, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the present invention can be applied to a mobile phone in which the display main body 2 rotates about a fixed rotation axis as long as the display main body 2 can rotate between the vertically long state and the horizontally wide state in a plane horizontal to the main display unit 2 a.

Embodiment 3

Fig. 19 is a block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of the mobile phone 1 according to embodiment 3 of the present invention. The mobile phone 1 includes the main display unit 2a, the sub display unit 11, the receiver 8, the microphone 7 for telephone conversation, the operation keys 4, the speaker 9, the external input/output terminal 10, the communication unit 23, the television broadcast receiving unit 24, and the rotational position detecting unit 25, as in the first embodiment, and also includes the memory 27, and the operations thereof are controlled by the control unit 30 including a processor. The mobile phone 1 has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment shown in fig. 1 to 10. The same components as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

The communication unit 23 transmits and receives radio waves to and from the base station via the communication antenna 23a, thereby transmitting and receiving not only the communication voice but also the electronic mail. When an electronic mail is transmitted and received, in addition to text information of the body content of the electronic mail, information such as text information indicating the subject of the electronic mail and the electronic mail address of the sender is transmitted through the communication section 23. That is, when an electronic mail is transmitted, the user of the mobile phone 1 operates the operation key 4 to create text of the electronic mail and text information of the subject, and mail information such as an electronic mail address on the user side, and the like, and transmits them to the telephone or the personal computer of the other party (hereinafter, these communication terminals of the other party capable of receiving the electronic mail are collectively referred to as "opposite communication terminals"). On the other hand, when receiving an electronic mail, text information of a text and a subject of the electronic mail created in the opposite-end communication terminal and mail information such as an electronic mail address of the opposite-end communication terminal are received.

Fig. 20 is a block diagram for explaining an operation when a signal is received by the communication unit 23 and the television broadcast receiving unit 24. In the present embodiment, the control unit 30 performs computer program processing to function as the character information extraction unit 51, the scroll display unit 52, the application startup unit 53, and the television output unit 54.

When the television broadcast receiving section 24 is receiving a television broadcast wave, a signal indicating a television image, a television sound, character information, and the like based on the television broadcast wave is input to the television output section 54. The television output unit 54 includes a television image display unit 55 and a television audio output unit 56.

The television image display unit 55 displays a television image and character information based on television broadcast waves on the main display unit 2a, and includes an image rotating unit 57 for rotating the image displayed on the main display unit 2 a. The television sound output unit 56 outputs television sound based on television broadcast waves to the speaker 9 or the external input/output device 26 connected to the external input/output terminal 10.

The image rotating unit 57 rotates the image displayed on the main display unit 2a in accordance with the input signal from the rotational position detecting unit 25 when the television broadcast receiving unit 24 is receiving the television broadcast wave. That is, when the display main body 2 is switched from the portrait orientation to the landscape orientation when receiving television broadcast waves, the short direction of the main display unit 2a in the landscape orientation is set to the vertical direction to display a television image; when the display main body 2 is switched from the horizontally wide state to the vertically long state, the long direction of the main display portion 2a in the vertically long state is set to the vertical direction to display the television image, and thereby the direction of the television image is matched with the rotational position.

When the communication section 23 receives an electronic mail from the counterpart communication terminal, mail information such as the body and subject of the electronic mail, and the electronic mail address of the counterpart communication terminal is stored in the memory 27. At this time, if the main display unit 2a is in a horizontally wide state and the television output unit 54 is outputting television images and television sound, the character information extracting unit 51 extracts character information of the main body of the electronic mail from the mail information.

The extracted character information is scroll-displayed on the main display unit 2a by the scroll display unit 52. The scroll display is a display mode in which character information is displayed so as to move with time in a fixed region of the main display unit 2a, and is a so-called "marquee" display. That is, the text information of the body text of the electronic mail is displayed on the main display unit 2a in order from the beginning thereof, and after moving in a fixed direction on the main display unit 2a, it disappears from the main display unit 2a in order from the beginning.

When the user receives an electronic mail while viewing a television broadcast on the main display unit 2a in the horizontally wide state and the text information of the body of the electronic mail is scroll-displayed on the main display unit 2a, the application startup unit 53 starts an application corresponding to the timing of the user operation after the start of the scroll display. In the present embodiment, the user operation is an operation of rotating the display main body 3 from the horizontally wide state to the vertically long state, and a detection signal thereof is input from the rotational position detection unit 25 to the application startup unit 53.

The application startup unit 53 is composed of a mail viewing application startup unit 53a for starting a mail viewing program and a mail creation application startup unit 53b for starting a mail creation program. The mail viewing program is an application program for viewing text information of the body of a received electronic mail. In addition, the mail creation program is an application program for creating an email in reply to a received email.

Fig. 21 is a diagram showing an example of a mode in which the text information of the main body of the electronic mail received by the scroll display unit 52 of fig. 20 is scroll-displayed on the main display unit 2 a. When the main display unit 2a receives an e-mail while displaying a television image in a horizontally wide state, the main display unit 2a is divided into a television image display area 2b and a scroll display area 2 c. Then, the television image displayed on the main display unit 2a immediately before is displayed in the television image display area 2b, and the text information of the text of the received electronic mail is scroll-displayed in the scroll display area 2 c.

The scroll display area 2c is disposed along the long side of the main display unit 2a, that is, along the upper side or the lower side of the main display unit 2a in the horizontally wide state. In the example of fig. 21, the scroll display region 2c is arranged along the lower side of the main display unit 2a in the horizontally wide state, and is configured as a display region that linearly extends in the left-right direction and displays 1 line of character information.

In the scroll display area 2c, the text information of the body of the received electronic mail is scroll-displayed from the right end to the left end of the scroll display area 2c at a speed that can be read by the user. More specifically, first, after the text first character information is displayed on the right end of the scroll display area 2c, the text first character information is gradually moved to the left, and the text information following the text first character information is sequentially displayed on the right end of the scroll display area 2c (see fig. 21 (a)).

Thereafter, when the text first character information moves to the left end of the scroll display area 2c (see fig. 21(b)), the text first character information is not displayed in the scroll display area 2c, and the subsequent character information is displayed at the left end of the scroll display area 2 c. In this way, the character information subsequent to the character information at the head of the body text is sequentially displayed at the left end of the scroll display area 2c and is sequentially not displayed, whereby even if the number of characters in the body text of the received electronic mail is larger than the number of characters that can be displayed in the scroll display area 2c, the character information at the end of the body text can be displayed in the scroll display area 2c (see fig. 21 (c)).

When the number of words in the body of the received electronic mail is larger than the number of words that can be displayed in the scroll display area 2c, as shown in fig. 21, when the text information at the head of the body is not displayed in the scroll display area 2c and the text information at the end of the body is displayed at the right end of the scroll display area 2c, all the text information in the body is displayed in the display area 2 c. On the other hand, when the number of words in the body of the received electronic mail is equal to or less than the number of words that can be displayed in the scroll display area 2c, the text information at the end of the body is already displayed on the right end of the scroll display area 2c before the text information at the head of the body becomes undisplayed in the scroll display area 2c, and at this time, the text information in the body is displayed in its entirety in the display area 2 c.

In this way, when an electronic mail is received while a television image is being displayed on the main display unit 2a, the text information of the body text of the received electronic mail can be scroll-displayed on the main display unit 2a while maintaining the display state of the television image, and therefore, the text information of the body text of the received electronic mail can be viewed while watching a television broadcast. By scrolling and displaying the text information of the body of the received electronic mail on the main display unit 2a, the entire text of the electronic mail can be displayed while securing an area for displaying a television image.

Therefore, when the user wants to view the full text or create a credit email by scrolling while viewing the television broadcast to confirm the text information of the received email, the user can start the application by operating the application. On the other hand, when the user wants to view the television broadcast preferentially, the user operation is not executed at the present time, but the television broadcast is viewed, and the application program is restarted later.

Fig. 22 is a diagram showing an example of a mode in which the application startup unit 53 starts up an application in response to a user operation after the scroll display starts. When the user rotates the display main body 3 from the horizontally wide state to the vertically long state at a predetermined timing after the scroll display is started, the main display section 2a is divided into the television image display area 2d and the mail display area 2 e.

In the present embodiment, the television image display area 2d is disposed above the vertically long main display unit 2a, and the mail display area 2e is disposed below. Since the television image has a horizontal aspect ratio, when the television image is displayed on the upper side of the vertically long main display unit 2a, a vacant region is formed on the lower side thereof, and the mail display region 2e can be disposed in the vacant region. The television image display area 2d may be disposed below the main display unit 2a in the vertically long state and the mail display area 2e may be disposed above the main display unit.

The television image displayed in the television image display area 2b of the main display unit 2a in the horizontally wide state is displayed in the television image display area 2 d. The mail display area 2c displays a screen for viewing text information of the body of the received electronic mail (see fig. 22 a) or a screen for creating an electronic mail to reply to the received electronic mail (see fig. 22 b).

As shown in fig. 21(a) or 21(b), if the user rotates the display main body 3 from the horizontally wide state to the vertically long state before all the character information of the body text of the received electronic mail is scroll-displayed on the main display unit 2a, the mail viewing program is started, and the mail viewing screen shown in fig. 22(a) is displayed on the main display unit 2 a. The mail display area 2e in the mail viewing screen displays the name or address of the owner of the received electronic mail, i.e., the opposite-end communication terminal, and the text information of the subject and text of the electronic mail created in the opposite-end communication terminal.

In the present embodiment, if the user rotates the display main body 3 from the horizontally wide state to the vertically long state before all the character information of the text of the received electronic mail is scroll-displayed on the main display unit 2a, character information other than the character information scroll-displayed on the main display unit 2a, that is, character information subsequent to the character information scroll-displayed, is displayed on the mail display area 2 e.

For example, in the case of receiving an electronic mail of a series of text bodies as shown in the scroll display section 2c of fig. 21(a) to (c), if the user rotates the display main body 3 at the time when the text bodies are scroll-displayed to the state shown in fig. 21(a), only the text information subsequent to the text information that has been scroll-displayed is displayed in the mail display area 2e as shown in fig. 22.

In this way, if a user wants to view the full text immediately while confirming the text information of the received electronic mail body by scrolling while watching a television broadcast, the mail viewing program can be started to view text information other than the text information that has been scrolled and displayed on the main display unit 2a by executing a user operation before all the text information of the electronic mail body is scrolled and displayed on the main display unit 2 a. Therefore, the full text of the received electronic mail can be viewed with a minimum display.

On the other hand, as shown in fig. 21(c), after all the text information of the body of the received electronic mail is scroll-displayed on the main display unit 2a, if the user rotates the display main body 3 from the horizontally wide state to the vertically long state within a certain period of time, the mail creation program is started, and the mail creation screen shown in fig. 22(b) is displayed on the main display unit 2 a. The mail display area 2e in the mail creation screen displays the owner name or email address of the sender of the received email, i.e., the opposite-end communication terminal, and the text information of the subject and text of the email created in the mobile phone 1.

At this time, the sender of the received electronic mail, that is, the electronic mail address of the opposite-end communication terminal is automatically designated as the recipient of the credited electronic mail, and at the same time, the subject of the credited electronic mail is automatically set to the subject formed by adding "Re." to the head of the subject of the received electronic mail. Therefore, the user of the mobile phone 1 can create the body text of the credit-backed email by operating the operation key 4 after the mail creation program is started and the mail creation screen is displayed on the main display unit 2 a. However, the subject of the credited email may be changed by operating the operation key 4.

Further, when the mail creation program is started, information related to the television broadcast being viewed at that time may be automatically embedded in the body of the email for reply. In this case, text information such as a television program name included in the received digital broadcast wave may be embedded in the body of the credit-returned email.

In this way, if a user wants to create an email to which a reply is made after confirming text information of the received email by scrolling while watching a television broadcast, the user can perform a user operation within a certain time after the scrolling is completed, thereby starting an email creation program and creating an email to which a credit is returned. This makes it possible to omit an operation for specifying the e-mail address of the recipient and easily send back the credit e-mail.

Fig. 23 is a flowchart showing an example of mail reception processing executed when receiving an electronic mail while the display main body 2 is in the horizontally wide state. When receiving an electronic mail from an opposite-end communication terminal while the display body 2 is in the horizontally wide state, if the television broadcast receiving section 24 does not receive a television broadcast wave (steps S501 and No), mail information such as the body or subject of the received electronic mail, and the electronic mail address of the opposite-end communication terminal is stored in the memory 27 (step S512). At this time, the main display unit 2a displays that the electronic mail is received, and thereafter, the user can read and view the mail information stored in the memory 27 by operating the operation key 4.

On the other hand, when receiving an electronic mail from the opposite communication terminal while the display body 2 is in the horizontally wide state, if the television broadcast receiving section 24 is receiving a television broadcast wave (steps S501 and Yes), the text or subject of the received electronic mail, and mail information such as an electronic mail address of the opposite communication terminal are stored in the memory 27 (step S502), and at the same time, text information of the text is extracted from the mail information by the text information extracting section 51 (step S503). Then, the main display unit 2a is divided into a television image display area 2b and a scroll display area 2c, and the text information of the main body of the extracted electronic mail is scroll-displayed in the scroll display area 2c by the scroll display unit 52 (step S504).

When the user performs an operation of rotating the display main body 3 from the horizontally wide state to the vertically long state after the scroll display is started (steps S505 and Yes), if the user operation occurs before all the text information of the body text is scroll-displayed in the scroll display area 2c (steps S506 and Yes), the mail viewing application starting unit 53a starts the mail viewing program (step S507), and the mail viewing screen shown in fig. 22(a) is displayed on the main display unit 2a (step S508).

On the other hand, when all the text information of the main body is scroll-displayed in the scroll display area 2c (steps S506 and No), if the user performs an operation within a predetermined time (steps S509 and Yes), the mail creation application startup unit 53b starts the mail creation program (step S510), and the mail creation screen shown in fig. 22(b) is displayed on the main display unit 2a (step S511).

In the present embodiment, the configuration in which the text information of the body text of the received electronic mail is scroll-displayed on the main display unit 2a is described, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the subject of the received electronic mail may be scroll-displayed on the main display unit 2 a. In this case, the body of the received electronic mail may be added with a subject and scroll-displayed on the main display unit 2a, or the owner name or the electronic mail address of the opposite communication terminal may be further added to the main display unit 2a and scroll-displayed on the main display unit 2 a.

This patent enjoys priority from the paris convention application for the following applications: one japanese patent application (japanese application 2005-336982) proposed at 22/2005 and two japanese patent applications (japanese application 2005-337937, 2005-339458) proposed at 24/2005. The entire contents of these patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference.

Description of the symbols

1 Portable telephone

2 display body

2a main display part

4 operating key

4a Retention button

5 operating the fuselage

23 communication unit

24 television broadcast receiving part

25 rotational position detecting part

30 control part

31 incoming call processing section

32 answering part

33 video recording part

34 television output unit

35 television image display unit

36 television sound output part

37 image rotation part

38 character information display part

39 output selection unit

41 incoming call processing section

42 response part

43 video recording part

44 television output unit

45 television image display unit

46 television sound output part

47 image rotation unit

48 character information display part

51 character information extraction part

52 scroll display unit

53 application startup section

53a mail viewing application program starting part

53b mail creation application startup unit

54 television output unit

55 television image display unit

56 television sound output unit

57 image rotation unit

Claims (3)

1. A mobile phone is characterized by comprising:

a television broadcast receiving device which receives a television broadcast wave;

a television output device that displays a television image on a display screen according to the received television broadcast wave and outputs a television sound corresponding to the television image;

a wireless communication device that performs transmission and reception of a call signal and a response signal;

an incoming call answering device for establishing a call state by generating an answer signal in accordance with a user operation during a period in which the call signal can be answered;

a body on which the display screen is formed;

a first sound output device used in a state that the user brings the ear close to the surface of the body; and

a second sound output device used in a state that the user leaves the ear from the surface of the body,

the television output device includes:

volume reducing means for keeping a display state of the television image on the display screen and reducing a volume of the television sound corresponding to the television image when the call signal is received in a state where the television image is being displayed on the display screen;

a character information display device for extracting character information corresponding to a television image from a television broadcast wave and displaying the character information on the display screen, when the television sound corresponding to the television image is turned down by the volume reduction device; and

and an image display stopping device for stopping the display of the television image on the display screen when an operation for switching to the output of the audio by the first audio output device is performed when the audio from the telephone at the opposite end is output by the second audio output device while the television image is displayed on the display screen.

2. The mobile phone according to claim 1, further comprising a recording device for recording a television image according to a television broadcast wave when the image display stopping device stops displaying the television image.

3. The portable telephone set according to claim 1, comprising a hold switching means for switching to a hold state in which the output of the voice communication to the counterpart telephone set is stopped when the call state has been established;

the television output device includes a volume increasing device for increasing the volume of the television sound when the retention switching device switches to the retention state when the television image is displayed on the display screen in a state in which the volume of the television sound is reduced.