JP2002190863A - mobile phone - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide a mobile phone capable of reducing the cost of a system. SOLUTION: This is a simplified / high-function type mobile phone which incorporates only a necessary minimum memory function in addition to a normal communication function of transmitting and receiving radio waves.
Low frequency unit (base band) 2 and liquid crystal display 3
MPU 4 for system control, and MM for external storage device
ASIC6, which controls the interface with C5, and MMC
5 and a DRAM 7 used as a buffer for programs and data. In particular, this mobile phone only needs to incorporate a boot loader with a boot program, so flash memory is not required.
A boot program is built in the MPU 4 as the ROM 8, and the MPU 4 also has an improved processing capability.
And only interface with DRAM7,
Cost reduction can be made possible.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a mobile phone,
In particular, the present invention relates to a technology that is effective when applied to a simple and high-performance mobile phone that has only a necessary minimum memory function in addition to a normal communication function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a technique studied by the present inventors, the following techniques can be considered for a portable telephone. For example, portable telephones are roughly classified into those for the analog FDMA system, those for the digital TDMA system, and those for the digital CDMA system, of which the analog system has been abolished in Japan. In Japan, dual mode mobile phones that can be used for both PDC mobile phones and PHS phones are also used.

[0003] These mobile phones are provided with a PDA function, a digital camera function, etc. from a standard type mobile phone comprising a high frequency unit, a low frequency unit, a liquid crystal display, an MPU, a flash memory, an SRAM and the like. In recent years, the development of highly functional mobile phones and the like has been rapidly advanced in recent years.

[0004] Incidentally, as a technique relating to such a mobile phone, for example, on September 27, 1999, Nikkei Business Publications, Inc., "New Information and Communication Dictionary 2000 Edition", P59-P
61 and the like.

[0005]

By the way, as a result of the present inventor's study on the above-mentioned mobile phone technology,
The following became clear. Hereinafter, regarding the standard mobile phone and the high-performance mobile phone studied by the inventor, FIG. 6 illustrates a block configuration of the standard mobile phone, FIG. 7 illustrates a block configuration of the high-performance mobile phone, The operation procedure will be described with reference to FIG.

[0006] As shown in FIG.
High-frequency unit 1, low-frequency unit 2, liquid crystal display 3, MPU 4 for system control, flash memory for storing system control programs, telephone number book, etc. (Normal type usually requires random access performance. A flash ROM) 31, an SRAM 32 used as a program execution and data buffer, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 7, a high-performance mobile phone has a PD function in addition to the functions of the standard mobile phone shown in FIG.
It has an advanced data processing function to provide mobile phone with A function, digital camera function, etc.
The ASIC 6 is mounted to enhance the external interface of the iMedia Card 5 and the DRAM 7 is mounted to handle even larger data. Further, C
A CD camera 33 is also provided.

FIG. 8 shows an operation flow of the standard type mobile phone and the advanced type mobile phone. First, after the power is turned on (step S301), the MPU 4 reads an address in the flash memory 31 and starts the boot loader program (step S302). This program is software for initializing the system and starting the program.

Subsequently, the boot loader reads a necessary program from the flash memory 31 and
It is developed above (step S303). A menu is displayed by this program (step S304), and when the user selects the menu, a necessary program is further executed and a desired operation can be realized (step S305).

After a certain time has passed in this state (step S3).
06), the inside goes into a standby state, and shifts to the low power consumption mode (step S307), and the backlight of the liquid crystal display unit 3 is turned off and turned off (step S308).
When the key is operated here (step S309), the mode shifts to the normal mode (step S310), and the liquid crystal display unit 3
Is turned on and turned on (step S31).
1).

Therefore, the standard type mobile phone as described above,
The following problems are conceivable in high-performance mobile phones.

(1) Since the basic programs are all stored in a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory built in the portable telephone, it is almost impossible to change the basic software.

(2) The program of (1) is transferred from the flash memory to the SRAM and executed.
The RAM operates as a buffer. Recently, SR
A DRAM is mounted in addition to the AM. When a digital camera or the like is mounted on a mobile phone, the DRAM is sometimes used as a buffer when handling a large amount of data. A memory is required, resulting in a complicated system and an increase in cost.

(3) In the mobile phone, schedule,
Since the address book and the like are all stored in a flash memory or a personal computer, and necessary parts are transferred to the mobile phone itself, it is difficult to change the schedule in real time.

(4) The above-mentioned scheduler of the portable telephone only inputs and confirms information, and does not provide information using information of the scheduler.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a simplified and high-performance mobile phone which can reduce the cost of a system by incorporating only a necessary minimum memory function in addition to a normal communication function. Is what you do.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

[0018]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Among the inventions disclosed in the present application, the outline of a representative one will be briefly described.
It is as follows.

That is, the mobile phone according to the present invention is a simplified and high-performance mobile phone having only a necessary minimum memory function in addition to a normal communication function for transmitting and receiving radio waves.
A nonvolatile memory for storing only a boot program,
It has a volatile memory for storing programs and data loaded from the outside as necessary after the boot program is started.

In detail, the mobile phone according to the present invention has the following features and effects.

(1) The built-in program is a boot program only, and programs and data which are expected to be mounted on many mobile phones in the future are stored in a small memory card (for example, MMC or the like) in an external storage device in a compressed format or Change to memorize as it is. When the system is powered on or in a standby state, any key operation is performed, and at the same time, data is expanded from a small memory card to a high-speed main memory such as a DRAM. Further, if the communication speed becomes higher in the future, all the information except for the account information can be downloaded from the remote server at the start of communication by placing it on the remote server. In this case, it is possible to completely eliminate the external storage device.

This makes it easy to update the basic software of the mobile phone, or the update can be performed automatically, and at the same time, the SRAM and the flash memory become unnecessary, and the system cost can be reduced. Furthermore, depending on the program to load,
One mobile phone can be used as a device having different functions.

(2) Conventionally, data in a flash memory or the like is transferred to a DRAM which has been used only as a buffer for an image or the like without using an SRAM, and is used as a main memory, thereby making the SRAM unnecessary.

(3) The program, mail data, account information, source telephone number, operating frequency information, etc. are recorded on the small memory card of the external storage device. By carrying the small memory card, all environments can be carried only with the small memory card. For example,
If you need a mobile phone, car phone, or car navigation, you can easily move the environment by replacing the small memory card, and it can be used as a key and environment file for a kind of information service. it can.

(4) By placing personal information, such as a scheduler and an address book, on a remote server, it is possible to prevent a mobile phone from being left behind, lost to other people due to loss or the like, and to prevent loss of data. The problem of data re-entry at the time is also eliminated. In addition, since the scheduler can change in real time, efficient scheduling of sales staff and the like can be realized.

(5) A service for automatically providing traffic information, restaurant information, company information, personal information, and the like according to the contents of the scheduler is implemented. Such information can be provided by a document such as a liquid crystal or a voice such as automatic reading.

[0027]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure when using a program by the mobile phone according to the embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are explanatory diagrams showing an application mode using a mobile phone.

First, the configuration of an example of the mobile phone according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The mobile phone according to the present embodiment is, for example, a simple and high-performance mobile phone having only a necessary minimum memory function in addition to a normal communication function for transmitting and receiving radio waves. A low frequency unit (base band) 2, a liquid crystal display 3,
MPU 4 for system control and MMC 5 for external storage device
An ASIC 6 for controlling an interface with the MPU 5 and a DRAM 7 of a volatile memory used as a buffer for a program and data of the MMC 5 are provided.
Includes a nonvolatile memory ROM 8 storing only a boot program.

In the mobile phone according to the present embodiment, since only a boot loader based on a boot program needs to be incorporated, a flash memory is not required. Therefore, only the interface between the MMC 5 and the DRAM 7 is supported, and the cost can be reduced.

Next, with respect to the operation of the present embodiment, an example of the basic operation of the mobile phone will be described first.

At the time of reception, in the high-frequency unit 1,
The radio wave received by the antenna passes through the filter and the amplifier,
It is converted to an intermediate frequency by the mixer. Then, in the low frequency unit 2, the signal wave amplified at the intermediate frequency is demodulated to become a baseband signal. Thereafter, the audio signal of the required channel is decomposed by the channel codec, converted into an analog audio signal by the audio codec, and uttered from the speaker.

At the time of transmission, a signal input from a microphone and digitized by a voice codec is converted by a channel codec. Then, in the low-frequency unit 2, the waveform is shaped into a waveform suitable for transmission by the waveform generation circuit. Thereafter, in the high-frequency unit 1, the signal is modulated at an intermediate frequency, converted into a radio frequency by a mixer, amplified by an amplifier, and transmitted from an antenna via a filter.

Next, with reference to FIG. 2, an example of an operation procedure at the time of using a program by a mobile phone will be described.

First, after the power is turned on (step S10)
1) The boot loader program on the ROM 8 of the MPU 4 starts (step S102). This program is software for initializing the system and starting the program.

Subsequently, the boot loader loads a necessary program from the MMC 5, reads it, and develops it on the DRAM 7 (step S103). A menu is displayed by this program (step S104), and when the user selects the menu, a necessary program is further executed, and a desired operation can be realized (step S105).

After a lapse of a predetermined time in this state (step S1)
06), the inside becomes the standby state, and the mode shifts to the low power consumption mode (step S107), and the backlight of the liquid crystal display unit 3 is turned off and turned off (step S108).
At the same time, during standby, since the operating power of the DRAM 7 is large, all the data in the DRAM 7 is moved to the MMC 5 and saved and saved (step S109).
The power of the AM 7 is turned off (step S110).

When the key is operated here (step S11)
1) The mode shifts to the normal mode (step S112),
The backlight of the liquid crystal display unit 3 is turned on and turned on (step S113). At the same time, when returning to the normal mode, the power supply of the DRAM 7 is turned on (step S11).
4) The data from the MMC 5 is developed in the DRAM 7 (step S115). The time required for storage and development between the MMC 5 and the DRAM 7 is, for example, 4 MB (32 M
The data of b) is 1 second or less, and does not cause any particular problem.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3, an example of an operation procedure when a remote server is used by a mobile phone will be described.

When using the remote server, first, as shown in FIG.
Similarly to the above, the power supply is started (step S201), the boot loader is started (step S202), the program is loaded by the boot loader (step S203), the menu is displayed by the program (step S204),
The execution of the program by the selection of the menu (step S205) is sequentially performed.

Subsequently, when using the remote server connected by communication, the boot loader automatically opens the communication line (step S206), loads the program first from the server, then loads the data, and develops it on the DRAM 7 (step S2).
07). At present, for example, 1 MT2000 of 2 Mb / s
Even in this case, it takes 8 seconds to transfer 32 Mb data, which is not practical. However, it can be practically used in the future as the communication speed increases. Then, the boot loader closes the communication line (step S208).

Thereafter, as in FIG. 2, after a lapse of a predetermined time (step S209), the mode shifts to the low power consumption mode (step S210), the backlight of the liquid crystal display unit 3 is turned off (step S211), and the DRAM 7 M of the data of
The movement to the MC 5 (step S212) and the turning off of the power of the DRAM 7 (step S13) are sequentially performed.

Further, after the key operation (step S21)
4), transition to normal mode (step S215),
Turning on the backlight of the liquid crystal display unit 3 (step S21)
6), turning on the power of the DRAM 7 (step S217);
Expansion of data in MMC 5 to DRAM 7 (step S
218) are performed in order.

In the mobile phone of the present embodiment configured as described above, the data processing is left to the MPU 4 to provide versatility, and all the programs are introduced from the MMC 5 every time, so that they differ depending on the programs to be introduced. It can also be used as a portable device with functions. Of course, by having a sufficiently large memory and a high-performance OS, functions can be switched on the OS like a personal computer.

For example, programs that can be used as different devices such as a music player, an electronic book reader, an RF remote controller, a transceiver, a radio, and a mail reader can be considered as a program by menu selection in a mobile phone. A program can be loaded as needed, and operation as a plurality of devices can be realized.

Next, referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, an example of an application of the mobile phone according to the present embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 4, in a system in which a portable telephone 11 and a radio base station 13 to which a remote server 12 is connected, a schedule database 14
By storing the address book database 15 and the like in the database of the remote server 12, the remote server 12 can be accessed from a plurality of persons via the mobile phone 11. For example, the manager can manage the schedule in real time and the secretary can change the schedule. The database 14, 1 of the remote server 12
5 is periodically synchronized with the scheduler,
Keep up to date with each other.

As shown in FIG. 5, an information providing service provided by the business support center 22 linked to the database of the scheduler 21 is realized, and the traffic information database 23, the restaurant information database 24 based on the schedule database on the remote server. , The company information database 25, the personal information database 26, etc., and search for connection information, lunch information, company information of the meeting partner, information of the meeting partner, and the like, and periodically distribute these information to the mobile phone 11. Mobile phone 11
In this case, a fee is charged for each service or each month depending on which service is selected.

For example, real-time train transit information is automatically extracted from the destination information of the scheduler 21 and provided to the mobile phone 11. At this time, if a delay has occurred due to an accident or the like, rerouting is also possible. Alternatively, before the meeting, the information about the meeting partner (individual or company) of the scheduler 21 is investigated on the Internet and provided to the mobile phone 11. Alternatively, it is also possible to provide warnings about bringing an umbrella in the morning from the weather forecast information according to the place where the user goes and information for guiding a nearby cafeteria from the time and the current position.

Therefore, according to the portable telephone 11 of the present embodiment, only the boot loader based on the boot program needs to be built in, so that the basic software of the portable telephone 11 can be easily or automatically updated. At the same time, the SRAM and the flash memory become unnecessary, and the system cost can be reduced. Furthermore, depending on the program to be loaded, one mobile phone 1
1 can be used as devices with different functions.

Further, by using the DRAM 7 as a main memory, an SRAM can be eliminated.
MMC5 that records programs, mail data, account information, source telephone number, operating frequency information, etc.
, The entire environment can be carried only by the MMC 5.

Further, by placing personal information such as a scheduler and an address book on the remote server 12, it is possible to prevent the portable telephone 11 from being left behind or being lost, to be leaked to another person, or to lose data.
This eliminates the problem of re-entering data when purchasing a new one. Further, since the schedule can be changed in real time, efficient scheduling of sales staff and the like can be realized.

Further, by implementing a service for automatically providing traffic information, restaurant information, company information, personal information, and the like in accordance with the contents of the scheduler 21, the information can be displayed on a document such as the liquid crystal display unit 3 or automatically. It can be provided by voice such as reading aloud.

Although the invention made by the inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiment, the invention is not limited to the embodiment, and various modifications may be made without departing from the gist of the invention. It goes without saying that it is possible.

For example, in the above embodiment, the volatile memory is DRAM, and the non-volatile memory is RO.
M has been described as an example, but is not limited to this.
It is also possible to use another memory such as a RAM or an SRAM as a volatile memory, and another memory such as a PROM as a nonvolatile memory.

Further, the present invention is not limited to mobile phones,
The present invention can be applied to a portable electronic device such as a scheduler, and in this case, a similar effect can be obtained.

[0056]

Advantageous effects obtained by typical ones of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described.
It is as follows.

(1) Only the boot program is built in the non-volatile memory, and necessary programs and data are loaded from the outside and developed in the volatile memory of the DRAM.
Updating of the basic software of the mobile phone can be performed easily or automatically, and at the same time, since the SRAM and the flash memory are not required, the system cost can be reduced. Furthermore, one mobile phone can be used as a device having different functions depending on the program to be loaded.

(2) By transferring data from a small memory card in an external storage device to a volatile memory of a DRAM without using an SRAM and using the DRAM as a main memory, the SRAM can be made unnecessary. Become.

(3) Programs, mail data, account information, source telephone numbers, operating frequency information, and the like are recorded on a small memory card of an external storage device, and by carrying this small memory card, all environments can be reduced in size. It is possible to carry only with a memory card.

(4) By placing personal information such as a scheduler and an address book on a remote server, it is possible to prevent leakage of data to a third party and loss of data due to misplacement or loss of a mobile phone, and replacement of a mobile phone. The problem of data re-entry at the time can be eliminated. In addition, because the scheduler can change in real time,
It is possible to realize efficient scheduling of sales staff and the like.

(5) By implementing a service for automatically providing traffic information, restaurant information, company information, personal information, and the like in accordance with the contents of the scheduler, the information can be read out in a document such as a liquid crystal or in an automatic reading out system. It can be provided by voice.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure when a program is used by the mobile phone according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure when the mobile phone according to the embodiment of the present invention uses the remote server.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an application mode (data storage in a remote server) by a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an application mode (information providing service using a link of a scheduler) according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a mobile phone (standard type) as a premise of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a mobile phone (high-performance type) as a premise of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure by a mobile phone as a premise of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 High frequency unit part 2 Low frequency unit part 3 Liquid crystal display part 4 MPU 5 MMC 6 ASIC 7 DRAM 8 ROM 11 Mobile telephone 12 Remote server 13 Radio base station 14 Schedule database 15 Address book database 21 Scheduler 22 Business support center 23 Traffic information database 24 Restaurant Information Database 25 Company Information Database 26 Personal Information Database 31 Flash Memory 32 SRAM 33 CCD Camera

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04M 1/675 H04B 7/26 MF term (Reference) 5B076 BA04 EA17 EA18 5K027 AA11 BB01 BB14 CC08 FF01 FF22 FF25 HH23 HH30 KK03 MM03 MM17 5K061 GG00 5K067 AA41 AA42 BB04 HH22 HH23 KK15

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A mobile phone having a communication function of transmitting and receiving a radio wave, comprising: a non-volatile memory storing only a boot program; and a program and data loaded from the outside as necessary after the boot program is started. A mobile phone, comprising: a volatile memory for storing.