JP2003169125A - Mobile telephone set - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the visibility of display characters when receiving vibrations or impacts in the state of using a mobile telephone set. <P>SOLUTION: A display part 17 displays a character on a screen under control by a control part 13. An acceleration detector 18 detects a change in the acceleration based on the vibrations or impacts applied in the state of using the mobile telephone set and reports acceleration information on that acceleration change to the control part at fixed time intervals. A memory 14 stores the reported acceleration information under control by the control part. When the report of the acceleration information is received, the control part analyzes the acceleration information and the acceleration information stored in the memory and when the acceleration change is continuous and an acceleration change amount exceeds a prescribed value as a result of the analysis, the size of the character to be displayed on the display part is enlarged. Besides, when the acceleration change is not continuous or when the acceleration change amount does not exceed the prescribed value, the size of the character under enlarged display on the character display part is reduced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mobile phone having a character writing function such as a mobile phone, and more particularly to control of display character size.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recent mobile telephones are capable of transmitting and receiving not only voice signals but also character data such as e-mail, but since they are used by being carried, their size cannot be increased. Therefore, the size of the display unit must be reduced. However, when the display of characters and images becomes smaller, the visibility deteriorates. Further, the mobile phone is often used while moving or used in vehicles such as trains. Visibility is further deteriorated due to vibration and impact. Therefore, a measure for improving operability in a vibrating situation is desired.

As a conventional technique of this kind, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-271505
The “image display control device” described in 1) can be mentioned. In this device, the acceleration detection means is attached to a device such as an image display control device that is a target of acceleration detection, and when acceleration in a direction parallel to the display surface of the display unit of the image display control device is detected, the display image is scrolled in the same direction. However, when the acceleration in the direction perpendicular to the display surface of the display unit is detected, the display image is enlarged / reduced.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned conventional technique is devised for scrolling and enlarging / reducing the image displayed on the display screen of the display unit by a simple operation without using a scroll bar or buttons. It was done. Therefore, among the accelerations detected by the acceleration detecting means, the accelerations in the X and Y2 directions parallel to the display surface are used for scroll control in the X and Y2 directions, respectively, and only the accelerations in the directions perpendicular to the display surface are used. It is used for image enlargement / reduction control.

Therefore, according to this prior art, even if the acceleration in the direction parallel to the display surface of the mobile telephone is detected, the enlargement / reduction of the image is not effective. When using a mobile phone, it is normally held by the palm, and when used while moving in that state, X, Y2 which is substantially parallel to the display surface is used.
Directional acceleration should occur. Therefore, the above-mentioned conventional technology cannot be a solution for improving the visibility when the mobile phone is normally used while moving.

Further, in the above-mentioned conventional technique, the movement of the acceleration detecting means is used as an alternative means of the operation. Therefore, in order to perform the scroll control and the image enlarging / reducing control, the acceleration detecting means is attached. It must be intentionally moved horizontally or vertically to the display surface. Therefore, the movement of the object to which the acceleration detecting means is attached differs from the movement of the user. This is inconvenient for the user of the mobile phone to read the characters on the display screen while moving.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a mobile telephone in which the visibility of the display screen is improved when it is used in a state where it can be subjected to vibration or shock. Especially.

[0008]

The mobile telephone of the present invention comprises:
A control unit (13 in FIG. 1), a display unit (17 in FIG. 1) that displays characters on the screen under the control of the control unit, and a change in acceleration based on vibration or shock applied depending on the use state is detected, An acceleration detector (18 in FIG. 1) that notifies the control unit of acceleration information regarding the acceleration change at regular intervals;
A memory (14 in FIG. 1) for storing the notified acceleration information under the control of the control unit, and the control unit receives the notification of the acceleration information, and the acceleration information and the acceleration information stored in the memory. If the acceleration change is continuous and the acceleration change amount exceeds a predetermined value as a result of the analysis, the size of the characters displayed on the display unit is enlarged, and the acceleration change is not continuous. Alternatively, if the amount of change in acceleration does not exceed a predetermined value, the character display unit reduces the size of the character being enlarged and displayed.

According to the present invention, the acceleration of the mobile phone is detected to monitor the vibration and shock conditions applied to the mobile phone, and when the amount of continuous vibration or shock exceeds a predetermined amount, the mobile phone is detected. Since the size of the characters displayed on the screen is increased, the visibility of the displayed characters is improved and the operability of the mobile phone can be improved.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a mobile telephone according to the present invention. This mobile phone is a mobile phone main unit 1
0 is provided with a transmission / reception antenna 11, and the mobile phone body 10 includes a transmission / reception unit 12, a control unit 13, and a memory 1.
4, the transmitter / receiver unit 15, the operation unit 16, the display unit 17, and the acceleration detector 18.

The transmission / reception antenna 11 is connected to the transmission / reception section 12, through which radio signals are transmitted / received to / from a communication partner. Since the object of transmission / reception includes data and information in addition to the call, the wireless signal includes a data / information signal in addition to a voice signal.

The control unit 13 is each unit 1 of the mobile phone body 10.
It is a means for controlling 4 to 18, and includes storage means and audio signal processing means (not shown) necessary for that purpose.
In this embodiment, the control unit 4 monitors the notification from the acceleration detector 18, and when the acceleration detection unit 18 notifies the control unit 13 of the acceleration information, stores it in the memory 14.

Then, the change status of the acceleration is analyzed from the notified acceleration information and the acceleration information notified in the past. As a result of the analysis, when the acceleration is changed and it can be determined that the acceleration change is continuously occurring, the change amount is compared with the threshold value set in the mobile phone.
When the amount of change is larger than the threshold value, for the display unit 17,
Instruct to enlarge the displayed characters. If the acceleration change does not occur continuously or the change amount is not larger than the threshold value,
Instruct to perform the process of reducing the characters in the enlarged display.

After notifying the display unit 17 of the start of enlarged display, the control unit 13 moves to a state where "no acceleration detected", "no continuous acceleration change" or "acceleration change amount>threshold". When it is determined that the time is longer than the time set in the telephone, the display unit 17 is notified of the enlarged display cancellation (reduction).

The memory 14 is a storage means for storing predetermined data, information and programs necessary for the mobile phone body 10, and writing and reading of data and information are performed under the control of the control unit 13. In this embodiment, the acceleration information input from the acceleration detector 18 is stored.

The transmitting / receiving unit 15 is specifically a microphone and a speaker, and is connected to the control unit 13. The voice input from the microphone is A / D converted by the control unit 13 and transmitted to the other party of the call via the transmission / reception unit 12 and the transmission / reception antenna 11. Further, the voice signal received via the transmitting / receiving antenna 11 and the transmitting / receiving unit 12 is D / A converted by the control unit 13 and output as a voice from the speaker.

The operation unit 16 is specifically made up of keys and buttons, and the user of the mobile telephone uses this to perform input operations, thereby inputting the telephone number of the communication partner, making a call, receiving operation, and the memory 14. It is possible to perform desired operations and inputs such as writing a telephone number and various data and information to the.

The display unit 17 is a display means such as a liquid crystal display screen (LCD), and displays the telephone number and data / information transmitted / received to / from a communication partner by characters, symbols, figures, images and the like. The user can obtain necessary information by checking the display contents of the display unit 17, and can perform various data / information input and setting operations without error.
In this embodiment, the size of the character displayed on the display unit 17 is enlarged or reduced according to the acceleration information.

When the user uses the mobile telephone, the acceleration detector 18 detects the acceleration of the mobile telephone caused by the vibration or shock of the mobile telephone, generates a predetermined acceleration signal, and notifies the control unit 14 of the acceleration signal. The acceleration detector 18 can be configured using a known sensor such as a piezoelectric element, a bearing sensor, a gyro sensor, or the like.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 is an image diagram showing enlargement of a display character according to the present invention. FIG. 2A shows a state in which a part of the message “Competition for tomorrow” is displayed on the liquid crystal screen of the mobile phone 20 when the mobile phone 20 is normally used. FIG. 2B shows that when the user moves the mobile phone 20 or uses it in a vehicle, the acceleration of the mobile phone 20 is changing due to vibration or shock. The state of “Tomorrow's party” is enlarged and displayed on the liquid crystal screen of the mobile phone 20. As a result, the visibility of the displayed characters can be maintained even in a use state in which the visibility of the displayed characters deteriorates when the mobile phone 20 receives vibration or shock. When the moving speed becomes constant or there is no vibration or shock, the state shown in FIG. 2B is restored to the state shown in FIG. 2A, that is, the enlarged display character is reduced to the original display character size.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the operation of the control unit 13 of this embodiment. The user has a mobile phone 20.
When using, the acceleration detector 18 detects the acceleration applied to the mobile phone 20. Then, the acceleration information is notified to the control unit 13 at regular time intervals. As a result, the process shown in FIG. 3 starts.

The control unit 13 stores the notified acceleration information in the memory 14 (step 31 in FIG. 3), and analyzes the change state of the acceleration from the notified acceleration information and the previously notified acceleration information (step). 32). As a result of the analysis, if the acceleration has not changed (NO in step 33) and the character is not being displayed in the enlarged display (NO in step 34), the process ends. In this case, the mobile phone 20 is in a stationary state or has a constant moving speed, and is continuously used in a state where there is no vibration or impact. The change in acceleration refers to both positive and negative directions.

As a result of analyzing the acceleration information, even if there is a change in acceleration (YES in step 33), the change in acceleration is not continuous (NO in step 35) and is not being displayed enlarged (NO in step 34). ), The process ends. In this case, the change in acceleration generated in the mobile phone 20 is sudden, and it is assumed that such a transient change in acceleration is not immediately responded to. Even if the change in acceleration is continuous (YES in step 35), the same is true when the amount of change in acceleration does not exceed the threshold value (NO in step 36). is there.

The change in acceleration is continuous (step 3
If YES in step 5) and if the amount of change in acceleration does not exceed the threshold value (YES in step 36), enlarged display of characters is started (step 37). That is, the control unit 13 notifies the display unit 17 of the start of enlarged display. Then,
The display on the display unit 17 transits from the state shown in FIG. 2 (A) to the state shown in FIG. 2 (B). The degree of expansion is proportional to the amount of change in acceleration. The acceleration change amount means the absolute value of the acceleration change amount. That is, both the plus amount and the minus amount of the acceleration are compared with the threshold value. The visibility deteriorates because it is the same whether the vehicle is accelerating or decelerating.

While the characters are displayed in an enlarged manner (YES in step 34)
S), there is no acceleration change (NO in step 35), or even if there is an acceleration change (YES in step 35), it is not continuous (NO in step 36), or if the acceleration change is continuous (step 36). (YES in step 38) If the acceleration change amount does not exceed the threshold value (NO in step 36), each state continues for a certain time (Y in step 38).
In the case of ES), the enlarged display is canceled (step 3)
9). That is, the control unit 13 notifies the display unit 17 of cancellation of the enlarged display. Then, the display on the display unit 17 transits from the state shown in FIG. 2 (B) to the state shown in FIG. 2 (A). This is the case when it is no longer necessary to enlarge the characters.

On the other hand, if each of the above-mentioned states does not last for a certain period of time (NO in step 38), the enlarged display of characters is not canceled and the process ends. This prepares for the necessity of restarting the enlarged display (step 37) within a short time by waiting for the cancellation of the enlarged display for a certain time.

As described above, by detecting that the acceleration change of the mobile phone 20 is continuously occurring for a certain time or more and for a predetermined magnitude or more, the mobile phone 20 moves as the user moves. , Or it is used in a state where it is being vibrated such as in a train, and in that case, the characters or the like displayed on the display unit can be displayed in an enlarged size.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the above embodiment, the processing of the control unit 13 shown in FIG. 3 is started by the acceleration detector 18 notifying the control unit 13 of the acceleration information at regular intervals. On the other hand, by notifying the control unit 13 of acceleration information only when the acceleration detector 18 detects a change in acceleration,
It is also possible to start the processing of the control unit 13. In that case, step 33 in the flowchart of FIG. 3 becomes unnecessary. According to this embodiment, the frequency of notifying the acceleration information from the acceleration detector 18 to the control unit 13 can be reduced.

The enlargement control of the displayed characters in the mobile telephone described above can be performed by a program executed by a computer constituting the mobile telephone. The program controls the computer to execute the same processing as the processing shown in FIG.

[0032]

According to the present invention, by detecting the acceleration of the mobile telephone, the vibration or impact condition applied to the mobile telephone is monitored, and when the amount of continuous vibration or impact exceeds a predetermined amount. In addition, since the character size displayed on the mobile phone is increased, the visibility of the displayed characters is improved, and the operability of the mobile phone can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is an image diagram showing enlargement of display of characters in the present invention.

3 is a flowchart showing the operation of a control unit 13 in the mobile phone body 10 shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Mobile phone body 11 transmitting and receiving antenna 12 Transmitter / receiver 13 Control unit 14 memory 15 Handset 16 Operation part 17 Display 18 Accelerometer 20 mobile phones

Continued front page    F-term (reference) 5C082 AA00 BA02 BB53 BD02 CA33                       CA36 CB03 DA73 MM09 MM10                 5K027 AA11 BB01 FF22 GG00                 5K067 AA34 DD53 EE02 FF23 FF31                       HH22 HH23

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. When the amount of continuous change in acceleration due to vibration or shock applied due to the state of use exceeds a predetermined value, the size of the displayed characters is enlarged, and the change in acceleration is continuous. The mobile phone is characterized in that the size of the character in the enlarged display is reduced if there is none or if the amount of change in acceleration does not exceed a predetermined value. 2. Control means, display means for displaying characters on the screen under the control of the control means, and a change in acceleration due to vibration or shock applied depending on the state of use, and acceleration information relating to the change in acceleration. Is provided to the control means at regular time intervals, and a storage means for storing the notified acceleration information under the control of the control means, wherein the control means notifies the acceleration information. When received, the acceleration information and the acceleration information stored in the storage means are analyzed, and if the acceleration change is continuous and the amount of change in acceleration exceeds a predetermined value as a result of the analysis, the display is displayed. When the size of the characters displayed by the means is enlarged, and the acceleration change is not continuous or the acceleration change amount does not exceed a predetermined value, the display means displays an enlarged table. Mobile telephone, characterized in that to reduce the character size in the. 3. A control unit, a display unit for displaying characters on a liquid crystal screen under the control of the control unit, and a change in acceleration due to vibration or shock applied depending on a use state, and an acceleration related to the change in acceleration. An acceleration detector that notifies information to the control unit at regular intervals, and a memory that stores the notified acceleration information under the control of the control unit, and the control unit notifies the acceleration information. When received, the acceleration information and the acceleration information stored in the memory are analyzed. If the result of the analysis shows that the acceleration change is continuous and the acceleration change amount exceeds a threshold value, the display unit displays If the acceleration change is not continuous or the acceleration change amount does not exceed a predetermined value, the character display unit displays the size of the character being enlarged and displayed. Mobile phone, characterized in that to reduce the figure. 4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the acceleration detecting unit or the acceleration detector notifies the control unit or the control unit of the acceleration information when a change in acceleration is detected. The mobile telephone set forth in item 3. 5. A function of storing, when receiving a notification of acceleration information regarding a change in acceleration due to vibration or shock applied depending on a usage state of the mobile phone, a computer constituting a mobile phone having a character display unit, A function of analyzing the acceleration information and the stored acceleration information when receiving the notification of the acceleration information, and when the acceleration change is continuous and the acceleration change amount exceeds a predetermined value as a result of the analysis. , A function of enlarging the size of characters displayed by the character display unit, the acceleration change is not continuous due to the result of the analysis,
Alternatively, the display character control program is characterized in that when the amount of change in acceleration does not exceed a predetermined value, the character display unit executes a function of reducing the size of a character being enlarged and displayed.