U.S. patent application number 10/793679 was filed with the patent office on 2004-12-30 for cell phone and program for controlling broadcast receiving function of cell phone.
Invention is credited to Usui, Noriyoshi, Yamada, Yasunori.
Application Number | 20040266335 10/793679 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32821191 |
Filed Date | 2004-12-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040266335 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Usui, Noriyoshi ; et
al. |
December 30, 2004 |
Cell phone and program for controlling broadcast receiving function
of cell phone
Abstract
The cell phone has a plurality of batteries for supplying power
according to their use. When the power of a battery is nearly
depleted while the user is viewing a TV program, the cell phone
informs the user of that fact to restrict the viewing of the TV
program.
Inventors: |
Usui, Noriyoshi; (Osaka,
JP) ; Yamada, Yasunori; (Osaka, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MCDERMOTT, WILL & EMERY
600 13th Street, N.W.
Washington
DC
20005-3096
US
|
Family ID: |
32821191 |
Appl. No.: |
10/793679 |
Filed: |
March 5, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
455/3.03 ;
455/3.06; 455/426.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 52/0261 20130101;
Y02D 30/70 20200801 |
Class at
Publication: |
455/003.03 ;
455/003.06; 455/426.1 |
International
Class: |
H04H 007/00; H04H
001/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 5, 2003 |
JP |
2003-57880 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A cell phone comprising: a radio communication
transceiver/receiver unit which transmits and receives speech or
data by radio; a broadcast receiver which receives broadcast waves
such as of a TV broadcast; a power supply unit which supplies power
to each of the radio communication transceiver/receiver unit and
the broadcast receiver; a plurality of batteries provided in the
power supply unit; a use management unit which manages the use of
the plurality of batteries; a power supply management unit which
manages supply of power to the radio communication
transceiver/receiver unit or the broadcast receiver according to
the use managed by the use management unit ; a power supply
monitoring unit which monitors the useful power level of the
batteries; an alarming unit which alarms the user that the power of
a battery is nearly depleted while a broadcast is being received,
the battery supplying power to the broadcast receiver; and a power
supply restricting unit which restricts the supply of power to the
broadcast receiver after the alarm has been provided.
2. The cell phone according to claim 1, further comprising a
non-interrupt instructing unit which instructs to continue
receiving a broadcast, wherein the power supply restricting unit
continues the supply of power to the broadcast receiver when the
non-interrupt instructing unit instructs to continue receiving a
broadcast after a useful battery power level has been nearly
depleted.
3. The cell phone according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the
plurality of batteries is used mainly for transmitting and
receiving speech or data, the other of the plurality of batteries
being used mainly for receiving broadcast waves.
4. The cell phone according to claim 1, further comprising a TV
viewing entry information storage unit which stores an operating
condition of a function of restricting a receiving of broadcast
waves when the useful battery power level has reached a
predetermined value.
5. The cell phone according to claim 4, wherein the TV viewing
entry information storage unit stores an ON or OFF operating
condition of the function of restricting the receiving of broadcast
waves.
6. The cell phone according to claim 4, wherein the TV viewing
entry information storage unit stores the predetermined value.
7. The cell phone according to claim 4, further comprising an input
unit which receives, from outside, the operating condition of the
function of restricting the receiving of broadcast waves, the
operating condition being stored in the TV viewing entry
information storage unit.
8. The cell phone according to claim 5, further comprising an input
unit which receives, from outside, the ON or OFF operating
condition of the function of restricting the receiving of broadcast
waves, the ON or OFF operating condition being stored in the TV
viewing entry information storage unit.
9. The cell phone according to claim 6, further comprising an input
unit which receives, from outside, the threshold value stored in
the TV viewing entry information storage unit.
10. A program for controlling a broadcast receiving function of a
cell phone, the cell phone having an radio communication
transceiver/receiver unit which transmits and receives speech or
data by radio and a broadcast receiver which receives broadcast
waves such as of a TV broadcast, the program allowing the cell
phone to serve as: power supply means which supplies power to each
of the radio communication transceiver/receiver unit and the
broadcast receiver; use management means which manages the use of a
plurality of batteries provided in the power supply means; power
supply management means which manages supply of power to the radio
communication transceiver/receiver unit or the broadcast receiver
according to the use managed by the use management means; power
supply monitoring means which monitors the useful power level of
the batteries; alarming means which alarms the user that the useful
power of a battery is nearly depleted while a broadcast is being
received, the battery being supplying power to the broadcast
receiver; and power supply restricting means which restricts the
supply of power to the broadcast receiver after the alarm has been
provided.
11. The program for controlling a broadcast receiving function of a
cell phone according to claim 10, comprising non-interrupt
instructing means which instructs to continue receiving a broadcast
so as to allow power to be supplied to the broadcast receiver means
when the non-interrupt instructing means instructs to continue
receiving a broadcast when the useful power of the battery has been
nearly depleted.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to cell phones (including
Personal Handy-phone System terminals or personal digital
assistants) which have the function of receiving a broadcast such
as a television broadcast, and more particularly to functional
control provided to the cell phone by detecting the useful power
level of a battery incorporated therein.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Recent years have seen significant widespread use of cell
phones.
[0005] Cell phones, used only for making a call in the past, are
now provided with additional functions to serve as an information
terminal device, e.g., for transmitting and receiving E-mail or
image information and for retrieving information over the Internet.
They are expected to be further provided with an additional
function as a television broadcast receiver in the future.
[0006] On the other hand, since the cell phone is battery powered,
efforts have been made for battery power savings purposes so that
the cell phone can be operated on a limited-capacity battery as
long as possible (see the Related Art List (1)).
[0007] Related Art List
[0008] (1) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
2002-223291.
[0009] However, although the power consumption has been reduced as
mentioned above, the additional functions provided to the cell
phone may cause the user to spend more time on it, e.g., viewing TV
programs in addition to making telephone calls. While viewing a TV
program, the user can be so absorbed as not to notice the battery
power being dissipated to such an extent that the user cannot make
a call thereafter as desired due to the lack of battery power.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The present invention was developed in view of the
aforementioned problem. It is therefore an object of the invention
to provide a cell phone and a program for controlling a battery
thereof which ensure the battery to provide power at least for a
necessary call by preventing the user from spending too much time
viewing a broadcast such as TV programs to notice the battery power
being dissipated to such an extent that the user cannot make a call
thereafter as desired due to excessive battery power
consumption.
[0011] To achieve the aforementioned object, a cell phone according
to a first aspect of the present invention includes an radio
communication transceiver/receiver unit which transmits and
receives speech or data by radio, a broadcast receiver which
receives broadcast waves such as of a TV broadcast, a power supply
unit which supplies power to each of the radio communication
transceiver/receiver unit and the broadcast receiver, a plurality
of batteries provided in the power supply unit, a use management
unit which manages the use of the plurality of batteries, a power
supply management unit which manages supply of power to the radio
communication transceiver/receiver unit or the broadcast receiver
according to the use managed by the use management unit, a power
supply monitoring unit which monitors the useful power level of the
batteries, an alarming unit which alarms the user that the power of
a battery is nearly depleted while a broadcast is being received,
the battery supplying power to the broadcast receiver, and a power
supply restricting unit which restricts the supply of power to the
broadcast receiver after the alarm has been provided.
[0012] To achieve the aforementioned object, a cell phone according
to a second aspect of the present invention, based on the
aforementioned first aspect, includes a non-interrupt instructing
unit which instructs to continue receiving a broadcast, in which
the power supply restricting unit continues supplying power to the
broadcast receiver when the non-interrupt instructing unit
instructs to continue receiving a broadcast when the useful power
of the battery has been nearly depleted.
[0013] To achieve the aforementioned object, a program for
controlling a broadcast receiving function of a cell phone, the
cell phone having an radio communication transceiver/receiver unit
which transmits and receives speech or data by radio and a
broadcast receiver which receives broadcast waves such as of a TV
broadcast, allows the cell phone to function as follows. That is,
the program allows the cell phone to serve as power supply means
which supplies power to each of the radio communication
transceiver/receiver unit and the broadcast receiver, use
management means which manages the use of a plurality of batteries
provided in the power supply means, power supply management means
which manages supply of power to the radio communication
transceiver/receiver unit or the broadcast receiver according to
the use managed by the use management means, power supply
monitoring means which monitors the useful power level of the
batteries, alarming means which alarms the user that the useful
power of a battery is nearly depleted while a broadcast is being
received, the battery being supplying power to the broadcast
receiver, and power supply restricting means which restricts the
supply of power to the broadcast receiver after the alarm has been
provided.
[0014] To achieve the aforementioned object, a program for
controlling a broadcast receiving function of a cell phone
according to a fourth aspect of the present invention includes
non-interrupt instructing means which instructs to continue
receiving a broadcast according to the third aspect of the
invention, allowing power to be supplied to the broadcast receiver
means when the non-interrupt instructing means instructs to
continue receiving a broadcast when the useful power of the battery
has been nearly depleted.
[0015] Moreover, this summary of the invention does not necessarily
describe all necessary features so that the invention may also be
sub-combination of these described features.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 is a view illustrating the outer appearance of a cell
phone 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the functional
structure of the cell phone 10 according to the embodiment of the
present invention;
[0018] FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a table containing
the entries and entry information to be stored in a TV viewing
entry information storage unit according to the embodiment of the
present invention;
[0019] FIG. 4 is a view illustrating an entry window for imposing a
restriction on TV viewing according to the embodiment of the
present invention; and
[0020] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a TV
viewing restricting function according to the embodiment of the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0021] Now, the present invention will be described below in more
detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in accordance
with the embodiment.
[0022] FIG. 1 is a view illustrating the outer appearance of a cell
phone 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The
cell phone 10 includes an antenna 11, a speaker 12 for receiving a
call, a display 13 such as an LCD, a set of various entry keys 14,
a cursor control key 14a, numeral and character entry keys 14b, a
TV viewing non-interrupt switch 14c which instructs a TV broadcast
to be continually viewed in a case of an alarm being provided for
restricting (prohibiting) TV viewing while the TV broadcast is
being viewed, a microphone 15 which sends a call, and a
microphone/earphone jack 16.
[0023] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the functional
structure of the cell phone 10. The cell phone 10 includes an radio
communication transceiver/receiver unit 102 which transmits and
receives speech and data by radio for telephone communications, a
transceiver/receiver antenna 103 for the telephone communications,
a broadcast receiver 104 which receives broadcast waves such as of
a TV or radio broadcast to output a desired program for display, a
broadcast receiver antenna 105, an input unit 106 which recognizes
signals provided by pressing the set of various entry keys 14 for
input, a display unit 107 which displays video information on the
LCD 13, a telephone communication unit 108 made up of the speaker
12 which receives a call and the microphone 15 which transmits a
call, a program storage unit 109 which stores various control
programs such as a control program which provides prohibition
control to the function of viewing a broadcast such as a TV
broadcast in accordance with information on a useful battery power
level, a broadcast audio output unit 110 which outputs audio
information of a broadcast program via the speaker 12 or the
earphone jack 15, a TV viewing entry information storage unit 111
which sets and stores the operating conditions of the TV broadcast
viewing function in accordance with a useful battery power level, a
useful battery monitor control unit 112 which monitors the
respective voltages of an internal battery A 113a and battery B
113b and provides control to the battery used for supplying power
to the cell phone 10 depending on the use thereof, and an internal
battery pack 113 made up of rechargeable batteries, i.e., the
battery A 113a used mainly for a telephone call function and the
battery B 113b used mainly for a TV function.
[0024] FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a table containing
the entries and entry information stored in the TV viewing entry
information storage unit. The entries include the use of the
battery A 113a and the battery B 113b (for a telephone
communication use only, for a TV use only, or for either the
telephone communication or TV use), the operating condition for the
function of restricting the TV broadcast viewing in accordance with
a useful battery power level upon viewing a TV broadcast (entry
information: ON or OFF), the operating condition of a TV broadcast
viewing restricting mode for setting the operating condition of the
TV broadcast viewing restricting function when the useful battery
power level has reached a predetermined voltage value (entry
information: TV viewing prohibited (with an alarm) or TV viewing
continued (only with a warning), and a useful battery power
threshold level for setting the condition for the useful battery
power level at which the TV broadcast viewing restricting function
operates (entry information: useful battery power level (a useful
power level of 90%, 70%, 50%, 30%, or 10%)).
[0025] The aforementioned TV viewing entry information can be set
by the user on a mode entry window of the cell phone 10 as
appropriate. FIG. 4 is a view illustrating an entry window for
setting the conditions of restricting the TV broadcast viewing.
[0026] Now, the operation of the TV viewing restricting function
performed while a TV broadcast is being viewed is explained below
with reference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 5.
[0027] When the TV viewing switch is selected in step 1 or S1 (the
term "step" is denoted as "S" hereinafter as well as in the
figure), the process checks the information on the use of the
internal batteries 113a, 113b (S2). If both the batteries are set
only for the telephone communication use, the process displays that
the use of the batteries has to be changed. If the information on
the battery use shows that the batteries are set only or also for
the TV use, the battery set for the TV use supplies power, thereby
allowing a TV program image to appear on the display 13 (S4).
[0028] If the TV viewing restricting function is set at ON (S5),
the process monitors the useful power level of the battery assigned
to the TV use (S6). The useful power level of the battery 113 for
the TV use is checked; if both the batteries A 113a and B 113b are
set for the TV use, the total useful power level of both the
batteries is checked. If a sufficient useful battery power level is
available (S7), the process allows the user to continue viewing the
TV program (S13) that the user has been viewing, and continues
monitoring the useful battery power level. If the useful battery
power level has reached the preset level (S7), the process
indicates a warning (S8).
[0029] If the TV viewing restricting mode is set at the TV viewing
prohibited (S9), the process determines whether the TV viewing
non-interrupt switch 14c has been depressed during the indication
of the warning (S10). If the non-interrupt switch 14c has not been
depressed, the process turns OFF the TV viewing function (S11).
[0030] On the other hand, if the non-interrupt switch 14c has been
depressed (S10), the process allows the warning to disappear and
the useful battery power threshold level to be set to the next
lower level (S12) (e.g., to be changed from the useful power level
of 50% to 40%), thereafter monitoring continually the useful
battery power level (S7).
[0031] Even when the TV viewing restricting mode provides only a
warning, the useful battery power threshold level is set to the
next lower level to continue monitoring the useful battery power
level (S6).
[0032] It should be understood that the aforementioned embodiment
has been disclosed herein not for restrictive purposes but only by
way of example in all respects. It is also intended that the
present invention is not defined by the embodiment described above
but by the scope of the appended claims, and includes all the
equivalents and modifications that fall within the scope of the
claims.
* * * * *