Mobile phone and vibration control method of mobile phone

• US 20050208903A1
• Filed: 07/27/2004
• Published: 09/22/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Sakamoto, Masashi
• Application Number:
  US10/898,990
• Publication Number:
  US 20050208903A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/90.300
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/04 the ringing-current being generated at the substations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/047 Vibrating means for incoming calls
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion

Abstract

Pressure applied to a mobile phone main body is detected at the time of call/mail arrival, and in compliance therewith vibration of a vibrator of a mobile phone is controlled. As a result, vibration is controlled in compliance with a degree of contact between the mobile phone and a body of a user, so that notification of an incoming call/mail by vibration can be conducted more surely.

Claims

1. A mobile phone comprising:

a mobile phone main body;

a vibrator vibrating said mobile phone main body;

a pressure sensor detecting pressure applied to said mobile phone main body; and

a vibration control unit controlling vibration of said vibrator in compliance with pressure detected by said pressure sensor.

2. The mobile phone as set forth in claim 1,

further comprising a cover openable/closable to said mobile phone main body, and

wherein said pressure sensor detects pressure applied between said mobile phone main body and said cover.

3. The mobile phone as set forth in claim 1,

further comprising an open/close sensor detecting an open/close state of said cover, and

wherein, based on the detected pressure and the detected open/close state, said vibration control unit controls vibration of said vibrator.

4. The mobile phone as set forth in claim 3, wherein when the detected open/close state indicates the open state of said cover, said vibration control unit controls a vibration magnitude of said vibrator to a predetermined value.

5. The mobile phone as set forth in claim 1,

wherein said mobile phone main body has a key to input data with, and

said pressure sensor is composed integrally with the key.

6. The mobile phone as set forth in claim 1, wherein said vibration control unit controls vibration of said vibrator at the time of call/mail arrival to increase as the detected pressure decreases.

7. The mobile phone as set forth in claim 6, wherein said vibration control unit controls vibration of said vibrator at the time of call/mail arrival to increase in stages as the detected pressure decreases.

8. The mobile phone as set forth in claim 1, wherein said vibration control unit controls vibration of said vibrator in compliance with a representative value of the detected pressure.

9. The mobile phone as set forth in claim 8, wherein the representative value of the pressure is a minimum value of pressure detected during a prescribed time.

10. The mobile phone as set forth in claim 8, wherein the representative value of the pressure is a mean value of pressure detected during a prescribed time.

11. A vibration control method of a mobile phone, comprising:

detecting an incoming call/mail to the mobile phone;

detecting pressure to the mobile phone; and

controlling vibration of a vibrator in compliance with a magnitude of the detected pressure.

12. The vibration control method of the mobile phone as set forth in claim 11,

wherein the mobile phone has a mobile phone main body, and a cover openable/closable to the mobile phone main body, and, in detecting pressure, pressure applied between the mobile phone main body and the cover is detected.

13. The vibration control method of the mobile phone as set forth in claim 11,

wherein the mobile phone have a mobile phone main body and a cover openable/closable to the mobile phone main body,

further comprising detecting open/close state of the cover, and

wherein, in controlling vibration, based on the detected pressure and the detected open/close state, vibration of the vibrator is controlled.

14. The vibration control method of the mobile phone as set forth in claim 13, wherein when the detected open/close state indicates the open sate of the cover, in controlling vibration, the vibration magnitude of the vibrator is controlled to a predetermined value.

15. The vibration control method of the mobile phone as set forth in claim 11, wherein, in controlling vibration, vibration of the vibrator is controlled to increase as the detected pressure decreases.

16. The vibration control method of the mobile phone as set forth in claim 15, wherein, in controlling vibration, vibration of the vibrator is controlled to increase in stages as the detected pressure decreases.

17. The vibration control method of the mobile phone as set forth in claim 11, wherein, in controlling vibration, vibration of the vibrator is controlled in compliance with a representative value of the detected pressure.