Portable terminal equipment

• US 6,236,869 B1
• Filed: 01/11/1999
• Issued: 05/22/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Aiwa (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Adachi, Naofumi, Takeshima, Yoshihito, Saitou, Teru, Ootake, Akira, Terada, Ryouji
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Lee
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Simon
• Application Number:
  US09/155,228
• Time in Patent Office: 862 Days
• Field of Search: 455/90, 455/38.3, 455/343, 455/572, 455/574, 455/38.2, 455/571, 379/413
• US Class Current: 455/572
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/1615 Switching on; Switching off, e.g. remotely battery saving circuits associated with selective call operation H04W52/00; details of power consumption reduction in a PLL, H03L7/0802, H03L7/14, H03L2207/08, H03L2207/18; muting amplifiers by gain control see H03G3/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/73 Battery saving arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0264 by selectively disabling software applications
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

This invention relates to a portable terminal equipment using a battery as a power source. The equipment determines whether or not battery voltage VB is lower than a voltage value V1 in a standby state or a speaking state (ST1 and ST8). The voltage value V1 is set to such a value that the equipment is capable of generating an outgoing call and making a speech during a set period of time, when the battery voltage VB is equal to the value V1. When VB<V1, the equipment shifts to a low-consumption standby mode in which a small amount of current is consumed (ST14). When the equipment is set to a speaking state, it generates a warning by means of alerting voice and so on to warn the user that the telephone communication will be broken after a expiration of a set period of time (ST10) . Further, the equipment breaks the telephone communication (ST15) after the set period of time, for example, one minute (ST12) has elapsed since said the warning and then the equipment shifts to the low-consumption standby mode (ST14). Therefore, the user can generate another outgoing call after a break of the telephone communication and the possibility of generating the outgoing call at any necessary time increases. When a set period of time, for example, one minute has elapsed since the equipment is brought into the speaking state by the outgoing call generated from the low-consumption standby mode, the telephone communication is broken after warning to the user the break of telephone communication with the alerting voice, etc. and then the operation of telephone main body is stopped.

Claims

1. A portable terminal equipment comprising:

a residual-capacity-detecting means for detecting a residual capacity of a battery;

a first residual-capacity-judging means for judging whether or not the residual capacity of battery detected by said residual-capacity-detecting means is less than a first predetermined value, said first predetermined value designating the residual capacity of the battery being capable of generating at least one outgoing call;

a second residual-capacity-judging means for judging whether or not said residual capacity of battery detected by said residual-capacity-detecting means is less than a second predetermined value, said second predetermined value being less than said first predetermined value;

warning-generating means for generating a warning; and

system control means;

wherein said system control means controls the system so that the equipment main body shifts to a low-consumption standby mode in which a small amount of current is consumed, when said first residual-capacity-judging means judges that said detected residual capacity of battery is less than said first predetermined value;

wherein said system control means controls the system so that said warning-generating means generates the warning when the equipment main body shifts from a speaking state to said low-consumption standby mode but said warning-generating means does not generate the warning when the equipment main body shifts from a standby state to said low-consumption standby mode; and

wherein said system control means controls the system so that the operation of said equipment main body is stopped when said second residual-capacity-judging means judges that said detected residual capacity of battery is less than said second predetermined value.

2. A portable terminal equipment according to claim 1, wherein only an operation for generating the outgoing call is accessed by said system control means in said low-consumption standby mode.

3. A portable terminal equipment according to claim 1, wherein said system control means controls the system so that the equipment main body shifts to the low-consumption standby mode after breaking the telephone communication when said first residual-capacity-judging means judges that said detected residual capacity of battery is less than said first predetermined value, in a speaking state of the equipment.

4. A portable terminal equipment according to claim 3, wherein said system control means controls said warning-generating means so that the warning-generating means generates the warning at a set period of time before the telephone communication is broken.

5. A portable terminal equipment according to claim 1, wherein said system control means controls the system so that the operation of the equipment main body is stopped after breaking the telephone communication when said second residual-capacity-judging means judges that said detected residual capacity of battery is less than said second predetermined value, in a speaking state of the equipment.

6. A portable terminal equipment according to claim 5, wherein said system control means controls said warning-generating means so that the warning-generating means generates the warning before the telephone communication is broken.

7. A portable terminal equipment comprising:

a residual-capacity-detecting means for detecting a residual capacity of a battery;

a first residual-capacity-judging means for judging whether or not the residual capacity of battery detected by said residual-capacity-detecting means is less than a first predetermined value, the value designating the residual capacity of the battery being capable of generating at least one outgoing call; and

a system control means;

wherein said system control means controls the system so that the equipment main body shifts to a low-consumption standby mode in which a small amount of current is consumed, when said first residual-capacity-judging means judges that said detected residual capacity of battery is less than said first predetermined value; and

wherein said system control means controls the system so that the operation of the equipment main body is stopped after a break of telephone communication when a set period of time has elapsed after generating an outgoing call from said low-consumption standby mode and being brought into said speaking state.

8. A portable terminal equipment according to claim 7 comprising:

a second residual-capacity-judging means for judging whether or not said residual capacity of battery detected by said residual-capacity-detecting means is less than a second predetermined value, said value being less than said first predetermined value;

wherein said system control means controls the system so that the operation of the equipment main body is stopped when said second residual-capacity-judging means judges that said detected residual capacity of battery is less than said second predetermined value.

9. A portable terminal equipment according to claim 7, wherein said system control means controls the system so that the warning-generating means generates the warning before the telephone communication is broken.

10. A portable terminal equipment comprising:

a residual-capacity-detecting means for detecting a residual capacity of a battery;

a first residual-capacity-judging means for judging whether or not the residual capacity of battery detected by said residual-capacity-detecting means is less than a first predetermined value, said first predetermined value designating the residual capacity of battery being capable of generating at least outgoing call;

a second residual-capacity-judging means for judging whether or not said residual capacity of battery detected by said residual-capacity-detecting means is less than a second predetermined value, said second predetermined value being less than said first predetermined value; and

a system control means;

wherein said system control means controls the system so that the equipment main body shifts to a low-consumption standby mode in which a small amount of current is consumed, when said first residual-capacity-judging means judges that said detected residual capacity of battery is less than said first predetermined value; and

wherein said system control means controls the system so that the operation of the equipment main body is stopped when said second residual-capacity-judging means judges that said detected residual capacity of battery is less than said second predetermined value.