Mobile terminal device to controlling incoming call notifying method

• US 7,024,229 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2002
• Issued: 04/04/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Innovations Ltd Hong Kong (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Nishimura, Yasunori
• Primary Examiner(s): Trost, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ewart, James D.
• Application Number:
  US10/183,476
• Publication Number:
  US 20030008687A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,376 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414.1, 455/418, 455/425, 455/458, 455/550.1, 455/566, 455/567, 379/373.01, 379/373.02, 379/374.03, 379/376.01
• US Class Current: 455/567
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/044 according to the level of ambient noise
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/047 Vibrating means for incoming calls
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/048 Arrangements providing optical indication of the incoming call, e.g. flasher circuits

Abstract

When there is an incoming call, a mobile terminal device detects ambient sounds by a microphone. A filter separates the detected ambient sounds into a speech component and a non-speech component. An analysis section analyzes which one of the speech component and the non-speech component is the dominant component. A decision section selects a ringing tone generating section, a vibrator or a light emitting section based on which one of the speech component and the non-speech component is the dominant component and the volume of that dominant one. The selected ringing tone generating section, vibrator or light emitting section makes ringing to inform a user of the incoming call.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal device comprising:

a plurality of notifying means for notifying a user of an incoming call;

detecting means for detecting ambient sounds;

separating means for separating the ambient sounds into a first component in a voice band and a second component in a band other than said voice band;

controlling means for controlling said notifying means on the basis of said first component and said second component;

analyzing means for determining that one of said first component and said second component is the dominant component from a relationship between volumes thereof; and

selecting means for selecting at least one of said plurality of notifying means based on which one of said first component and said second component is a dominant component and a volume of the dominant component.

2. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first component is a speech component and said second component is a non-speech component.

3. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said plurality of notifying means comprises at least one of a tone ringing means, a vibrating means or a light emitting means.

4. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said selecting means selects said vibrating means when said speech component is the dominant component and exceeds a first threshold value, selects said vibrating means when said speech component is the dominant component and is equal to or smaller than said first threshold value, selects said vibrating means and said tone ringing means when said non-speech component is the dominant component and exceeds a second threshold value, and selects said tone ringing means when said non-speech component is the dominant component and is equal to or smaller than said second threshold value.

5. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said selecting means selects both said vibrating means and said light emitting means when said speech component is the dominant component and is equal to or smaller than a first threshold value.

6. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 4, wherein said selecting means selects said vibrating means, said tone ringing means and said light emitting means when said speech component is the dominant component and exceeds a third threshold value greater than said first threshold value and when said noise component is the dominant component and exceeds a fourth threshold value greater than said second threshold value.

7. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said analyzing means determines which one of said speech component and said non-speech component is the dominant component by acquiring peak values of the volumes of said speech component and said non-speech component at least once and comparing a maximum of said peak values of said speech component with a maximum of said peak values of said non-speech component.

8. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said analyzing means determines which one of said speech component and said non-speech component is the dominant component by acquiring peak values of the volumes of said speech component and said non-speech component at least once and comparing an average value of said peak values of said speech component with an average value of said peak values of said non-speech component.

9. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said analyzing means determines the band of said non-speech component beforehand, and determines which one of said speech component and said non-speech component is the dominant component by acquiring integral values of the volumes of said speech component and said non-speech component at least once and comparing a maximum of said integral values of said speech component with a maximum of said integral values of said non-speech component.

10. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said analyzing means determines the band of said non-speech component beforehand, and determines which one of said speech component and said non-speech component is the dominant component by acquiring integral values of the volumes of said speech component and said non-speech component at least once and comparing an average value of said integral values of said speech component with an average value of said integral values of said non-speech component.

11. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said analyzing means determines which one of said speech component and said non-speech component is the dominant component by using a correlation function.

12. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said analyzing means changes a volume of said tone ringing means in accordance with the volume of the dominant component.

13. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said analyzing means changes a timbre of said tone ringing means in accordance with the volume of the dominant component.

14. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said analyzing means periodically updates which one of said speech component and said non-speech component is the dominant component.

15. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said analyzing means updates which one of said speech component and said non-speech component is the dominant component at the time of performing location registration.

16. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said detecting means comprises a microphone.

17. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said separating means comprises a filter.

18. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said tone ringing means comprises a ringing tone signal generator and a speaker.

19. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 18, wherein said tone ringing means further comprises an amplifier.

20. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said vibrating means comprises a vibrator.

21. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said light emitting means comprises a light emitting diode.

22. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said light emitting means comprises a backlight.

23. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said light emitting means comprises a display panel that changes colors.

24. An incoming call ringing method for a mobile terminal device comprising:

detecting ambient sounds;

separating said ambient sounds into a first component in a voice band and a second component in a band other than said voice band;

determining how to notify a user of an incoming call in accordance with said first component and said second component;

receiving said incoming call;

notifying a user of said incoming call on the basis of said determination of user notification;

determining that one of said first component and said second component is the dominant component from a relationship between volumes thereof; and

controlling said user notification based on which one of said first component and said second component is the dominant component and a volume of that dominant component.

25. The incoming call ringing method for a mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 24, wherein said first component is a speech component and said second component is a non-speech component.

26. The incoming call ringing method for a mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 24, wherein said user notification is at least one of ringing tones, vibrating and emitting light.

27. A mobile terminal device comprising:

a plurality of notifying portions that notify a user of an incoming call;

a detector that detects ambient sounds;

a separator that separates said ambient sounds into a first component in a voice band and a second component in a band other than said voice band;

controller that controls said notifying portions on the basis of said first component and said second component;

an analyzer that determines that one of said first component and said second component is the dominant component from a relationship between volumes thereof; and

a selector that selects at least one of said plurality of notifying portions based on which one of said first component and said second component is the dominant component and a volume of that dominant component.

28. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 27, wherein said first component is a speech component and said second component is a non-speech component.

29. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 28, wherein said plurality of notifying portions comprise at least one of a tone ringing portion, a vibrator or a light emitting portion.

30. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 29, wherein said selector selects said vibrator when said speech component is the dominant component and exceeds a first threshold value, selects a vibrator when said speech component is the dominant component and is equal to or smaller than said first threshold value, selects said vibrator and said tone ringing portions when said non-speech component is the dominant component and exceeds a second threshold value, and selects said tone ringing portions when said non-speech component is the dominant component and is equal to or smaller than said second threshold value.

31. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 29, wherein said selector selects both said vibrator and said light emitting portion when said speech component is the dominant component and is equal to or smaller than a first threshold value.

32. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 30, wherein said selector selects said vibrator, said tone ringing portion and said light emitting portion when said speech component is the dominant component and exceeds a third threshold value greater than said first threshold value and when said noise component is the dominant component and exceeds a fourth threshold value greater than said second threshold value.

33. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 28, wherein said analyzer determines which one of said speech component and said non-speech component is the dominant component by acquiring peak values of the volumes of said speech component and said non-speech component at least once and comparing a maximum of said peak values of said speech component with a maximum of said peak values of said non-speech component.

34. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 28, wherein said analyzer determines which one of said speech component and said non-speech component is the dominant component by acquiring peak values of the volumes of said speech component and said non-speech component at least once and comparing an average value of said peak values of said speech component with an average value of said peak values of said non-speech component.

35. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 28, wherein said analyzer determines the band of said non-speech component beforehand, and determines which one of said speech component and said non-speech component is the dominant component by acquiring integral values of the volumes of said speech component and said non-speech component at least once and comparing a maximum of said integral values of said speech component with a maximum of said integral values of said non-speech component.

36. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 28, wherein said analyzer determines the band of said non-speech component beforehand, and determines which one of said speech component and said non-speech component is the dominant component by acquiring integral values of the volumes of said speech component and said non-speech component at least once and comparing an average value of said integral values of said speech component with an average value of said integral values of said non-speech component.

37. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 28, wherein said analyzer determines which one of said speech component and said non-speech component is the dominant component by using a correlation function.

38. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 29, wherein said analyzer changes a volume of said tone ringing portion in accordance with the volume of the dominant component.

39. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 29, wherein said analyzer changes a timbre of said tone ringing portion in accordance with the volume of the dominant component.

40. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 28, wherein said analyzer periodically updates which one of said speech component and said non-speech component is the dominant component.

41. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 28, wherein said analyzer updates which one of said speech component and said non-speech component is the dominant component at the time of performing location registration.

42. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 27, wherein said detector comprises a microphone.

43. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 27, wherein said separator comprises a filter.

44. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 29, wherein said tone ringing portion comprises a ringing tone signal generator and a speaker.

45. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 44, wherein said tone ringing portion further comprises an amplifier.

46. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 29, wherein said light emitting portion comprises a light emitting diode.

47. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 29, wherein said light emitting portion comprises a backlight.

48. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 29, wherein said light emitting portion comprises a display panel that changes colors.

49. A mobile terminal device comprising:

a plurality of notifying portions that notify a user of an incoming call;

a detector that detects ambient sounds;

a signal processor that separates said ambient sounds into a first component in a voice band and a second component in a band other than said voice band; and

a controller that controls said notifying portions on the basis of said first component and said second component, wherein

said signal processor determines that one of said first component and said second component is a dominant component from a relationship between volumes thereof, and

said controller selects at least one of said plurality of notifying portions based on which one of said first component and said second component is the dominant component and a volume of that dominant one.

50. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 49, wherein said first component is a speech component and said second component is a non-speech component.

51. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 50, wherein said plurality of notifying portions comprise a tone ringing portion, a vibrator and a light emitting portion.

52. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 51, wherein said controller selects said vibrator when said speech component is the dominant component and exceeds a first threshold value, selects a vibrator when said speech component is the dominant component and is equal to or smaller than said first threshold value, selects said vibrator and said tone ringing portions when said non-speech component is the dominant component and exceeds a second threshold value, and selects said tone ringing portions when said non-speech component is the dominant component and is equal to or smaller than said second threshold value.

53. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 51, wherein said controller selects said vibrator and said light emitting portion when said speech component is the dominant component and is equal to or smaller than a first threshold value.

54. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 52, wherein said controller selects said vibrator, said tone ringing portion and said light emitting portion when said speech component is the dominant component and exceeds a third threshold value greater than said first threshold value and when said noise component is the dominant component and exceeds a fourth threshold value greater than said second threshold value.

55. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 50, wherein said signal processor determines which one of said speech component and said non-speech component is the dominant component by acquiring peak values of the volumes of said speech component and said non-speech component at least once and comparing a maximum of said peak values of said speech component with a maximum of said peak values of said non-speech component.

56. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 50, wherein said signal processor determines which one of said speech component and said non-speech component is the dominant component by acquiring peak values of the volumes of said speech component and said non-speech component at least once and comparing an average value of said peak values of said speech component with an average value of said peak values of said non-speech component.

57. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 50, wherein said signal processor determines the band of said non-speech component beforehand, and determines which one of said speech component and said non-speech component is the dominant component by acquiring integral values of the volumes of said speech component and said non-speech component at least once and comparing a maximum of said integral values of said speech component with a maximum of said integral values of said non-speech component.

58. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 50, wherein said signal processor determines the band of said non-speech component beforehand, and determines which one of said speech component and said non-speech component is the dominant component by acquiring integral values of the volumes of said speech component and said non-speech component at least once and comparing an average value of said integral values of said speech component with an average value of said integral values of said non-speech component.

59. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 50, wherein said signal processor determines which one of said speech component and said non-speech component is the dominant component by using a correlation function.

60. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 51, wherein said signal processor changes a volume of said tone ringing portion in accordance with the volume of the dominant component.

61. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 51, wherein said signal processor changes a timbre of said tone ringing portion in accordance with the volume of the dominant component.

62. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 50, wherein said signal processor periodically updates which one of said speech component and said non-speech component is the dominant component.

63. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 50, wherein said signal processor updates which one of said speech component and said non-speech component is the dominant component at the time of performing location registration.

64. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 49, wherein said detector comprises a microphone.

65. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 49, wherein said signal processor comprises a digital signal processor.

66. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 51, wherein said tone ringing portion comprises a ringing tone signal generator and a speaker.

67. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 66, wherein said tone ringing portion further comprises an amplifier.

68. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 51, wherein said light emitting portion comprises a light emitting diode.

69. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 51, wherein said light emitting portion comprises a backlight.

70. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 51, wherein said light emitting portion comprises a display panel that changes colors.

71. A mobile terminal device comprising:

a plurality of notifying means for notifying a user of an incoming call;

detecting means for detecting ambient sounds;

separating means for separating the ambient sounds into a first component in a voice band and a second component in a band other than said voice band;

controlling means for controlling said notifying means on the basis of said first component and said second component,

wherein the control means selects at least one of said plurality of notifying means based on said first component and said second component.

72. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 71, wherein said plurality of notifying means comprises at least one of vibrating means or light emitting means.

73. An incoming call ringing method for a mobile terminal device comprising:

detecting ambient sounds;

separating said ambient sounds into a first component in a voice band and a second component in a band other than said voice band;

determining how to notify a user of an incoming call in accordance with said first component and said second component;

receiving said incoming call; and

notifying a user of said incoming call on the basis of said determination of user notification,

wherein the step of determining further comprises selecting at least one of a plurality of notifying portions based on said first component and said second component.

74. The incoming call ringing method for a mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 73, wherein said plurality of notifying portions comprises at least one of a vibrator or a light emitting portion.

75. A mobile terminal device comprising:

a plurality of notifying portions that notify a user of an incoming call;

a detector that detects ambient sounds;

a separator that separates said ambient sounds into a first component in a voice band and a second component in a band other than said voice band; and

controller that controls said notifying portions on the basis of said first component and said second component,

wherein the controller selects at least one of said plurality of notifying portions based on said first component and said second component.

76. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 75, wherein said plurality of notifying portions comprises at least one of a vibrator or a light emitting portion.

77. A mobile terminal device comprising:

a plurality of notifying portions that notify a user of an incoming call;

a detector that detects ambient sounds;

a signal processor that separates said ambient sounds into a first component in a voice band and a second component in a band other than said voice band; and

a controller that controls said notifying portions on the basis of said first component and said second component,

wherein the controller selects at least one of said plurality of notifying portions based on said first component and said second component.

78. The mobile terminal device as claimed in claim 77, wherein said plurality of notifying portions comprises at least one of a vibrator or a light emitting portion.