Mobile information terminal

• US 8,718,235 B2
• Filed: 03/02/2007
• Issued: 05/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Inventors: Miwa, Tomoaki, Tsukiyama, Tomoaki, Nakae, Kazuaki
• Primary Examiner(s): JAMAL, ALEXANDER
• Application Number:
  US12/281,531
• Publication Number:
  US 20090221262A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,622 Days
• Field of Search: 379/40, 379/41, 379/45, 379/48, 379/51
• US Class Current: 379/40
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/005 Alarm destination chosen according to a hierarchy of available destinations, e.g. if hospital does not answer send to police station
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/08 using communication transmission lines G08B13/19658, G08B21/0286, G08B25/016 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/181 due to failing power supply
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72418 for supporting emergency services

Abstract

To carry out processing to be executed upon occurrence of an emergency, a mobile phone includes a power control portion for supplying driving power, a RAM capable of storing data in the state where the driving power is not supplied from the power control portion, a crime prevention switch for detecting occurrence of an emergency, and a control portion which is driven by the driving power supplied from the power control portion. The control portion stores an emergency flag in an ON state indicating an emergency mode in the RAM in response to detection of the emergency by the crime prevention switch, and carries out emergency processing. When the control portion is activated as the supply of the driving power from the power control portion is started, it carries out the emergency processing if the emergency flag in the ON state is stored in the RAM.

Claims

1. A mobile information terminal comprising:

a power control unit to supply driving power;

a storage unit to store data in the state where the driving power is not supplied from said power control unit;

a detecting unit to detect an occurrence of an emergency; and

a control unit which is driven as the driving power is supplied from said power control unit, said control unit including;

a mode information storage unit to store mode information indicating an emergency mode in said storage unit in response to detection of the occurrence of the emergency by said detecting unit,

an emergency processing executing unit to execute predetermined processing in response to detection of the occurrence of the emergency by said detecting unit, and

a startup-time processing unit to execute said predetermined processing when said control unit is activated as the supply of the driving power from said power control unit is started and in the case where said mode information indicating the emergency mode is stored in said storage unit

wherein said power control unit comprises

a voltage detecting unit to detect a voltage of a power source, and

an emergency activation unit to start supply of the driving power to said control unit in response to said detected voltage exceeding a predetermined threshold value and said mode information indicating the emergency mode is stored in said storage unit.

2. The mobile information terminal according to claim 1, further comprising an accepting unit to accept a drive instruction for instructing driving of said control unit, wherein said power control unit includes a normal activation unit for supplying the driving power to said control unit when said detected voltage exceeds a predetermined threshold value and in the case where said mode information indicating the emergency mode is not stored in said storage unit, on the condition that said drive instruction is accepted by said accepting unit.

3. The mobile information terminal according to claim 1, wherein said voltage detecting unit detects a voltage of a removable battery.

4. The mobile information terminal according to claim 1, wherein said voltage detecting unit detects a voltage of an external power source.

5. The mobile information terminal according to claim 1, wherein said emergency processing executing unit includes a position detecting unit to detect a current position, and a transmission unit to transmit said detected current position.

22. The mobile information terminal according to claim 1, wherein said control unit further includes an emergency mode release unit to delete said mode information indicating the emergency mode from said storage unit in response to completion of said predetermined processing.

23. The mobile information terminal according to claim 1, wherein said emergency processing executing unit includes a calling unit to call a predetermined destination.

6. A mobile information terminal comprising:

a detecting unit to detect an occurrence of an emergency;

a storage unit to store as a predetermined destination a telephone number in advance;

a mode switching unit to switch a mode to an emergency mode in response to detection of the occurrence of the emergency by said detecting unit;

an incoming call detecting unit to detect an incoming call; and

an answering unit that

answers the incoming call detected by said incoming call detecting unit in the emergency mode in a case where the incoming call is associated with said telephone number prestored in said storage unit,

determines whether the incoming call requires a video telephone, and

does not answer the incoming call if it is determined that the incoming call requires a video telephone.

7. The mobile information terminal according to claim 6, further comprising a rejecting unit to reject the incoming call detected by said incoming call detecting unit in the emergency mode in the case where the incoming call is not associated with said telephone number prestored in said storage unit.

8. The mobile information terminal according to claim 6, further comprising:

a warning sound generating unit to generate a warning sound in response to detection of the occurrence of the emergency by said detecting unit;

a vibration generating unit to generate vibration; and

an incoming-call answering notification unit to activate said vibration generating unit when said answering unit answers in the emergency mode.

9. The mobile information terminal according to claim 6, wherein said answering unit does not answer the incoming call detected by said incoming call detecting unit in the case where the incoming call is not associated with said telephone number prestored in said storage unit.

24. The mobile information terminal according to claim 6, further comprising a calling unit to call the predetermined destination.

10. A mobile information terminal comprising:

a detecting unit to detect occurrence of an emergency;

a storage unit to store a telephone number in advance;

a warning sound generating unit to generate a warning sound in response to detection of the occurrence of the emergency by said detecting unit;

a vibration generating unit to generate vibration;

a mode switching unit to switch a mode to an emergency mode in response to detection of the occurrence of the emergency by said detecting unit;

an interlock calling unit to call the telephone number prestored in said storage unit in the emergency mode; and

an outgoing-call answering notification unit to activate said vibration generating unit in the case where an answer to the call originated by said interlock calling unit is detected.

11. The mobile information terminal according to claim 10, wherein

said storage unit is capable of storing a plurality of said telephone numbers,

said interlock calling unit includes a selecting unit for selecting said plurality of telephone numbers, and

said selecting unit selects a next telephone number in the case where an answer to a call originated to a previously selected telephone number is not detected within a predetermined period of time after the origination of the call.

12. A mobile information terminal comprising:

a detecting unit to detect an occurrence of an emergency;

a storage unit to store a telephone number in advance;

a disconnecting unit to disconnect a call with a device on the other end when the occurrence of the emergency is detected by said detecting unit during the call and in the case where the telephone number assigned to said device on the other end is not prestored in said storage unit;

an interlock calling unit to call the telephone number prestored in said storage unit in response to detection of the occurrence of the emergency by said detecting unit;

a warning sound generating unit to generate a warning sound in response to detection of the occurrence of the emergency by said detecting unit;

a vibration generating unit to generate vibration; and

an outgoing-call answering notification unit to activate said vibration generating unit in the case where an answer to the call originated by said interlock calling unit is detected in an emergency mode.

13. The mobile information terminal according to claim 12, further comprising:

an incoming call detecting unit to detect an incoming call; and

an answering unit to answer the incoming call detected by said incoming call detecting unit in an emergency mode in the case where the incoming call is associated with said telephone number prestored in said storage unit.

14. The mobile information terminal according to claim 13, further comprising:

a warning sound generating unit to generate a warning sound in response to detection of the occurrence of the emergency by said detecting unit;

a vibration generating unit to generate vibration; and

an incoming-call answering notification unit to activate said vibration generating unit when said answering unit answers in the emergency mode.

15. The mobile information terminal according to claim 12, wherein

said storage unit is capable of storing a plurality of said telephone numbers,

said interlock calling unit includes a selecting unit to select said plurality of telephone numbers, and

said selecting unit selects a next telephone number in the case where an answer to a call originated to a previously selected telephone number is not detected within a predetermined period of time after the origination of the call.

16. A mobile information terminal comprising:

a detecting unit to detect an occurrence of an emergency;

a mode switching unit to switch a mode to an emergency mode in response to detection of the occurrence of the emergency by said detecting unit;

a warning sound generating unit to generate a warning sound in response to detection of the occurrence of the emergency by said detecting unit; and

a sensitivity lowering unit to reduce to greater than zero a volume of sound collected by a microphone by lowering sensitivity of the microphone for use in telephone conversation during at least a part of a telephone conversation in said emergency mode.

17. The mobile information terminal according to claim 16, wherein said sensitivity lowering unit lowers the sensitivity of the microphone while said warning sound generating unit is generating the warning sound.

18. The mobile information terminal according to claim 16, wherein said warning sound generating unit includes

a stop unit to temporarily stop generation of the warning sound, and

a step-up output unit to increase a volume in a stepwise manner over time in the case where the temporary stop by said stop unit is released while the telephone conversation is continued.

19. The mobile information terminal according to claim 16, further comprising:

a storage unit to store a telephone number in advance; and

an interlock calling unit to call the telephone number prestored in said storage unit in said emergency mode.

20. The mobile information terminal according to claim 19, further comprising a reproduction unit to reproduce a predetermined message in response to detection of an answer to the call originated by said interlock calling unit, wherein said sensitivity lowering unit includes a cut-off unit to cut off an output of said microphone during the time when said reproduction unit is reproducing the message.

21. The mobile information terminal according to claim 16, further comprising:

a storage unit to store a telephone number in advance;

an incoming call detecting unit to detect an incoming call; and

an answering unit to answer the incoming call detected in said emergency mode in the case where said incoming call is associated with the telephone number prestored in said storage unit.