Portable communication terminal apparatus

A portable communication terminal apparatus according to the present invention includes a first means having a microphone and a speaker, and a second means having operation keys and/or display means. At least one of the first and second means has a magnet for attaching the second means to the first means. The second means can be attached to the first means. Each of the first means and the second means has a light emitter and a light detector, whereby data is transmitted therebetween. The operation keys are provided on one surface of the second means. When the second means is attached to the first means with the one surface thereof being faced forward, data is transmitted between the light emitter of the first means corresponding to the light detector of the second means and the light emitter of the second means corresponding to the light detector of the first means. The second means has a memory means for storing identification information of a user.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a portable communication terminal 
apparatus suitable for use in a handset of a radio telephone apparatus and 
so on. 
2. Description of the Related Art 
Various proposed casings of the portable communication terminal apparatus 
such as a radio telephone apparatus, a portable telephone apparatus or the 
like are arranged so as to be convenient in portability. 
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a portable telephone apparatus which 
is not being used for communication. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing 
the portable telephone apparatus which is being used for communication. 
In FIGS. 1 and 2, a portable telephone set 1 is formed of a body casing 2 
and a card casing (sub casing) 3. 
The body casing 2 has a shape of a substantially rectangular 
parallelepiped. As shown in FIG. 2, the body casing 2 has a step portion 4 
and a thickness that is lower-side portion of the body casing 2 is smaller 
as compared with that of an upper-side portion 2a thereof. A panel 5 
having an operation key group 6 for telephone such as a ten key or the 
like is provided on a front surface of the lower-side portion 2b. A hook 
switch 7 is provided on the panel 5. 
The upper-side portion 2a of the body casing 2 incorporates a receiver 8 
therein. The receiver 8 emanates a dial tone through apertures 9 provided 
through the body casing 2. A power source key 10 is provided on a front 
surface of the upper-side portion 2a. An antenna 11 can be inserted in the 
body casing 2 and is drawn therefrom upon a telephone call as shown in 
FIG. 2. 
The card casing 3 incorporating a transmitter 13 is pivotally fitted to a 
lower end edge portion of the body casing 2 by a hinge portion 12. The 
surface of the card casing 3 merely functions as a cover in a state that 
the card casing 3 is rotated around the hinge portion 12 and closed so as 
to be opposed to the panel 5 of the body casing 2 as shown in FIG. 1. On 
the other hand, in a state that the card casing 3 is rotated around the 
hinge portion 12 and opened as shown in FIG. 2, a user can make a 
telephone call by speaking toward the transmitter 13 through apertures 14 
formed through a transmitter-side surface of the card casing 3. 
According to the portable telephone apparatus having the above arrangement, 
it is possible to make the portable telephone apparatus compact when the 
user carries it, and it is possible to realize the arrangement which 
provides convenience in portability. However, since the portable telephone 
apparatus is used upon a telephone call with the card casing 3 being 
rotated around the hinge portion 12 and opened as shown in FIG. 2, the 
card casing 3 is not stable and is easily broken. Since the user puts the 
portable telephone apparatus to his ear, the user cannot watch the display 
unit and operate an operation unit. These disadvantages lead to 
inconvenience in use thereof. 
Moreover, there is then the problem that when the user makes a telephone 
call, the body casing 2 and the opened card casing 3 occupy a considerable 
space or area and hence the whole of the portable telephone apparatus 
becomes large-sized. 
Since various systems of the portable telephone apparatus have been 
proposed, if a user carries a certain kind of a portable radio telephone 
terminal and goes out of a predetermined service area thereof, it is 
frequently observed that the user cannot use it there. Therefore, there is 
then the problem that even if the user uses a rental terminal, then he 
cannot use his own data such as personal telephone numbers or the like at 
all. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In view of such aspects, it is an object of the present invention to 
provide a portable communication terminal apparatus which solves the above 
problems, and more particularly a portable communication terminal 
apparatus which, in a used state for a telephone call, communication or 
the like, allows a user to input a telephone number in a memory and to 
watch information displayed on a LCD while putting a receiver to his ear, 
which provides a satisfactory operability with only operation keys 
required for a telephone call or communication being provided on a card 
casing, and which has a compact size and prevents the card casing from 
being unstable during the telephone call or communication. 
It is another object of the present invention to obtain a portable 
communication terminal apparatus which allows a user to utilize his own 
personal data stored in a suitable means of a card casing even when he 
goes to a service area of another system of a portable communication 
terminal apparatus. 
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a portable 
communication terminal apparatus includes a first means having a 
microphone and a speaker, and a second means having operation keys and/or 
display means. At least one of the first and second means has a magnet for 
attaching the second means to the first means. The second means can be 
attached to the first means. Each of the first means and the second means 
has a light emitter and a light detector, whereby data is transmitted 
therebetween. The operation keys are provided on one surface of the second 
means. When the second means is attached to the first means with the one 
surface thereof being faced forward, data is transmitted between the light 
transmitting means of the first means corresponding to the light receiving 
means of the second means and the light transmitting means of the second 
means corresponding to the light receiving means of the first means. The 
second means has a memory means for storing identification information of 
a user. 
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a display means is 
provided on one surface of the second means and operation keys are 
provided on the other surface thereof. 
According to a third aspect of the present invention, a display means and a 
space used for attaching thereto an operation card for adding other 
functions to the second means are provided on one surface of the second 
means, and operation keys are provided on the other surface thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
A portable telephone set or a portable radio transceiver to which a 
portable communication terminal apparatus according to the embodiments of 
the present invention is applied will be described in detail with 
reference to FIGS. 3 to 10. 
Before an arrangement of a casing of the portable radio telephone apparatus 
according to the first embodiment is described, one example of an 
electrical circuit arrangement thereof will be described by way of example 
with reference to FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, parts and elements corresponding to 
those in FIGS. 1 and 2 are marked with the same reference numerals. 
As shown in FIG. 3, a portable radio telephone apparatus 15 as the portable 
communication terminal apparatus is formed of a body casing 2 and a card 
casing 3 similar to the portable telephone set 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 
The arrangement of both of the casings 2, 3 will be described later on. 
In the body casing 2, a signal received by an antenna 11 is supplied 
through an antenna coupler 16 to a reception unit 17. The reception unit 
16 subjects the received signal to a reception processing for converting 
the received signal to a signal of a predetermined transmission channel 
and supplies the processed received signal to a modulating and 
demodulating unit 18. The modulating and demodulating unit 18 demodulates 
the received signal to convert the signal to a baseband signal and 
supplies the demodulated baseband signal to a baseband processing unit 19. 
The baseband processing unit 19 extracts an audio signal and control data 
from the received signal and supplies the extracted audio signal to an 
audio processing unit 20 and the control data to a control unit 
(hereinafter referred to as a CPU) 21. 
The audio processing unit 20 processes the audio signal extracted from the 
received signal and supplies the processed audio signal through an 
amplifier 22 to a receiver 8. The receiver 8 emanates sound in accordance 
with the audio signal. 
The CPU 21 carries out a communication control such as control for setting 
and switching a communication channel or the like based on the control 
data supplied from the baseband processing unit 19. 
An audio signal output from a transmitter (microphone) 13 is supplied 
through an amplifier 23 to the audio processing unit 20. The audio 
processing unit 20 subjects the audio signal to the audio processing for 
transmission and then supplies the processed audio signal to the baseband 
processing unit 19. The baseband processing unit 19 subjects the audio 
signal to the baseband processing to obtain a transmission audio signal, 
and supplies the transmission audio signal to the modulating and 
demodulating unit 18. The modulating and demodulating unit 18 carries out 
modulation processing for transmission. The modulating and demodulating 
unit 18 supplies the modulated signal to a transmission unit 24. The 
transmission unit 24 converts the modulated signal into a transmission 
signal of a predetermined transmission channel, and supplies the 
transmission signal through the antenna coupler 16 to the antenna 11. The 
transmission signal is transmitted from the antenna 11 by wireless. 
The CPU 21 is connected with an operation unit 25. When a user operates 
keys forming the operation unit 25, the CPU 21 controls various operations 
of the portable telephone apparatus based on the user's operation. For 
example, the operation unit 25 is provided with an operation key group for 
registration of abbreviated dialing, the setting and so on. The CPU 21 
includes a memory 26 formed of a ROM, a RAM and so on for storing 
communication log data and so on. Moreover, to transmit and receive 
information signals between the body casing 2 side and the card casing 3 
side by wireless (optical communication), a light emitter 27 and a light 
detector 28 are provided in the body casing 2 to form a first transceiver 
means. A voltage source 29 such as a primary or secondary battery is 
incorporated in the body casing 2. 
In the card casing 3, a control unit (hereinafter referred to as a CPU) 30 
such as a microcomputer or the like is provided. The CPU 30 is connected 
with an operation unit 6. The operation unit 6 is formed of ten keys for 
example, or the like and used when a telephone number is input upon a 
telephone call and a processing for dialing the input telephone number is 
carried out. A display unit 31 formed of a liquid crystal display (LCD) or 
the like, a memory 52 for storing a personal identification number (ID) 
and so on are provided therein. 
The CPU 30 is further connected with a light detector 33 for receiving an 
optical information signal from the light emitter 27 on the body casing 2 
side and a light emitter 34 for transmitting an optical information signal 
to the light detector 28 on the body casing 2 side. Thus, a second 
transceiver means is formed of the light detector 33 and the light emitter 
34, whereby an optical communication (or a wire communication) is carried 
out between the CPUs 21 and 30. A voltage source 32 such as a primary or 
secondary battery can be housed in the card casing 3. 
The radio telephone apparatus as the portable communication terminal 
apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with 
reference to FIGS. 4 to 7. FIGS. 4 to 7 are perspective views showing how 
to operate the card casing according to this embodiment. 
In FIGS. 4 to 7, the body casing 2 of the portable communication terminal 
apparatus 15 is made of synthetic resin or the like and has a shape of a 
substantially flat, rectangular box. Upper and lower end portions of the 
portable communication terminal apparatus 15 are respectively formed as 
semicircular portions 50U and 50L. The receiver 8 and the transmitter 13 
are respectively provided in the upper and lower semicircular portions 50U 
and 50L. Respective apertures 9 and 14 formed through arch-shaped plane 
portions of the upper and lower semicircular portions 50U and 50L are 
apertures used when the receiver 8 emanates sounds and the transmitter 13 
picks up sounds. 
As shown in FIG. 4, the body casing 2 has a groove portion formed at a 
portion other than the upper and lower semicircular portions 50U and 50L 
thereof, the groove portion having a concave cross-section in the 
longitudinal direction of the body casing 2 and having a rectangular 
bottom plane which is lower than the upper and lower semicircular portions 
50U and 50L. The groove portion is formed as a panel 51 to which the card 
casing 3 described later on is detachably attached. Circular magnets 53 
are buried at the four corners, for example, of the panel 51 so as to 
attract iron pieces (not shown) bonded to corresponding positions on a 
rear surface of the card casing 3. 
The light emitter 27 and the light detector 28 are respectively buried at 
left and right ends of a lower step portion 35L of the lower semicircular 
portion 50L of the body casing 2. 
An arrangement of the card casing 3 will be described. The card casing (or 
a card) 3 is made of synthetic resin or the like and has a shape of a 
substantially rectangular and flat box. The card casing 3 can be applied 
to a portion between the upper and lower step portions 35U and 35L with 
being opposed to the panel 51 formed between the upper and lower step 
portions 35U and 35L on the body casing 2. Thus, the portable 
communication terminal apparatus is made thin so that the user can carry 
it in his pocket or the like. 
The card casing 3 includes the CPU 30, the operation unit 6, the display 
unit (hereinafter referred to as a LCD) 31, the memory 52 storing the ID 
and so on and the light detector 33 and the light emitter 34 forming the 
second transceiver means which are described with reference to FIG. 3. 
The front surface of the card casing 3 is used as a cover portion 37 as 
shown in FIG. 6. The cover portion 37 functions to protect the key group 
in the operation unit 25 formed on the panel 51 of the body casing 2, the 
LCD 31 provided on a rear side of the card casing 3, and so on which will 
be described later in detail. Since the cover portion 37 prevents the key 
group from being exposed even when the user does not use the portable 
communication terminal apparatus 15, i.e., carries it in a bag, a pocket 
or the like, it is possible to prevent the portable communication terminal 
apparatus 15 from being operated by mistake. 
The operation unit 6 formed of the LCD 31 and an operation key group such 
as a ten key 49, a send key 39, an end key 40 or the like is provided on a 
rear side panel 38 of the card casing 3 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. 
The light detector 33 is provided at one end portion of the lower side 
surface of the card casing 3 opposed to the light emitter 27 incorporated 
in the lower semicircular portion 50L of the body casing 2 as described 
with reference to FIG. 4. The light emitter 34 is provided at the other 
end portion of the lower side surface of the card casing 3 opposed to the 
light detector 28 provided on the body casing 2 side. The antenna 11 is 
incorporated in the body casing 2. 
An operation of the card casing 3 of the portable communication terminal 
apparatus 15 according to the first embodiment having the above 
arrangement will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7. 
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the portable radio telephone apparatus 15 
according to the first embodiment, used to explain how to attach and 
detach the card casing 3 to and from the body casing 2. When the card 
casing 3 with its rear side being faced forward is applied to the panel 
51, the card casing 3 is brought in its housed state as shown in FIG. 5. 
Indeed, in this state, the portable radio telephone apparatus 15 can be 
used for making a telephone call. But, according to the portable 
communication terminal apparatus 15 according to this embodiment, as shown 
in FIG. 7, it is possible for the user to make a telephone call while 
respectively putting the transmitter 13 and receiver 8 to his mouth and 
ear with the body casing 2 held in his left hand and dialing the telephone 
number by operating the operation unit 6 such as a ten key or the like 
provided on the panel 38 with the card casing 3 being held in his right 
hand, and while watching displayed contents such as various messages, 
fares or the like displayed on the LCD 31 being used for the telephone 
call. 
Another arrangement of the portable communication terminal apparatus may be 
employed. In this arrangement, a first operation unit 25, which will be 
described later on, provided on the body casing 2 side in the first 
embodiment, i.e., a key group for registration such as an ID code or the 
like is provided on a cover portion 37 on the front surface of the card 
casing 3 shown in FIG. 6. The first operation unit 25 is used for 
registration of the ID or the like. A second operation unit 6 provided on 
the rear side of the card casing 3 (shown in FIG. 4 or 5) is used for 
making a telephone call or for communication. In this case, a pair 
comprising a light emitter and a light detector are provided at each of 
positions where the light emitter 27 and the light detector 28 are 
provided in this embodiment. 
According to such portable communication terminal apparatus 15 of the first 
embodiment, since the portable communication terminal apparatus 15 does 
not occupy a considerable space required when the card casing (sub casing) 
3 of the portable telephone set 1 shown in FIG. 2 is hung from a hinge 
portion of a body casing 2 thereof, a space occupied by both the body 
casing 2 and the card casing 3 of the portable communication terminal 
apparatus 15 according to the first embodiment is prevented from being 
increased unnecessarily. In addition, the portable communication terminal 
apparatus 15 according to this embodiment is free from breakage and 
detachment of the card casing at the hinge portion during a telephone 
call. In a detached state of the card casing 3 shown in FIG. 7, the user 
can make a telephone call while watching the contents displayed on the 
display unit, and the user can easily write a telephone number being used 
for the telephone call in a memory by his right hand. 
FIGS. 8 and 9 show the portable communication terminal apparatus 15 
according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the second 
embodiment, a display unit 42 formed of a large-size LCD or the like is 
provided on the side of the cover portion 37 of the card casing 3 
according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 4. The LCD 31 provided on 
the panel 38 side of the card casing 3 in the first embodiment is used to 
display the telephone number, a calling time and so on upon a telephone 
call. The large-size LCD 42 of the second embodiment is used for display 
carried out when a text data, a data of a handwritten manuscript, a 
picture data and so on of an electronic mail are transmitted or received. 
Keys 43 provided on the card casing 3 are scroll keys used for scrolling 
when a message having a large number of letters is displayed on the LCD 
42. 
Various operations such as the setting of abbreviated dialing of the 
telephone number, the registration of the ID code or the like may be 
carried out by using the operation unit 25, described with reference to 
FIG. 3, provided on the panel 51 of the body casing shown in FIG. 4. In 
this case, the data is transmitted between the first transceiver means and 
the second transceiver means (i.e., between the light emitter 27 and the 
light detector 33 and between the light emitter 34 and the light detector 
28), thereby registered data being displayed on the LCD 31 on the card 
casing 3 side and being stored in the memory 52. 
When as shown in FIG. 8 the card casing 3 with its front side, i.e., the 
side of the large-size LCD 42 being faced forward is applied to the panel 
51 of the body casing 2 shown in FIG. 9, data of an electronic mail can be 
transmitted and received. When the card casing 3 with its rear surface, 
i.e., the side of the panel 38 being faced forward is applied to the panel 
51, audio data used for a telephone call can be transmitted and received. 
In this case, in order to use the LCD 42 and the panel 38 respectively 
provided on the front and rear sides of the card casing 3, a pair of a 
light emitter and a light detector are provided at each of positions where 
the light emitter 27 and the light detector 28 are provided in the first 
embodiment. 
FIG. 10 shows a portable communication terminal apparatus 15 according to 
the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a perspective 
view of the portable communication terminal apparatus 15 with the card 
casing 3 having a touch-sensitive panel 44 provided on the concave panel 
51 formed with the upper and lower step portions 35U and 35L of the body 
casing 2 when the card casing 3 can be detachably attached to the panel 
51. 
As shown in FIG. 10, the card casing 3 according to the third embodiment 
has the touch-sensitive panel 44 instead of the large-size LCD 42 of the 
second embodiment shown in FIG. 9. The card casing 3 of the third 
embodiment has a display unit 45 on the touch-sensitive panel 44. The card 
casing has a frame body 48 having an aperture portion 46, into which a 
one-touch dialing card 47 can be inserted, on the lower side of a front 
surface thereof, and has the operation unit 6 formed of the ten key or the 
like similarly to the card casing 3 shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 on the rear 
surface thereof. A plural kinds of the detachable card casings 3 are 
prepared, which allows the user to exchange the card casings 3. For 
example, if the card casing 3 having the large-size LCD 42 shown in FIG. 9 
is detached and then the card casing 3 having the touch-sensitive panel 44 
shown in FIG. 10 is attached to the panel 51, the card casing 3 having the 
touch-sensitive panel 44 can be attached to and fixed on the body casing 2 
by the magnets 53 in one-touch operation. 
When the card casing 3 thus attached to the body casing 3 is attached to 
the panel 51 with its rear side being faced forward, the card casing 3 is 
attached to the body casing 2 as shown in FIG. 5. In order to use both the 
touch-sensitive panel 44 and the panel 38 respectively provided on the 
front and rear surfaces of the card casing 3 are used, a pair of the light 
emitter and the light receiver are provided at each of the positions where 
the light emitter 27 and the light detector 28 are provided in the first 
embodiment. 
Since the portable communication terminal apparatus according to the 
present invention is arranged and operated as described above, when the 
user operates the portable communication terminal apparatus for 
registration of the telephone number or the like, it is unnecessary for 
the user to move the portable communication terminal apparatus from the 
position opposing to his mouth and ear for watching the contents displayed 
thereon as it is required when the portable radio telephone apparatus 
shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is used. Therefore, it is possible for the user to 
easily input the telephone number in the portable communication terminal 
apparatus and watch the LCD thereof even during the telephone call. 
Moreover, even when the portable communication terminal apparatus of 
different systems are used, if their attachment mechanisms for detachably 
attaching the card casings to the body casings are compatible with each 
other, then it is possible to obtain the portable communication terminal 
apparatus which allows the user to effectively utilize the data, such as 
his own ID (telephone) number or the like, registered or stored in the 
memory 52 of the card casing 3. 
While in each of the first to third embodiments the light emitter and the 
light detector are used to transmit data between the body casing 2 and the 
card casing 3, data may be transmitted therebetween by providing another 
wireless transmission means particularly used when the card casing 3 is 
brought in its detached state. 
While in each of the first to third embodiments the card casing 3 is 
detachably attached to the body casing 2, the card casing 3 may be 
inserted into a drawing portion of the body casing 2 from which the card 
casing 3 can be freely drawn. 
According to the present invention, since it is unnecessary to open the 
card casing 3 when the information is transmitted and received and it is 
also unnecessary to transmit and receive the information with the card 
casing 3 being hung from the hinge portion or the like, it is possible to 
obtain a portable communication terminal apparatus whose card casing is 
prevented from being broken during the telephone call and which has a 
small and compact size. While the user puts the body casing 2 to his ear 
and mouth, it is possible to watch the contents displayed on the LCD of 
the card casing 3 and to easily input the telephone number or the like in 
the memory 52. Moreover, even if the portable communication terminal 
apparatus of a different system is used, it is possible to effectively 
utilize his own registered telephone number or the like. 
Having described preferred embodiments of the present invention with 
reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the 
present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments and 
that various changes and modifications can be effected therein by one 
skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of the 
present invention as defined in the appended claims.