Patent Publication Number: US-2007121917-A1

Title: Method for automatically regulating volume of ringtone and communication device using the same

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to a method for automatically regulating the volume of a ringtone and a communication device using the same method, and more particularly to a method for automatically regulating the volume of a ringtone and a communication device using the same method that compare the sound value of the environment with a predetermined standard value and automatically adjust the volume of the ringtone according to the compared result.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      As science and technologies advance, high-precision electronic products are used extensively to improve the quality of our life, and one of the communication devices such as a mobile phone is developed to make our life more convenient. Besides the functions of keeping in touch with friends or relatives at a remote end, sending or receiving short messages, writing E-mails, and maintaining a schedule, mobile phones also can be used for listening to music, playing games, performing calculations and taking pictures. The mobile phones usually come with a small, light and stylish design, so that users can perform the aforementioned operations conveniently.  
      If a traditional communication device receives an incoming call from another communication device, the following steps will be processed:  
      (Step  101 ) An incoming call processing unit produces an interrupt signal which is sent to a control unit in the communication device, such that after the incoming call processing unit in the communication device receives an incoming call, the communication device will enter an incoming call mode;  
      (Step  102 ) The control unit obtains a predetermined ringtone from a ringtone database and sends the ringtone to a sound generating element;  
      (Step  103 ) The ringtone set with a predetermined volume is played through a sound generating element until the incoming call is picked up by the user of the communication device or the incoming call processing unit no longer receives the incoming call, the procedure ends when the communication device exits the incoming call mode.  
      In a traditional communication device, the volume of the ringtone played by the communication device is set by the communication device user, so that if the communication device is carried from a quiet environment to a noisy environment, the volume originally set for the quiet environment will be too low for the noisy environment, and users may miss a call. On the other hand, if the communication device is carried from a noisy environment to a quiet environment, the volume originally set for the noisy environment will be too loud for the quiet environment, and thus the user has to frequently set the volume of the communication device with such inconvenient design, or else it may cause inconvenience to the user and nuisance to others. Therefore, finding a way of designing a communication device capable of automatically regulating the volume of a ringtone demands immediate attentions and feasible solutions.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      In view of the foregoing shortcomings of the prior art, the inventor of the present invention based on years of experience to conduct extensive researches and experiments and finally developed a communication device for automatically regulating the volume of a ringtone according to the sound value of the environment.  
      Therefore, it is a primary objective of the present invention to overcome the foregoing shortcomings by providing a method for automatically regulating a ringtone and a communication device using the same method, and a control unit of the communication device installs a regulating program, such that when the communication device receives an incoming call, the control unit detects an external sound signal through a sound detecting unit, and the regulating program compares a corresponding sound value converted from the external sound signal with a predetermined standard value stored in the communication device and automatically regulates the corresponding sound value to a regulation value until the regulation value is greater than the corresponding sound value and then plays the preset ringtone at the volume of the regulation value through a sound generating unit.  
      To make it easier for our examiner to understand the objective of the invention, its structure, innovative features, and performance, we use a preferred embodiment together with the attached drawings for the detailed description of the invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a flow chart of a prior art communication device entering into a call receiving status when receiving an incoming call signal;  
       FIG. 2  is a circuit block diagram of a communication device of the present invention; and  
       FIG. 3  is a flow chart of a communication device automatically regulating a ringtone according to the sound value of the environment and entering into an incoming call mode when an incoming call signal is received.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Referring to  FIG. 2  for a method for automatically regulating the volume of a ringtone and a communication device using the same method in accordance with the present invention, the communication device  20  (such as a mobile phone) receives an incoming call from another communication device  20 , and then the communication device  20  will carry out the following steps.  
      In Step  201 , an incoming call processing unit  30  in the communication device  20  generates an interrupt signal and sends the interrupt signal to a control unit  21  in the communication device  20 , such that the communication device  20  will enter an incoming call mode.  
      In Step  202 , the control unit  21  obtains an external sound signal detected by a sound detecting unit  40  of the communication device  20  and converts the external sound signal into a corresponding sound value (or noise value).  
      In Step  203 , a regulating program  22  installed in the control unit  21  determines whether or not the corresponding sound value is greater than a reset standard value provided by the regulating program; if yes, then process Step  204 , or else process Step  205 .  
      In Step  204 , the regulating program  22  automatically adjusts the magnitude of a regulation value provided by the regulating program  22  until the regulation value is greater than the corresponding sound value, and then process Step  207 .  
      In Step  205 , the regulating program  22  determines whether or not the corresponding sound value is smaller than a low threshold value provided by the regulating program  22  ; if yes, process Step  206 , or else the regulating program  22  automatically regulates the magnitude of the reset regulation value until the regulation value, is greater than the corresponding sound value, and then process Step  207 .  
      In Step  206 , the communication device  20  enters a mute mode and turns on an output unit  23  of the communication device  20 , so that an output of the output unit  23  can remind the user of the communication device  20  about the current incoming call status, and then process Step  208 .  
      In Step  207 , the control unit  21  plays a predetermined ringtone at the volume of the regulation value through a sound generating unit  50 , and then process Step  208 .  
      In Step  208 , the procedure is ended after the user of the communication device  20  receives an incoming call or the incoming call processing unit  30  no longer receives the incoming call, so as to exit the incoming call mode, and then process Step  202  again.  
      Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the regulating program  22  analyzes and compares the corresponding sound value with the standard value and automatically regulates the reset regulation value, and the difference of the standard value and the corresponding sound value and the magnitude of the corresponding sound value are default settings specified by the manufacturers of the communication device  20  or defined by users to meet the different user requirements.  
      Referring to  FIG. 2 , the sound detecting unit  40  comprises an analog-to-digital converter (ADC)  41 , a filter circuit, an amplify circuit  43  and a sensing element  44 , wherein the sensing element  44  detects an external sound signal (Voice) from the outside and then converts the external sound signal into an analog voltage signal (Wave), and then the amplify circuit  43  and filter circuit  42  process the signal, and the analog-to-digital converter  41  converts the signal into a corresponding sound value which is a digital value, and sends the corresponding sound value to the control unit  21  for further processing. However, the analog-to-digital converter (ADC)  41  of the invention could be built in the control unit  21 , and thus the present invention can lower the cost and provide the advantage of better integration.  
      As shown in  FIG. 2 , the communication device  20  includes the control unit  21  and the output unit  23 , wherein the control unit  21  is electrically coupled to each component and electronic circuit in the communication device  20  for the normal operations of the communication device  20 , and the output unit  23  could be a display device or a vibrating motor. If the regulating program  22  determines that the corresponding digital sound value is greater than the standard value, the output of the output unit  23  will correspond to the change. For example, a display device projects a stronger light, and a continuous display of different colors of the display device or a stronger vibration of the vibrating motor is used to indicate the stronger light, so as to quickly and effectively remind the user of the communication device  20  about an incoming call status.  
      In  FIG. 2 , the control unit  21  further comprises a memory  24  for storing an operating system, an application program and the regulating program  22  required for the normal operations of the communication device  20  and executed by the control unit  21 . Further, the memory  24  stores a ringtone database  25 , and the ringtone database  25  records a plurality of ringtones which are preset by manufacturers or set or added by users of the communication device  20 , and each ringtone in the ringtone database  25  can be selected by the user of the communication device  20 , such that when the communication device  20  receives the incoming call, the sound generating unit  50  plays the ringtone to remind the user about the incoming call.  
      Further, the sound generating unit  50  comprises a digital-to-analog converter  51  (DAC) and a sound generating element  52  (such as a speaker) and the digital-to-analog converter  51  is provided for receiving a ringtone transmitted from the control unit  21  and converting the ringtone into a corresponding analog voltage signal (Wave) and sending the analog voltage signal to the sound generating element  52 , and then the sound generating element  52  plays the sound (or voice).  
      While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.