JP2009267886A - Mobile terminal, method of controlling acquisition of positional information of mobile terminal and mobile terminal program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To save power consumption by decreasing a frequency of acquiring positional information in the case that a terminal is not stationary but it is not necessary to frequently acquire the positional information. <P>SOLUTION: At a mobile terminal 100, a GPS receiver 103 utilizes data received from a GPS satellite 200 to acquire the positional information of the mobile terminal 100. A pattern storage section 108 stores in a storage device 102 a pattern of the predicted movement of the mobile terminal 100. A positional information acquisition control section 109 compares the movement of the mobile terminal 100 sensed by an acceleration sensor 104 with the pattern of the movement stored in a pattern storage section 108 at predetermined time intervals to adjust the frequency for the GPS receiver 103 to acquire the positional information on the basis of a result of the comparison. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile terminal, a mobile terminal location information acquisition control method, and a mobile terminal program. The present invention particularly relates to a power saving position information acquisition apparatus.

  Information processing devices such as portable terminals and wearable terminals are often used while walking or standing in town. In such a case, attention to the periphery of the terminal user tends to be distracted, so a terminal with good operability is required. In recent years, as an attempt to improve the operability of the terminal, position information is always acquired with a terminal equipped with context-aware technology that uses context (position information, time information, temperature information), GPS (Global Positioning System), etc. Life log terminals that record user behavior patterns have been studied. However, since portable terminals and wearable terminals operate on batteries, power saving is important, and practical application is difficult unless the frequency of acquisition processing of position information that consumes a large amount of power is suppressed.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for saving power by determining whether a terminal is moving by using an output result of a geomagnetic sensor and stopping acquisition of position information when the terminal is stationary. Yes.

  For example, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for saving power by determining whether the terminal is moving by using an output result of an acceleration sensor and stopping acquisition of position information when the terminal is stationary. Yes.

As described above, in the conventional technique, a sensor is used to determine whether the terminal is stationary or moving, and position information is not acquired when the terminal is stationary.
JP 2003-204572 A JP 2000-352519 A

  In portable terminals and wearable terminals, the more power consumption can be saved, the better. However, in the prior art, whether or not to acquire position information is determined only by determining whether or not the terminal is stationary. This is a case where the terminal is not stationary but does not need to frequently acquire position information. However, there is a problem that the position information is unnecessarily acquired and the power consumption cannot be sufficiently saved.

  An object of the present invention is, for example, to reduce power consumption by reducing the frequency of acquiring position information when the terminal is not stationary but it is not necessary to frequently acquire position information. It is another object of the present invention to prevent a situation where position information cannot be acquired at all when the position information acquisition frequency is reduced.

A mobile terminal according to an aspect of the present invention includes:
A mobile terminal including a location information acquisition unit that acquires location information of its own terminal by performing wireless communication with an external device,
A motion detector that detects the movement of the terminal itself;
A pattern storage unit that stores a predicted movement pattern of the terminal in a storage device;
At a predetermined time interval, the motion sensed by the motion sensing unit and the motion pattern stored by the pattern storage unit are compared by the processing device, and the location information is obtained by the location information obtaining unit based on the comparison result. And a position information acquisition control unit that adjusts the frequency of the operation.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, a mobile terminal including a position information acquisition unit that acquires position information of its own terminal by performing wireless communication with an external device is predicted by the pattern storage unit. The pattern is stored, and the position information acquisition control unit compares the motion sensed by the motion sensing unit with the motion pattern stored by the pattern storage unit at a predetermined time interval, and based on the comparison result By adjusting the frequency with which the position information acquisition unit acquires position information, for example, if the terminal is not stationary but the position information can be predicted, the position information need not be frequently acquired. It is possible to save power consumption by lowering the acquisition frequency.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of portable terminal 100 according to the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, a portable terminal 100 is an example of a mobile terminal. The portable terminal 100 is, for example, a built-in information processing device such as a mobile phone, a life log terminal, a digital camera, a portable navigation terminal, or a car navigation terminal, or a device mounted on a part thereof. It is desirable that The portable terminal 100 includes a processing device 101, a storage device 102, a GPS receiver 103 (module), an acceleration sensor 104, an input unit 105, a history recording unit 106, a history analysis unit 107, a pattern storage unit 108, and a position information acquisition control unit. 109 and a display unit 110. Note that the portable terminal 100 may be replaced with a wearable terminal having a similar configuration.

  The processing device 101 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit), for example, and is used for performing calculation, processing, reading, writing, and the like of data and information in each unit of the portable terminal 100.

  The storage device 102 is, for example, an HDD (hard disk drive) or a memory, and is used for storing data and information in each unit of the portable terminal 100.

  The GPS receiver 103 is an example of a position information acquisition unit, and acquires position information of its own terminal by performing wireless communication with an external device. Specifically, the GPS receiver 103 receives data indicating orbit information, time information, and the like from a plurality of GPS satellites 200 (an example of an external device), and displays information indicated by the data and a difference in arrival time of the data. Based on this, the position of the portable terminal 100 is calculated. The GPS receiver 103 may be replaced with a mobile phone module. The mobile phone module receives data indicating information on a cell in which the mobile terminal 100 is located from a base station device (an example of an external device) of the mobile phone network, and the mobile terminal 100 is based on the content of the data. The position of is detected.

  The acceleration sensor 104 is an example of a motion sensing unit, and senses the motion of its own terminal. Specifically, the acceleration sensor 104 measures the acceleration of the portable terminal 100 serving as basic information for determining whether the portable terminal 100 has moved.

  The input unit 105 is an example of an operation unit, and is operated by a user. The input unit 105 is, for example, operation keys and operation buttons for a user (terminal user) to input information.

  The history recording unit 106 records a history of user actions and operations. Specifically, the history recording unit 106 includes history information (log) of position information acquired by the GPS receiver 103, movement history information sensed by the acceleration sensor 104, history information of operations performed on the input unit 105, and the like. Record in the storage device 102.

  The history analysis unit 107 analyzes the history information recorded by the history recording unit 106 with the processing device 101, thereby predicting the movement pattern of the own terminal, the position of the own terminal, and the operation on the input unit 105 for each time zone. Identify the contents of. The history analysis unit 107 identifies at least one of the time during which the terminal is moving and the speed at which the terminal is moving as the movement pattern. The time during which the terminal is moving is, for example, the time during which the acceleration sensor 104 continues to detect a state where the acceleration of the portable terminal 100 is greater than zero. The speed at which the terminal moves is, for example, the average value of the speed of the portable terminal 100 detected by the acceleration sensor 104 within a certain time.

  The pattern storage unit 108 stores, in the storage device 102, data indicating the movement pattern, position, and operation content specified by the history analysis unit 107 as data for each time zone in which the pattern is predicted. The pattern storage unit 108 stores, in advance, similar data input by the user from the input unit 105, for example, instead of storing data indicating the movement pattern, position, and operation content specified by the history analysis unit 107. 102 may be stored.

  The position information acquisition control unit 109 confirms whether or not the acceleration sensor 104 has detected movement at a predetermined time interval (for example, every one minute). If no movement is detected, the position information acquisition control unit 109 controls the GPS receiver 103 so that the GPS receiver 103 does not acquire position information. Note that the position information acquisition control unit 109 does not detect movement by the acceleration sensor 104, but every time a predetermined time (for example, 10 minutes) elapses (that is, periodically). The GPS receiver 103 may be controlled to cause the GPS receiver 103 to acquire position information.

  When the motion is detected by the acceleration sensor 104, the position information acquisition control unit 109 detects the motion sensed by the acceleration sensor 104 and the time zone (whether the acceleration sensor 104 sensed the motion) stored in the pattern storage unit 108. If it is 12:34:56, whether the acceleration sensor 104 has detected the movement is a 12:34 movement pattern, for example, when the acceleration sensor 104 has detected the movement. Or the movement pattern from 12:30 to 12:40 or the movement pattern from 12:00 to 13:00). In addition, the position information acquisition control unit 109 uses the processing device 101 to compare the position indicated by the position information acquired immediately before by the GPS receiver 103 with the position in the time zone stored by the pattern storage unit 108. Then, the position information acquisition control unit 109 adjusts the frequency with which the GPS receiver 103 acquires position information based on the comparison result.

  Specifically, the movement detected by the acceleration sensor 104 and the movement pattern stored by the pattern storage unit 108 are identical or similar, and the position and pattern indicated by the position information acquired immediately before by the GPS receiver 103 are displayed. When the position stored in the storage unit 108 matches or is close to the position, the position information acquisition control unit 109 controls the GPS receiver 103 so that the GPS receiver 103 does not acquire the position information. On the other hand, when the motion detected by the acceleration sensor 104 is not similar to the motion pattern stored by the pattern storage unit 108, or the position indicated by the position information acquired immediately before by the GPS receiver 103 and the pattern storage unit When the position stored by 108 is far, the position information acquisition control unit 109 controls the GPS receiver 103 to cause the GPS receiver 103 to acquire position information.

  In order to obtain a comparison result between the movement detected by the acceleration sensor 104 and the movement pattern stored in the pattern storage unit 108, the position information acquisition control unit 109 specifically stores the movement detected by the acceleration sensor 104 and the pattern storage. The processor 101 calculates a difference from the motion pattern stored by the unit 108. For example, the position information acquisition control unit 109 determines the difference between the time when the acceleration sensor 104 continues to detect a state where the acceleration of the portable terminal 100 is greater than 0 and the time stored as a movement pattern by the pattern storage unit 108. Calculate Further, for example, the position information acquisition control unit 109 calculates the average value of the speed of the portable terminal 100 detected by the acceleration sensor 104 within a certain time and the speed stored as a motion pattern by the pattern storage unit 108. Calculate the difference. When the difference is less than a predetermined threshold, the position information acquisition control unit 109 controls the GPS receiver 103 so that the GPS receiver 103 does not acquire position information. On the other hand, when the difference is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the position information acquisition control unit 109 controls the GPS receiver 103 to cause the GPS receiver 103 to acquire position information.

  The position information acquisition control unit 109 adjusts the frequency with which the GPS receiver 103 acquires position information based only on the comparison result between the motion sensed by the acceleration sensor 104 and the motion pattern stored in the pattern storage unit 108. May be. That is, the operation of comparing the position indicated by the position information acquired immediately before by the GPS receiver 103 with the position in the time zone stored by the pattern storage unit 108 may be omitted. Further, the position information acquisition control unit 109 receives the GPS signal based on the comparison result between the motion sensed by the acceleration sensor 104 and the motion pattern stored in the pattern storage unit 108 and the operation performed on the input unit 105 by the user. The frequency with which the machine 103 acquires position information may be adjusted. Further, the position information acquisition control unit 109 further compares the content of the operation on the input unit 105 by the user with the content of the operation stored in the pattern storage unit 108 by the processing device 101, and receives the GPS reception based on the comparison result. The frequency with which the machine 103 acquires position information may be adjusted.

  The display unit 110 displays a processing result of each unit of the portable terminal 100, data processed by each unit, and the like on a screen. The display unit 110 is an LCD (liquid crystal display) for displaying information to the user, for example.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the portable terminal 100.

  In FIG. 2, a portable terminal 100 is a computer (including a microcomputer), and includes hardware such as an input unit 105 such as operation keys and operation buttons, a display unit 110 having a display screen such as an LCD, and the like. Connected by cable or signal line.

  The portable terminal 100 includes a CPU 911 that executes a program. The CPU 911 is an example of the processing device 101. The CPU 911 is connected to a ROM 913 (Read / Only / Memory), a RAM 914 (Random / Access / Memory), a communication board 915, an input unit 105, a display unit 110, and a magnetic disk device 920 (HDD) via a bus 912. Control hardware devices. Instead of the magnetic disk device 920, a storage medium such as a flash memory or a memory card reader / writer may be used.

  The RAM 914 is an example of a volatile memory. The storage medium of the ROM 913 and the magnetic disk device 920 is an example of a nonvolatile memory. These are examples of the storage device 102. The communication board 915, the input unit 105, and the like are examples of input devices. The communication board 915, the display unit 110, and the like are examples of output devices.

  The communication board 915 is wirelessly connected to a wireless LAN (local area network), a mobile phone network, or the like. The communication board 915 is connected to the Internet or a WAN such as an IP-VPN (Internet, Protocol, Private, Network), a wide area LAN, and an ATM (Asynchronous, Transfer, Mode) network via a wireless LAN, a cellular phone network, or the like. (Wide area network) may be connected. A wireless LAN, a mobile phone network, the Internet, and a WAN are examples of networks.

  The magnetic disk device 920 stores an operating system 921 (OS), a window system 922, a program group 923, and a file group 924. The programs in the program group 923 are executed by the CPU 911, the operating system 921, and the window system 922. The program group 923 stores a program for executing a function described as “˜unit” in the description of the present embodiment. The program is read and executed by the CPU 911. The file group 924 includes data and information described as “˜data”, “˜information”, “˜ID (identifier)”, “˜flag”, and “˜result” in the description of this embodiment. Signal values, variable values, and parameters are stored as items of “˜file”, “˜database”, and “˜table”. The “˜file”, “˜database”, and “˜table” are stored in a storage medium such as a disk or a memory. Data, information, signal values, variable values, and parameters stored in a storage medium such as a disk or memory are read out to the main memory or cache memory by the CPU 911 via a read / write circuit, and extracted, searched, referenced, compared, and calculated. Used for processing (operation) of the CPU 911 such as calculation / control / output / printing / display. Data, information, signal values, variable values, and parameters are temporarily stored in the main memory, cache memory, and buffer memory during processing of the CPU 911 such as extraction, search, reference, comparison, calculation, control, output, printing, and display. Is remembered.

  In addition, the arrows in the block diagrams and flowcharts used in the description of this embodiment mainly indicate input / output of data and signals, and the data and signals are recording media such as a memory such as a RAM 914 and a magnetic disk of a magnetic disk device 920. To be recorded. Data and signals are transmitted by a bus 912, a signal line, a cable, and other transmission media.

  In addition, what is described as “˜unit” in the description of this embodiment may be “˜circuit”, “˜device”, “˜device”, and “˜step”, “˜process”. , “˜procedure”, and “˜processing”. That is, what is described as “˜unit” may be realized by firmware stored in the ROM 913. Alternatively, it may be realized only by software, or only by hardware such as an element, a device, a board, and wiring, or a combination of software and hardware, and further by a combination of firmware. Firmware and software are stored as a program in a recording medium such as a magnetic disk. This program is read by the CPU 911 and executed by the CPU 911. That is, the program causes the computer to function as “to part” described in the description of the present embodiment. Alternatively, it causes the computer to execute the procedures and methods described in the description of the present embodiment.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the portable terminal 100 will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation when the portable terminal 100 acquires position information (position information acquisition control method of the portable terminal 100).

  When the portable terminal 100 is activated, in step S101 (position information acquisition control process), the position information acquisition control unit 109 sets initial parameters for setting how many minutes the GPS receiver 103 acquires position information. A value is read from the storage device 102. The initial value is determined at the time of shipment of the portable terminal 100, for example, but can be changed by the user from the input unit 105 after the shipment.

  In step S102 (position information acquisition control process), the position information acquisition control unit 109 instructs the GPS receiver 103 to acquire position information.

  In step S103 (position information acquisition processing), the GPS receiver 103 receives data from the GPS satellite 200 in accordance with an instruction from the position information acquisition control unit 109, and calculates the position of the portable terminal 100 based on the data. Thus, the position information of the portable terminal 100 is acquired. For example, when the portable terminal 100 has communication means with an external device other than the GPS satellite 200 such as a mobile phone, the portable terminal 100 receives information for correcting position information from the external device through the network, The position information may be corrected based on the information to obtain more accurate position information. For example, when the portable terminal 100 has a map matching function such as a navigation terminal, the position information may be corrected by estimating that the portable terminal 100 should be in a passable position on the map.

  In step S104 (history recording process), the history recording unit 106 stores the position information acquired by the GPS receiver 103 in step S103 in the storage device 102 together with time information when the position information is acquired. The history recording unit 106 stores, for example, the latitude and longitude of the portable terminal 100 calculated by the GPS receiver 103 as time series data.

  In step S105 (position information acquisition control process), the position information acquisition control unit 109 waits until the next time the GPS receiver 103 acquires position information, based on the parameter value read in step S101.

  When it is time to cause the GPS receiver 103 to acquire position information, in step S106 (position information acquisition control processing), the position information acquisition control unit 109 determines whether the GPS receiver 103 has It is determined whether or not position information should be acquired. Details of the processing in step S106 will be described later.

  When the position information acquisition control unit 109 determines that the GPS receiver 103 should acquire position information (YES in step S107), the process returns to step S102, and the position information acquisition control unit 109 detects the position of the GPS receiver 103. Instructs the acquisition of information. And the process after step S103 is repeated. On the other hand, if the position information acquisition control unit 109 determines that the GPS receiver 103 should not acquire position information (NO in step S107), the process returns to step S105, and the position information acquisition control unit 109 reads in step S101. Based on the parameter value, the system waits until the GPS receiver 103 next acquires position information. And the process after step S106 is repeated.

  In steps S105 to S107 (position information acquisition control processing), the position information acquisition control unit 109 monitors the moving state of the portable terminal 100 and makes the GPS receiver 103 acquire the position information. Then, it may be determined whether or not the time when the GPS receiver 103 next acquires position information has passed. In this case, if the time at which the GPS receiver 103 acquires position information has passed, the process returns to step S102, and if the time at which the GPS receiver 103 acquires position information has not passed, the process returns to step S105.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing details of the process in step S106 in FIG.

  In step S201 (motion sensing process), the acceleration sensor 104 senses the movement of the portable terminal 100. The acceleration sensor 104 is frequently activated and keeps recording the orientation of the axis of the portable terminal 100 and the like.

  In step S202 (history recording process), the history recording unit 106 saves the movement of the portable terminal 100 detected by the acceleration sensor 104 in step S201 in the storage device 102 together with time information when the movement is detected. The history recording unit 106 stores, for example, data of a plurality of axes for a certain period recorded by the acceleration sensor 104, or the moving speed and moving time of the portable terminal 100 calculated from the data as time series data.

  In step S <b> 203 (position information acquisition control processing), the position information acquisition control unit 109 determines the general pattern of movement of the portable terminal 100 by the processing device 101. The general pattern is a movement state of the portable terminal 100 that can be determined by the position information acquisition control unit 109 acquiring the state of the acceleration sensor 104. The position information acquisition control unit 109 determines the movement state of the portable terminal 100 by, for example, acquiring data of a plurality of axes for a predetermined time recorded by the acceleration sensor 104. The position information acquisition control unit 109 determines that the portable terminal 100 is stationary if no movement is detected by the acceleration sensor 104, and if the movement is detected by the acceleration sensor 104, the portable terminal 100 Judge that it is moving. Since the acceleration sensor 104 reacts even with a slight vibration, the position information acquisition control unit 109 can actually estimate that the portable terminal 100 or the user is stationary even if the acceleration sensor 104 senses movement. If the movement is of a degree, it is determined that the portable terminal 100 is stationary. The position information acquisition control unit 109 can estimate that the portable terminal 100 or the user is stationary from the amplitude and vibration time measured by the acceleration sensor 104. For example, if the acceleration sensor 104 senses movement in the same direction for a certain time, it can be seen that the portable terminal 100 continues to accelerate during that time. And if the time is less than 1 second, for example, it can be estimated that the user has just taken the portable terminal 100. If the time is, for example, 1 second or more and less than 1 minute, it can be estimated that the user has started walking. Further, if the time is, for example, 1 minute or longer, it can be estimated that the user has started moving at high speed on a train or the like. Thereafter, when the acceleration continues to change in units of several seconds, the position information acquisition control unit 109 determines that the portable terminal 100 is moving or moving at a high speed. If there is no change in acceleration or only a slight change continues, the position information acquisition control unit 109 determines that the portable terminal 100 is stationary.

  If the position information acquisition control unit 109 determines in step S203 that the portable terminal 100 is moving or moving at high speed (YES in step S204), in step S205 (position information acquisition control process), the position information acquisition control unit 109, the processing device 101 determines the user pattern of the movement of the portable terminal 100. The user pattern is a movement state of the portable terminal 100 that can be determined by the position information acquisition control unit 109 comparing the state of the acceleration sensor 104 and the movement pattern stored in the pattern storage unit 108. Details of the processing in step S205 will be described later. If the location information acquisition control unit 109 determines in step S203 that the portable terminal 100 is stationary (NO in step S204), in step S206 (location information acquisition control process), the location information acquisition control unit 109 It is determined that the receiver 103 should not acquire position information.

  Even when the position information acquisition control unit 109 determines in step S203 that the portable terminal 100 is stationary, a predetermined time (in step S105) in step S206 (position information acquisition control process). Position information acquisition control unit 109 may determine that the GPS receiver 103 should acquire position information. If the position information acquisition control unit 109 has passed a certain time such as 10 minutes or 1 hour since the previous position measurement by the GPS receiver 103, regardless of whether the portable terminal 100 is moving or not. By causing the GPS receiver 103 to measure the position, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the position information cannot be acquired at all even when the determination in step S203 is incorrect.

  As described above, the position information acquisition control unit 109 confirms the movement state of the portable terminal 100 at a predetermined time interval, and confirms that the portable terminal 100 is moving (or the position information is stored in the previous GPS receiver 103). If it is known that the portable terminal 100 has moved after being acquired), the GPS receiver 103 is caused to acquire position information, and if the portable terminal 100 is known to be stationary, the GPS receiver 103 is informed. Do not get location information. The position information acquisition control unit 109 indicates that the portable terminal 100 is moving at a high speed (or that the portable terminal 100 has moved a long distance after the GPS receiver 103 previously acquired the position information). If known, the frequency with which the GPS receiver 103 acquires position information may be increased. That is, the time interval for confirming the movement state of the portable terminal 100 may be shortened. Thereby, the position information acquisition control unit 109 can save power by limiting the acquisition process of the position information according to the distance that the portable terminal 100 moves.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation when the portable terminal 100 analyzes history information.

  In step S301 (history analysis processing), the history analysis unit 107 reads time-series data recorded by the history recording unit 106 in step S104 or step S202 from the storage device 102. Then, the history analysis unit 107 analyzes the movement of the portable terminal 100 for each time recorded in the read time-series data by the processing device 101, so that the movement of the portable terminal 100 predicted for each time zone is analyzed. Identify the pattern. In addition, the history analysis unit 107 analyzes the position of the portable terminal 100 for each time recorded in the read time-series data by the processing device 101, so that the position of the portable terminal 100 predicted for each time zone is determined. Identify. Specifically, when the movement or movement change of the portable terminal 100 is the same for a certain number of days with a deviation within a certain range before and after a certain time, the movement or movement change is in the time zone. The position of the mobile terminal 100 at that time or the change in the position is the position predicted in the time zone.

  In step S302 (pattern storage processing), the pattern storage unit 108 stores data indicating the movement pattern and position of the portable terminal 100 identified by the history analysis unit 107 in step S301 for each time zone in which they are predicted. The data is stored in the storage device 102 as data.

  For example, between 7:30 and 8:30 (by the user getting on a commuter train from station A), the portable terminal 100 starts moving at a high speed from station A, and 30 minutes later (the user walks from station B) If there is a situation where a low-speed movement is started from station B for 15 days or more in one month, the movement pattern and position of the portable terminal 100 are likely to be the same on the other days as well. Therefore, the pattern storage unit 108 stores data indicating the pattern and position of the movement as data of the time period. In this case, for example, if the position information of the station A is acquired by the GPS receiver 103 between 7:30 and 8:30, and then the high-speed movement of the portable terminal 100 is detected by the acceleration sensor 104 for a certain period of time. In the processing to be described later, the position information acquisition control unit 109 predicts the position of the portable terminal 100 in the time zone because the movement of the portable terminal 100 matches or resembles the motion pattern predicted in the time zone. It is determined that the position matches or is close. At this time, since the position of the portable terminal 100 can be predicted to become station B after 30 minutes, the position information acquisition control unit 109 needs to cause the GPS receiver 103 to acquire position information until at least 30 minutes have elapsed. Disappears.

  Also, for example, between 12:45 and 12:55 (when the user starts walking in the office of the company), the portable terminal 100 starts moving slowly in the office, and 5 minutes later (when the user is in the office) If the situation of being stationary in the office (for example, by sitting at the desk) for more than 10 days in a month, the movement pattern and position of the portable terminal 100 may be the same on the other days as well. Therefore, the pattern storage unit 108 stores data indicating the pattern and position of the movement as data for the time period. In this case, for example, when the position information of the office is acquired by the GPS receiver 103 between 12:45 and 12:55, and the low-speed movement of the portable terminal 100 is detected by the acceleration sensor 104 for a certain period of time, In the processing to be described later, the position information acquisition control unit 109 matches or resembles the movement pattern of the portable terminal 100 predicted in the time zone, and the position of the portable terminal 100 is predicted in the time zone. It is determined that the position matches or is close. At this time, since it can be predicted that the position of the portable terminal 100 will not change after 5 minutes, the position information acquisition control unit 109 needs to cause the GPS receiver 103 to acquire position information until at least 5 minutes have passed. Disappear.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing details of the process in step S205 in FIG.

  In step S401 (position information acquisition control process), the position information acquisition control unit 109 reads from the storage device 102 the data indicating the movement pattern and position in the current time zone stored by the pattern storage unit 108 in step S302. .

  In step S402 (position information acquisition control processing), the position information acquisition control unit 109 uses the processing device 101 to compare the movement detected by the acceleration sensor 104 in step S201 and the movement pattern read in step S401. The position information acquisition control unit 109, for example, the movement speed and movement time of the portable terminal 100 calculated from the data of a plurality of axes for a certain period recorded by the acceleration sensor 104 in step S201, and the movement read in step S401. A comparison is made with the movement speed and movement time of the portable terminal 100 indicated by the pattern.

  In step S403 (position information acquisition control process), the position information acquisition control unit 109 determines whether or not the difference in the movement speed or movement time of the portable terminal 100 compared in step S402 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. It is determined by 101.

  In step S404 (position information acquisition control process), the position information acquisition control unit 109 determines the difference between the position indicated by the position information acquired by the GPS receiver 103 in the previous step S103 and the position read in step S401 (for example, Distance) is calculated by the processing device 101. Then, the position information acquisition control unit 109 determines whether or not the difference in the position where the portable terminal 100 is is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold by the processing device 101.

  In step S403, the position information acquisition control unit 109 determines that the difference in moving speed or movement time of the portable terminal 100 is less than a predetermined threshold, and in step S404, the position information acquisition control unit 109 determines that the portable terminal 100 If it is determined that the difference in the position where the position is less than the predetermined threshold (YES in step S405), the position information acquisition control unit 109 sends the position information to the GPS receiver 103 in step S406 (position information acquisition control process). Judge that it should not be acquired. On the other hand, when the position information acquisition control unit 109 determines in step S403 that the difference in moving speed or movement time of the portable terminal 100 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, or in step S404, the position information acquisition control unit 109 When it is determined that the difference in the position where the type terminal 100 is present is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold (NO in step S405), in step S407 (position information acquisition control process), the position information acquisition control unit 109 receives the GPS receiver 103. It is determined that the location information should be acquired.

  In step S403, the position information acquisition control unit 109 determines that the difference in moving speed or movement time of the portable terminal 100 is less than a predetermined threshold, and in step S404, the position information acquisition control unit 109 Even when it is determined that the position of the terminal 100 is less than the predetermined threshold, in step S406 (position information acquisition control process), a predetermined time (set longer than the standby time interval in step S105) is set. ), The position information acquisition control unit 109 may determine that the GPS receiver 103 should acquire position information. Even if the user's behavior is similar to the daily behavior, there is a possibility that the behavior will be slightly different. Therefore, the position information acquisition control unit 109 may have a slightly longer time interval and occasionally a GPS receiver. By causing the position information to be acquired in 103, even if there is an error in the user pattern determination process, it is possible to prevent a situation where the position information cannot be acquired at all when it should be acquired.

  Thus, the position information acquisition control unit 109 determines whether or not the user's action is the same as the daily action. For example, the position information acquisition control unit 109 determines that the user's action is different from the steady action if the time and speed at which the portable terminal 100 is moving are different from usual. When the position information acquisition control unit 109 determines that the user's action is the same as the steady action, the GPS receiver 103 does not acquire the position information even if the portable terminal 100 is moving, The position information stored as a steady movement pattern is used. In other words, if the user's behavior is the same as the regular behavior, even if the portable terminal 100 moves, the movement destination can be predicted from the past history, and therefore processing for newly acquiring position information is not performed. In general, since the user often performs the same action every day, for example, the daily customary action, that is, the action when the place is the same and the time is the same can be found from the history information. In such a case, even if there is a small amount of movement, it can be predicted that the movement is in the office or in the house. By making such a prediction and reducing the number of times of obtaining position information, it is possible to save power.

  For example, even if the user's behavior is similar to a steady behavior, it is difficult to judge whether the behavior pattern is just similar or the time is shifted, such as when the time is shifted by 1 hour There is. Therefore, in such a case, the influence of the erroneous determination can be reduced by setting the interval of the standby time in step S105 slightly short. In other words, the position information acquisition control unit 109 adjusts the frequency with which the GPS receiver 103 acquires position information higher as the difference between the motion sensed by the acceleration sensor 104 and the motion pattern stored in the pattern storage unit 108 increases. May be. In addition, for example, since the portable terminal 100 is likely to remain stationary while the user is sleeping at night, the standby time interval of step S105 is set longer during the night so that the user is active during the day. Since there is a high possibility that the portable terminal 100 will continue to move while the mobile phone 100 is in operation, it is also effective to set the interval of the standby time in step S105 short during the day.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the portable terminal 100 includes a battery that includes means for acquiring position information, means for sensing movement, display means such as an LCD, and input means such as a keyboard. In the portable terminal 100 that operates on the mobile terminal 100, means for determining the movement state, means for controlling the position information acquisition process, means for recording a history of actions and operations such as position and action, and means for analyzing the history It is characterized by holding.

  The means for determining the movement state is characterized by determining whether the portable terminal 100 is stationary, moving, or moving at high speed, based on an output result of the means for detecting movement.

  The means for determining the moving state is characterized by determining the moving state based on the output result of the acceleration sensor 104.

  The means for determining the movement state is the portable terminal by determining the identity between the output result of the acceleration sensor 104 and the output result of the acceleration sensor taken by the means for recording the history by means for analyzing the history. It is characterized by determining whether 100 is stationary or moving.

  Based on the determination result of the means for determining the movement state, the means for controlling the acquisition process of the position information does not newly acquire the position information if the portable terminal 100 is stationary, and the portable terminal 100 is moving If so, the position information is newly acquired.

  The means for controlling the acquisition process of the position information is based on the result of analyzing the history recorded by the history recording means and the history recorded by the history recording means based on the result of the history analysis. If the behavior is the same, the location information is not frequently obtained, and if the behavior is different from the previous one, the location information is frequently obtained.

  The means for controlling the position information acquisition process is characterized by acquiring the position information at an appropriate interval regardless of the determination result of the means for determining the movement state.

  The appropriate interval is characterized in that it is determined depending on whether or not the similarity with the result of analyzing the history recorded in the history recording means is high.

  In the present embodiment, since the portable terminal 100 is configured as described above, a user context required when constructing an application that supports a user operation according to a context-aware application or a situation. Among the information, it is possible to suppress power consumption for keeping track of particularly important position information at all times. Specifically, the number of calls of a function that consumes a large amount of power using GPS or the like is reduced using the acceleration sensor 104 or the like, and the number of calls of the function is stored as an action in which the current action of the user is stored in advance. In addition to reducing this by comparing with other patterns, call the function at regular intervals, and change the intervals according to the behavior pattern to save power while constantly grasping the correct location information. Can do.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, even when the portable terminal 100 is moving, by using the past history, for example, if the movement is slight, the position information is not acquired and correct. In order to keep track of the position information at all times, it is possible to reduce the number of position information acquisition processes and save power by using a method of always acquiring the position information from time to time.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, you may implement combining 2 or more embodiment among these. Alternatively, one of these embodiments may be partially implemented. Or you may implement combining two or more embodiment among these partially.

3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a mobile terminal according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a mobile terminal according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of the mobile terminal according to Embodiment 1. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of the mobile terminal according to Embodiment 1. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of the mobile terminal according to Embodiment 1. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of the mobile terminal according to Embodiment 1.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Portable terminal, 101 Processing apparatus, 102 Storage apparatus, 103 GPS receiver, 104 Acceleration sensor, 105 Input part, 106 History recording part, 107 History analysis part, 108 Pattern storage part, 109 Position information acquisition control part, 110 Display Part, 200 GPS satellite, 911 CPU, 912 bus, 913 ROM, 914 RAM, 915 communication board, 920 magnetic disk unit, 921 operating system, 922 window system, 923 program group, 924 file group.

Claims (12)

A mobile terminal including a location information acquisition unit that acquires location information of its own terminal by performing wireless communication with an external device,
A motion detector that detects the movement of the terminal itself;
A pattern storage unit that stores a predicted movement pattern of the terminal in a storage device;
At a predetermined time interval, the motion sensed by the motion sensing unit and the motion pattern stored by the pattern storage unit are compared by the processing device, and the location information is obtained by the location information obtaining unit based on the comparison result. A mobile terminal comprising: a position information acquisition control unit that adjusts the frequency of the mobile terminal. The pattern storage unit stores, in a storage device, a motion pattern of the terminal that is predicted for each time zone,
The position information acquisition control unit compares the movement sensed by the movement sensing unit with the pattern of the movement in the time zone stored by the pattern storage unit at a predetermined time interval, and the comparison result The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein a frequency at which the position information acquisition unit acquires position information is adjusted based on the mobile terminal. The pattern storage unit stores the predicted position of the own terminal in the storage device together with the predicted movement pattern of the own terminal,
The position information acquisition control unit compares a motion detected by the motion detection unit with a motion pattern stored in the pattern storage unit by a processing device at a predetermined time interval, and the position information acquisition unit Comparing the position indicated by the acquired position information with the position stored in the pattern storage unit by a processing device and adjusting the frequency at which the position information acquiring unit acquires position information based on the comparison result. The mobile terminal according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The mobile terminal further includes:
It has an operation unit operated by the terminal user,
The position information acquisition control unit compares a motion detected by the motion sensing unit with a motion pattern stored in the pattern storage unit at a predetermined time interval by a processing device, and compares the comparison result with the operation unit. The mobile terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a frequency at which the position information acquisition unit acquires position information is adjusted based on an operation content. The mobile terminal further includes:
A history recording unit that records history information of movement detected by the motion detection unit in a storage device;
By analyzing the history information recorded by the history recording unit by a processing device, a history analysis unit that identifies a predicted movement pattern of the own terminal,
The mobile terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the pattern storage unit stores a movement pattern specified by the history analysis unit in a storage device.   The position information acquisition control unit calculates a difference between a motion sensed by the motion sensing unit and a motion pattern stored in the pattern storage unit at a predetermined time interval by a processing device, and the difference is defined in advance. 6. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the position information is not acquired by the position information acquisition unit when it is less than the threshold value.   The mobile terminal according to claim 6, wherein the position information acquisition control unit adjusts the frequency at which the position information acquisition unit acquires position information as the difference increases.   The position information acquisition control unit confirms whether or not the motion sensing unit senses motion at a predetermined time interval, and if no motion is sensed, does not cause the location information obtaining unit to obtain location information, When a motion is detected, the motion sensed by the motion sensing unit and the motion pattern stored in the pattern storage unit are compared by a processing device, and position information is stored in the position information acquisition unit based on the comparison result. The mobile terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the frequency at which the data is acquired is adjusted.   9. The position information acquisition control unit causes the position information acquisition unit to acquire position information every time a predetermined time elapses even when no movement is detected. The mobile terminal according to.   The said pattern memory | storage part memorize | stores in a memory | storage device at least any one of the time when the own terminal is moving, and the speed which the own terminal moves as a motion pattern. The described mobile terminal. A location information acquisition control method for a mobile terminal including a location information acquisition unit that acquires location information of its own terminal by performing wireless communication with an external device,
A first step in which the motion sensing unit of the mobile terminal senses the motion of the terminal;
A second step in which the pattern storage unit of the mobile terminal stores the predicted movement pattern of the terminal in the storage device;
The position information acquisition control unit of the mobile terminal compares the motion detected in the first step with the motion pattern stored in the second step at a predetermined time interval by the processing device, and based on the comparison result And a third step of adjusting a frequency at which the position information acquisition unit acquires position information. A mobile terminal program that causes a computer of a mobile terminal to execute position information acquisition processing for acquiring position information of its own terminal by performing wireless communication with an external device,
Motion detection processing for detecting the movement of the terminal itself;
A pattern storage process for storing the predicted movement pattern of the terminal in a storage device;
At a predetermined time interval, the motion sensed by the motion sensing process and the motion pattern stored in the pattern storage process are compared by a processing device, and position information is obtained in the position information obtaining process based on the comparison result. A mobile terminal program that causes a computer to execute a position information acquisition control process for adjusting a frequency of the mobile terminal.

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