JP2012205026A - Sensitivity adjustment device and radio wave communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sensitivity adjustment device that can adjust the reception sensitivity of an antenna such that the sensitivity accords with a use by a simple mechanism while saving power consumption, and a radio wave communication device employing the sensitivity adjustment device.SOLUTION: A wristwatch 100 comprises a sensitivity adjustment device 60 for adjusting the radio wave transmission and reception sensitivity of an antenna 8 capable of transmitting and receiving a radio signal to/from a terminal device G which is an external device. The sensitivity adjustment device 60 comprises: a plurality of segments for sensitivity adjustment 62 which are disposed in the vicinity of the antenna 8 and capable of controlling lighting at each individual segment; and a segment display drive circuit part 207b which is a segment lighting control unit capable of adjusting the radio wave transmission and reception sensitivity of the antenna 8 by controlling the lighting state of the segments for sensitivity adjustment 62 during communication.

Description

  The present invention relates to a sensitivity adjustment device and a radio communication device to which the sensitivity adjustment device is applied.

In recent years, methods for transmitting and receiving (communication) various types of data, such as exchanging data by a wireless method and synchronizing information between electronic devices having a wireless communication function, are spreading.
Data transmitted and received by such wireless communication may include a lot of personal information. For this reason, in order to protect personal privacy and the like, data transmission / reception needs to be accurately performed from a specific electronic device to a specific electronic device.

  However, when there are a plurality of electronic devices around the user, there is a possibility that interference with other electronic devices may occur and wireless communication cannot be performed accurately with the target electronic device. In particular, when handling radio waves having a long wavelength such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), the radio waves are strong against obstacles and are not easily cut off, and thus easily interfere with other electronic devices.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a wireless communication system, as a method of appropriately pairing electronic devices that are desired to communicate while avoiding interference with other electronic devices, the electronic devices (electronic devices) that are desired to be paired are positioned close to each other. In addition, when an inquiry signal is transmitted from one electronic device and the other electronic device detects this inquiry signal, a response signal is transmitted. Then, based on the fact that the electronic device is the first electronic device that responds to the inquiry signal, a method of starting point-to-point connection between both electronic devices has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ).

  However, with this method, it is necessary to arrange electronic devices to be paired in the vicinity of each other, which is troublesome for the user. Further, the position of the other electronic device to be paired may not be known, and it is not always possible to place both electronic devices in the vicinity.

  Therefore, in order to avoid interference with other electronic devices, it is conceivable to reduce the transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna so that communication is not established with other devices than the target electronic device.

Special table 2007-536852 gazette

  However, there are various purposes for transmitting and receiving data between electronic devices. For example, various types of data are transmitted and received between a mobile terminal device worn by the user and an electronic device such as a wristwatch. In addition to performing transmission / reception at a short distance, it is necessary to perform transmission / reception with an electronic device that is assumed to be located to some extent, such as when searching for the location of an electronic device that has been removed from the user. There can be.

In the former case, if the transmission / reception sensitivity is excessively high, the number of electronic devices that can communicate with the reception area increases, and it becomes difficult to distinguish the other party with whom communication is desired. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce the transmission / reception sensitivity. On the other hand, in the latter case, if the transmission / reception sensitivity is low, the search function cannot be performed properly.
For this reason, the transmission / reception sensitivity of radio waves when transmitting / receiving data between electronic devices is required to be appropriately switched according to the purpose and application.

In this regard, in mobile phones, personal computers, and the like, transmission / reception sensitivity is switched in a communication-related module such as a receiving circuit.
However, especially in small electronic devices such as wristwatches, there is a limited battery storage space, so it is important to reduce power consumption as much as possible. This method increases the power consumption in communication-related modules. There is a problem with it.
In addition, when switching the transmission / reception sensitivity in the communication-related module, there is a possibility that the impact resistance and the like may be limited due to the complicated internal mechanism of the module.

  The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances as described above, and sensitivity adjustment that can adjust the transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna so that the sensitivity according to the application is achieved by a simple mechanism while suppressing power consumption. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device and a radio communication device to which the device is applied.

In order to solve the above-described problem, a sensitivity adjustment device according to the present invention includes:
A sensitivity adjustment device that adjusts the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of an antenna capable of transmitting and receiving radio signals to and from an external device,
A plurality of segments for adjusting sensitivity, which are arranged in the vicinity of the antenna and can control lighting for each individual segment;
A segment lighting control unit capable of adjusting the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna by controlling the lighting state of the sensitivity adjustment segment during communication,
It is characterized by having.

The radio communication device according to the present invention is
The sensitivity adjustment device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
An antenna whose radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity is adjusted by the sensitivity adjustment device;
It is characterized by having.

  According to the present invention, the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of an antenna can be quickly and reliably adjusted with a mechanical configuration by a simple method of controlling lighting states of a plurality of sensitivity adjustment segments. For this reason, power consumption can be suppressed compared with the case where the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna is adjusted by a receiving circuit or the like, and the adjustment of the transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna according to the application can be realized by a mechanical configuration. There is an effect.

1 is a front view of a wristwatch body of a wristwatch to which a wireless communication device according to an embodiment is applied. It is the II-II sectional view taken on the line of the wristwatch of FIG. (A) is a top view of the liquid crystal display panel shown in FIG. 1, (B) is the side view seen from the arrow B of the liquid crystal display panel shown to (A). It is a block diagram which shows the internal circuit structure of the wristwatch of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the signal pattern when noise does not ride. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a signal pattern when noise gets on a weak signal. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the signal pattern when noise gets on a strong signal. (A) is a principal part top view which shows the state which turned on all the sensitivity adjustment segments, (B) is a principal part top view which shows the state which lighted three sensitivity adjustment segments, C) is a plan view of a principal part showing a state where one sensitivity adjustment segment is lit. It is a principal part top view which shows the modification of the segment for sensitivity adjustment, (A) shows the lighting state in which radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity becomes the lowest, (B) shows the lighting state in which radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity becomes medium. (C) shows a lighting state in which the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity is highest.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following, a case where the sensitivity adjustment device according to the present invention is applied to a wristwatch having a function as a radio communication device will be described, but embodiments to which the present invention can be applied are not limited thereto.

  An embodiment of a sensitivity adjusting device according to the present invention and a wristwatch including the same will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a wristwatch body of a wristwatch according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG.
The wristwatch 100 according to the present embodiment is a digital wristwatch that includes a liquid crystal display panel 15 as a display member having a digital display function, and displays time and the like on the liquid crystal display panel 15.

  The wristwatch 100 includes a main body case 1 formed in a hollow short column shape. A band to which a watch band (not shown) is attached is attached to both upper and lower end portions (upper and lower end portions in FIGS. 2 and 3) of the main body case 1, that is, a 12 o'clock side end portion and a 6 o'clock side end portion of the timepiece. A mounting portion 2 is formed.

In addition, a plurality of operation buttons 3 for inputting various operation instructions for performing time adjustment instructions, adjustment of transmission / reception sensitivity, and the like are provided on the outer peripheral portion of the main body case 1.
In the present embodiment, the operation button 3 can switch a plurality of communication modes with different radio wave transmission / reception sensitivities of an antenna, which will be described later, and functions as a communication mode switching means.
Specifically, as will be described later, a pairing mode realized with the lowest radio transmission / reception sensitivity, a data synchronization mode realized with the standard radio transmission / reception sensitivity, and a terminal search realized with the highest radio transmission / reception sensitivity The mode / thing left behind prevention mode can be selected and switched by an input operation using the operation button 3.

  The main body case 1 has an opening on the front surface side (upper side in FIGS. 2 and 3) and an opening on the rear surface side (lower side in FIGS. 2 and 3) of the main body case 1. And the windshield 4 formed with materials, such as transparent glass, is attached to the surface side opening part of the main body case 1 so that the surface side opening part may be obstruct | occluded. On the other hand, a back cover member 5 is attached to the back side opening of the main body case 1 so as to close the back side opening.

A housing (not shown) is provided inside the main body case 1, and a circuit board 7 on which various electronic components are mounted is incorporated in the housing.
In addition, a liquid crystal display panel 6 as liquid crystal display means having a digital display function is disposed inside the main body case 1 and between the windshield 4 and the housing.
The liquid crystal display panel 6 and the circuit board 7 are electrically connected via an interconnector (not shown).
On the back surface of the liquid crystal display panel 6 (the surface opposite to the viewing side), for example, an EL panel (not shown) having an EL (electroluminescence) element is provided as a backlight for illuminating the liquid crystal display panel 6. Yes. Note that the backlight is not limited to the one having an EL element.

An antenna 8 is provided on the back surface of the liquid crystal display panel 6 (the lower side in FIG. 2 and the back surface side of the wristwatch 100).
In this embodiment, the antenna 8 is a small loop-shaped or chip-shaped antenna, and performs communication according to a standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). Note that the communication standard of the antenna 8 and the communicable frequency band are not limited to Bluetooth (registered trademark), and those suitable for various communications performed by the wristwatch 100 (that is, those suitable for frequency, etc.) are appropriately applied. The Moreover, the antenna 8 should just be a small thing, and a kind and shape are not specifically limited. As will be described later, in the present embodiment, the antenna 8 has a radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity capable of transmitting / receiving a signal to / from a device within a range of about 5 m at the maximum. The radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 8 is not limited to this, and an antenna that can transmit / receive a signal to / from a further distant device when the sensitivity is maximized may be used.
A connector 9 formed of a coil spring or the like and electrically connected to the circuit board 7 is connected to the antenna 8. The antenna 8 is electrically connected to a later-described transmission / reception control circuit unit 204 via the connector 9.

FIG. 3A is a plan view of the liquid crystal display panel 6 in the present embodiment, and FIG. 3B is a side view of the liquid crystal display panel 6 shown in FIG. .
As shown in FIG. 3B, the liquid crystal display panel 6 includes, for example, an upper glass substrate disposed on the viewing side when mounted on the wristwatch 100, a lower glass substrate disposed on the side opposite to the viewing side, and an upper glass. It has a multilayer structure with an upper polarizing plate disposed on the upper side of the substrate and a lower polarizing plate disposed on the lower side of the lower glass substrate, and is not shown between the upper glass substrate and the lower glass substrate. A liquid crystal display element is enclosed.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3A, the liquid crystal display panel 6 has, for example, a current time, a second display, a date display, a countdown display or a countup display when the timer function or stopwatch function is used. A display area 61 for displaying time and the like and a plurality of sensitivity adjustment segments 62 for adjusting the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 8 are provided. In addition, what is displayed on the display area 61 of time etc. is not limited to what was illustrated here, Other various matters may be displayed.

In the present embodiment, the antenna 8 is linearly arranged along the lower edge of the liquid crystal display panel 6, and the plurality of sensitivity adjustment segments 62 (62 a to 62 f) are located in the vicinity of the antenna 8. Are disposed along the antenna 8. Each of the sensitivity adjustment segments 62 (62a to 62f) can be turned on for each individual segment under the control of a segment display drive circuit unit 207b described later.
In this embodiment, an example in which six sensitivity adjustment segments 62 (62a to 62f) are linearly provided is shown, but the number and arrangement of the sensitivity adjustment segments 62 are not limited to the illustrated example.

Next, the functional configuration of the wristwatch 100 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, for example, the wristwatch 100 includes an input unit 200, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 202, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 203, a reception control circuit unit 204, and a timing circuit. A unit 205, an oscillation circuit unit 206, a time display drive circuit unit 207a, a segment display drive circuit unit 207b, and the like.

The input unit 200 includes a switch operated by an operation button 3 or the like for instructing execution of various functions of the wristwatch 100. When the operation button 3 or the like is operated by a user, a corresponding operation is performed based on the switch. A signal is output to the CPU 201.
In the present embodiment, the wristwatch 100 has a plurality of communication modes that are realized under different radio wave transmission / reception sensitivities (that is, in the present embodiment, “pairing mode”, “data synchronization mode”, “terminal search mode / thing leftover prevention mode”). The user can switch the communication mode as appropriate by operating the operation button 3 or the like. The input unit 200 functions as a communication mode switching unit that outputs an operation signal corresponding to an instruction to switch the communication mode to the CPU 201 when an instruction to switch the communication mode is input by operating the operation button 3 or the like.

For example, the CPU 201 reads various programs stored in the ROM 202 in accordance with a predetermined timing or an operation signal input from the input unit 200, expands the programs in the work area of the RAM 203, and configures the wristwatch 100 according to the programs. Various processes such as instructions to each unit and data transfer are executed.
Specifically, for example, the CPU 201 corrects the current time data counted by the timing circuit unit 205 based on a signal output from the oscillation circuit unit 206 including an oscillator, or based on the corrected current time data. Various controls such as processing for outputting a signal and the like to the display drive circuit unit 207a such as a time and displaying the current time and the like are performed.

  In the present embodiment, the CPU 201 controls the transmission / reception control circuit unit 204 to transmit various data from the antenna 8, stores various data received by the antenna 8 in the RAM 203, and performs various data based on the data. Each part is controlled to execute processing.

  Further, when an instruction to switch the communication mode is input from the input unit 200, the CPU 201 reads out and starts an application program corresponding to the instructed communication mode from the ROM 202, and controls the segment display drive circuit unit 207b. The sensitivity adjustment segments 62a to 62f are appropriately turned on and off to adjust the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity suitable for the communication mode.

A ROM 202 is a read-only memory and stores a system program, various application programs, various data, and the like for realizing various functions of the wristwatch 100.
In the present embodiment, the ROM 202 stores a program for realizing the pairing mode, the data synchronization mode, the terminal search mode / the lost item prevention mode, as an application program.
The RAM 203 is, for example, a volatile semiconductor memory, and includes a memory area for temporarily storing various programs executed by the CPU 201 and data related to the execution of these programs, and is used as a work area for the CPU 201. It is done.

  The transmission / reception control circuit unit 204 removes unnecessary frequency components from the received signal received by the antenna 8 to extract a predetermined frequency signal, converts the frequency signal into a corresponding electric signal, and outputs the signal to the CPU 201.

  The oscillation circuit unit 206 is a circuit that always outputs a clock signal having a constant frequency, and the time measuring circuit unit 205 counts signals input from the oscillation circuit unit 206 to acquire current time data and the like. The time measuring circuit unit 205 outputs the acquired current time data to the CPU 201.

  The time display drive circuit unit 207a drives the liquid crystal display panel 6 in the time display area 61 based on, for example, data from the CPU 201, a control signal, and the like, and displays the current time etc. in the time display area 61 of the liquid crystal display panel 6. Is displayed.

The segment display drive circuit unit 207b drives the sensitivity adjustment segment 62 of the liquid crystal display panel 6 based on, for example, a control signal from the CPU 201, and the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity corresponding to the communication mode input from the input unit 200 or the like. Thus, the sensitivity adjustment segment 62 is turned on or off.
In the present embodiment, the segment display drive circuit unit 207b functions as a segment lighting control unit that can adjust the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 8 by controlling the lighting state of the sensitivity adjustment segment 62 during communication.
In addition, the segment display drive circuit unit 207b and the plurality of sensitivity adjustment segments 62 allow radio wave transmission / reception of the antenna 8 capable of transmitting / receiving radio signals to / from another terminal device G such as a mobile phone which is an external device. A sensitivity adjustment device 60 for adjusting sensitivity is configured.

  Here, a method of adjusting the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 8 by appropriately turning on and off the sensitivity adjustment segments 62a to 62f will be described with reference to FIGS.

If there is no noise when the antenna 8 receives radio waves, as shown in FIG. 5, the signal S1 (left side of the arrow in FIG. 5) transmitted from the external device is received as it is, and the received signal S2 (right side of the arrow in FIG. 5) can be identified.
However, if there is noise when the antenna 8 receives radio waves, as shown in FIG. 6, if the signal S3 (shown by the solid line on the left side of the arrow in FIG. 6) transmitted from the external device is weak, When noise N1 (shown by a one-dot chain line on the left side of the arrow in FIG. 6) is placed on the signal, the signal pattern is disturbed by the noise N1 as shown on the right side of the arrow in FIG. 6, and the received signal S4 is identified. Can not be.
On the other hand, even when there is noise when the antenna 8 receives radio waves, as shown in FIG. 7, the signal S5 transmitted from the external device (indicated by the solid line on the left side of the arrow in FIG. 7) is strong. The signal pattern itself is maintained as shown on the right side of the arrow in FIG. 7 even if noise N2 (indicated by the one-dot chain line on the left side of the arrow in FIG. 7) is applied to the signal. Can be identified.

Since the sensitivity adjustment segments 62a to 62f, which are liquid crystal display means, are arranged in the vicinity of the antenna 8, when the light is turned on during communication, noise is added to the signal transmitted and received by the antenna 8. As the number of sensitivity adjustment segments 62 to be lit increases, the amount of noise on the signal increases. On the other hand, the signal transmitted / received by the antenna 8 is stronger as the distance is shorter and weaker as the distance is longer.
For this reason, if the number of sensitivity adjustment segments 62 to be lit is increased to increase the amount of noise on the signal, it can be transmitted and received as a signal at a short distance, but cannot be identified as a signal at a long distance. Further, if the number of sensitivity adjustment segments 62 to be lit is reduced to reduce the amount of noise on the signal, it is possible to transmit and receive as a signal even at a long distance.
Therefore, the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 8 can be adjusted to be suitable for a desired communication mode by adjusting the number of sensitivity adjustment segments 62 to be turned on according to the distance at which signal transmission / reception is desired.

8A to 8C show the relationship between each communication mode and the lighting states of the sensitivity adjustment segments 62a to 62f. In FIG. 8 (A) to FIG. 8 (C), the lit sensitivity adjustment segment 62 is indicated by diagonal lines.
FIG. 8A shows a case where all the sensitivity adjustment segments 62a to 62f are turned on, and the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 8 is the lowest. FIG. 8B shows a case where three segments (62a to 62c) among the six sensitivity adjustment segments 62a to 62f are turned on, and the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 8 is medium. FIG. 8C shows a case where only one segment (62a) is lit among the six sensitivity adjustment segments 62a to 62f, and the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 8 is good.

  In the present embodiment, the wristwatch 100 can realize, for example, a pairing mode, a data synchronization mode, a terminal search mode, or a lost article prevention mode as a communication mode.

In the pairing mode, for example, the user establishes a new pairing (that is, initial registration for mutual association between terminal devices) between the wristwatch 100 and a new terminal device G (for example, a friend's terminal device). This is a communication mode for enabling data transmission / reception. For example, when pairing is performed between the wristwatch 100 and a friend's mobile phone, which is a new terminal device G, an inquiry signal is transmitted from the wristwatch 100 to the terminal device G to be paired, and the destination terminal device When a response signal to the inquiry signal is transmitted from G to the wristwatch 100 and the antenna 8 of the wristwatch 100 receives the response signal and sends it to the CPU 201, pairing is established between the wristwatch 100 and the terminal device G.
When an instruction to select a pairing mode is input from the input unit 200, the CPU 201 connects the wristwatch 100 and the terminal so that an unexpected pairing is not established with other terminal devices G existing in the vicinity. The radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 8 is adjusted by the sensitivity adjustment device 60 so that the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 8 is lowered to the extent that radio waves can be transmitted / received only when the apparatus G comes into contact with or close to a distance.
Specifically, for example, when the sensitivity adjustment segments 62a to 62f shown in FIG. 8A are all lit, the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity corresponding to the pairing mode is set, and the pairing mode is selected. Then, the CPU 201 controls the segment display drive circuit unit 207b to light all the sensitivity adjustment segments 62a to 62f.

The data synchronization mode is, for example, the terminal device G that has already been paired with the wristwatch 100, and the terminal device G that the user wears (for example, the user's possession, not shown) This is a communication mode in which data synchronization is assumed between the mobile phone) and the terminal device G located at a relatively short distance of the wristwatch 100.
When an instruction to select the data synchronization mode is input from the input unit 200, the CPU 201 has a radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity with which the antenna 8 can transmit / receive radio waves to / from the terminal device G within the range of about 1 to 2 m. Thus, the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 8 is adjusted by the sensitivity adjustment device 60.
Specifically, for example, when the lighting state in which half of the sensitivity adjustment segments 62a to 62f shown in FIG. 8B are lit is the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity corresponding to the data synchronization mode, the data synchronization mode is When selected, the CPU 201 controls the segment display drive circuit unit 207b to light up the sensitivity adjustment segments 62a to 62c.

In addition, the terminal search mode is a communication mode that assumes a case where the user searches for a place such as the terminal device G of a self or friend who has been paired with the wristwatch 100, and the lost item prevention mode is, for example, a user Is a communication mode assuming that a warning is issued by a buzzer or the like when a predetermined distance is left from the terminal device G that has been paired with the wristwatch 100.
In any case, when an instruction to select these communication modes is input from the input unit 200, the CPU 201 can transmit and receive radio waves to and from the terminal device G in which the antenna 8 is within a range of about 5 m. The sensitivity adjustment device 60 adjusts the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 8 so as to obtain the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity.
Specifically, for example, when one of the sensitivity adjustment segments 62a to 62f shown in FIG. 8C is turned on, the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity corresponding to the terminal search mode / thing left behind prevention mode is obtained. When the terminal search mode / thing left behind prevention mode is selected, the CPU 201 controls the segment display drive circuit unit 207b to light only the sensitivity adjustment segment 62a.

  In this way, by switching the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 8 according to the number of sensitivity adjustment segments 62 to be lit, the user can easily and intuitively set the current setting by viewing the lighting state of the sensitivity adjustment segments 62. The communication mode can be known, and the sensitivity adjustment segment 62 can also function as an indicator indicating the communication mode.

  Next, the operation of the sensitivity adjustment device 60 and the wristwatch 100 which is a radio wave communication device in the present embodiment will be described.

When the user wishes to establish a new pairing (initial registration) between the wristwatch 100 and the terminal device G of his / herself or a friend so that data can be transmitted / received between the wristwatch 100 and the terminal device G When the operation button 3 is operated to input an instruction to select a pairing mode as a communication mode, an instruction signal is sent from the input unit 200 to the CPU 201 to perform communication in the pairing mode.
Upon receiving the instruction signal, the CPU 201 reads out and activates an application program for realizing the pairing mode from the ROM 202 and controls the segment display drive circuit unit 207b to light all the sensitivity adjustment segments 62a to 62f. .
In this state, when the terminal device G to be paired contacts the wristwatch 100 or brings the terminal device G close to a distance of about 10 cm, an inquiry signal for pairing (for example, individual identification of the wristwatch 100) from the antenna 13 of the wristwatch 100. (A signal including a number and the like) is transmitted, and only the terminal device G within a distance capable of receiving the inquiry signal receives the signal. The terminal device G that has received the inquiry signal returns a response signal (for example, a signal including the individual identification number of the terminal device G) to the wristwatch 100, and when the antenna 13 of the wristwatch 100 receives the response signal, the response signal is The CPU 201 registers the terminal device G as a terminal device capable of transmitting / receiving data to / from the wristwatch 100 thereafter. Thus, pairing is established, and the CPU 201 turns on the LED 36 to notify the user of the establishment of pairing.
If pairing is not established even if the user brings the wristwatch 100 close to the terminal device G to be paired after switching to the pairing mode, that is, for example, communication in the pairing mode is started and fixed. If the indication that the pairing has not been established is not made even after a lapse of time, the user switches the communication mode to a communication mode having a higher radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity than the pairing mode, such as the data synchronization mode, and further You may be able to try pairing.

When the user wants to send and receive data between the terminal device G and the wristwatch 100 for which pairing (initial registration) has already been established and to synchronize the data, the operation button 3 is operated and the communication mode is selected. When an instruction to select the data synchronization mode is input, an instruction signal is sent from the input unit 200 to the CPU 201 to perform communication in the data synchronization mode.
Upon receiving the instruction signal, the CPU 201 reads out and activates an application program for realizing the data synchronization mode from the ROM 202, and controls the segment display drive circuit unit 207b to light up the sensitivity adjustment segments 62a to 62c.
As a result, the wristwatch 100 is in a state where the antenna 13 can transmit and receive radio waves to and from another terminal device G in which the antenna 13 is in the range of about 1 to 2 m, for example, a mobile phone worn by the user, By transmitting and receiving data to and from the terminal device G located at a relatively short distance, the mutual data is synchronized.

In addition, when the user wants to search the location of the terminal device G for which pairing (initial registration) has already been established using the wristwatch 100, or when the terminal device G is separated by a predetermined distance or more, the fact is notified. If desired, when the operation button 3 is operated to input an instruction to select the terminal search mode / thing left behind prevention mode as the communication mode, the input unit 200 communicates with the CPU 201 in the terminal search mode / thing left behind prevention mode. An instruction signal is sent.
Upon receiving the instruction signal, the CPU 201 reads out and activates an application program for realizing the terminal search mode / thing left behind prevention mode from the ROM 202, and controls the segment display drive circuit unit 207b to control only the sensitivity adjustment segment 62a. Light up.
Thereby, the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 13 of the wristwatch 100 is maximized, and radio waves can be transmitted / received to / from the terminal device G existing in a range of about 5 m.
In this case, for example, in the terminal search mode, a signal requesting a response is transmitted from the antenna 13 of the wristwatch 100 to the paired terminal device G within a range of about 5 m from the wristwatch 100, and the terminal device G When this signal is received and a response signal is transmitted to the wristwatch 100, the fact is notified to the user by a sound such as a buzzer or blinking of the LED 36. Further, for example, in the lost-item prevention mode, a signal requesting a response is transmitted from the antenna 13 of the wristwatch 100 to the paired terminal device G, and the terminal device G receives this signal and sends a response signal to the wristwatch 100. Send to. When the response signal from the terminal device G cannot be received, the CPU 201 determines that the terminal device G is separated from the user by a predetermined distance (in this embodiment, 5 m which is a range in which the antenna 13 can transmit and receive radio waves). This is notified to the user by a sound such as a buzzer or a display on the liquid crystal display panel 6.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to realize a plurality of communication modes (for example, the pairing mode, the data synchronization mode, the terminal search mode / the lost item prevention mode) realized under different radio wave transmission / reception sensitivities. Various communications according to the user's purpose and application can be performed.
Then, as a method of adjusting the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 13 according to these communication modes, by controlling the lighting state of the plurality of sensitivity adjustment segments 62a to 6f, the noise on the signal transmitted / received by the antenna 8 is controlled. Since the mechanical mechanism of adjusting the amount is used, the power consumption required for adjusting the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 13 is suppressed as compared with the case of switching the transmission / reception sensitivity in a communication-related module such as a reception circuit. Can do. For this reason, radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity adjustment of the antenna 13 can be appropriately performed even in a radio wave communication device having no space for accommodating a large battery, such as the wristwatch 100.
Further, since the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 13 can be adjusted with a simple configuration in which the number of lighting of the sensitivity adjustment segments 62 provided in a part of the liquid crystal display panel 6 is changed, the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 13 is adjusted. Therefore, it is not necessary to mount a separate member or the like for reducing the size and weight of the radio communication device such as the wristwatch 100.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the number of sensitivity adjustment segments 62 to be lit is changed in accordance with each communication mode (for example, “pairing mode”, “data synchronization mode”, “terminal search mode / thing left behind prevention mode”). It has become. For this reason, the sensitivity adjustment segment 62 can also function as an indicator indicating the communication mode, and the user can easily visually check the currently set communication mode by looking at the lighting state of the sensitivity adjustment segment 62. To know intuitively.
Further, since the sensitivity adjustment segment 62 also functions as an indicator indicating the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity and the communication mode, it is necessary to separately display the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity and the communication mode in the display area 61 such as the time of the liquid crystal display panel 6. The time display area 61 can be used widely and effectively.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the number of sensitivity adjustment segments 62 to be lit is changed corresponding to each communication mode (for example, “pairing mode”, “data synchronization mode”, “terminal search mode / thing left behind prevention mode”). However, the lighting state of the sensitivity adjustment segment 62 that is switched to adjust the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 8 is equal to the number of sensitivity adjustment segments 62 to be lit. It is not limited.
The closer the lit-up sensitivity adjustment segment is to the antenna 8, the greater the amount of noise riding on the signal transmitted and received by the antenna 8. For this reason, for example, as shown in FIGS. 9A to 9C, a plurality of sensitivity adjustment segments 65 having different positions from the antenna 8 are arranged in the vicinity of the antenna 8, and in the pairing mode. When it is desired to reduce the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 8 as in the case of performing communication, as shown in FIG. 9 (A), the sensitivity adjustment arranged at a position closest to the antenna such as directly above the antenna 8 is performed. When it is desired to make the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 8 medium, such as when the segment 65a is turned on and communication is performed in the data synchronization mode, as shown in FIG. When you want to improve the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 8, such as when you want to turn on the sensitivity adjustment segment 65b located at a part of the position and perform communication in the terminal search mode / thing left behind prevention mode As shown in FIG. 9 (C), it turns on the sensitivity adjustment segment 65c disposed away from the antenna 8.
Also in this case, the user can visually confirm the currently set communication mode according to the position of the lit sensitivity adjustment segment 65, and the sensitivity adjustment segment 65 is indicated by an indicator indicating the communication mode. Can function as.
Also, as shown in FIGS. 9A to 9C, characters indicating the level of radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 8 such as “LOW” and “HIGH” are put on each sensitivity adjustment segment 65, respectively. In this case, it becomes easier to recognize the communication mode.

Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 8 can be switched to three levels is illustrated, but the switchable radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity is not limited to three levels. Further, it may be possible to switch to more stages, or the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity may be switched steplessly.
For example, in pairing mode, if pairing is not successful with the initially set radio transmission / reception sensitivity, the user can manually increase the radio transmission / reception sensitivity little by little until the pairing is established. You may comprise.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the level of the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna 8 is associated with the communication mode. For example, when the pairing mode is selected, the level 1 (in FIG. LOW ”), the lighting of each sensitivity adjustment segment is controlled by driving the CPU and the segment display drive circuit unit. However, the configuration for controlling the lighting of each sensitivity adjustment segment is as follows. The switching of the communication mode and the switching of the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity level are linked to each other, and the present invention is not limited to a configuration in which each sensitivity adjustment segment is automatically turned on or off by switching the communication mode. For example, the sensitivity adjustment segment may be turned on or off by manually operating the operation button 3 or the like until the desired radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity is achieved.

  In this embodiment, the wristwatch 100 is a digital wristwatch. However, the wristwatch 100 only needs to have a liquid crystal display panel at least partially. You may provide both digital display functions, such as a liquid crystal display panel.

  In addition, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to this embodiment, and can be changed suitably.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes the scope of the invention described in the claims and equivalents thereof. .
The invention described in the scope of claims attached to the application of this application will be added below. The item numbers of the claims described in the appendix are as set forth in the claims attached to the application of this application.
[Appendix]
<Claim 1>
A sensitivity adjustment device that adjusts the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of an antenna capable of transmitting and receiving radio signals to and from an external device,
A plurality of segments for adjusting sensitivity, which are arranged in the vicinity of the antenna and can control lighting for each individual segment;
A segment lighting control unit capable of adjusting the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna by controlling the lighting state of the sensitivity adjustment segment during communication,
A sensitivity adjusting device comprising:
<Claim 2>
It is possible to realize multiple communication modes realized under different radio wave transmission / reception sensitivities,
A communication mode switching means capable of switching the communication mode;
When the communication mode is switched by the communication mode switching unit, the segment lighting control unit controls the lighting state of the sensitivity adjustment segment so that the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity suitable for the communication mode is obtained.
2. The sensitivity adjustment segment is configured to indicate the communication mode according to a lighting state when the lighting state becomes a radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity suitable for the communication mode. Sensitivity adjusting device described in 1.
<Claim 3>
The said segment lighting control part controls at least any one of the number or position which the said segment for sensitivity adjustment lights as a lighting state of the said segment for sensitivity adjustment, The claim 1 or Claim characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The sensitivity adjusting device according to 2.
<Claim 4>
The sensitivity adjustment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sensitivity adjustment segment is a liquid crystal display means.
<Claim 5>
The sensitivity adjustment device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
An antenna whose radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity is adjusted by the sensitivity adjustment device;
A radio communication device comprising:

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body case 8 Antenna 60 Sensitivity adjustment apparatus 62 Segment for sensitivity adjustment 100 Wristwatch 207b Segment display drive circuit part

Claims (5)

A sensitivity adjustment device that adjusts the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of an antenna capable of transmitting and receiving radio signals to and from an external device,
A plurality of segments for adjusting sensitivity, which are arranged in the vicinity of the antenna and can control lighting for each individual segment;
A segment lighting control unit capable of adjusting the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity of the antenna by controlling the lighting state of the sensitivity adjustment segment during communication,
A sensitivity adjusting device comprising: It is possible to realize multiple communication modes realized under different radio wave transmission / reception sensitivities,
A communication mode switching means capable of switching the communication mode;
When the communication mode is switched by the communication mode switching unit, the segment lighting control unit controls the lighting state of the sensitivity adjustment segment so that the radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity suitable for the communication mode is obtained.
2. The sensitivity adjustment segment is configured to indicate the communication mode according to a lighting state when the lighting state becomes a radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity suitable for the communication mode. Sensitivity adjusting device described in 1.   The said segment lighting control part controls at least any one of the number or position which the said segment for sensitivity adjustment lights as a lighting state of the said segment for sensitivity adjustment, The claim 1 or Claim characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The sensitivity adjusting device according to 2.   The sensitivity adjustment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sensitivity adjustment segment is a liquid crystal display means. The sensitivity adjustment device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
An antenna whose radio wave transmission / reception sensitivity is adjusted by the sensitivity adjustment device;
A radio communication device comprising:

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