JP2018018549A - Electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent false operation of a proximity sensor.SOLUTION: An electronic device comprises a controller which performs processing on the basis of a gesture. The controller starts the processing on the basis of the gesture according to a physical state of the electronic device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a portable terminal that recognizes a gesture performed by a user away from a terminal using an infrared sensor and performs an input operation corresponding to the gesture is known (for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2015-225493

  Although it is not always necessary to recognize a gesture when the user is moving while holding the portable terminal, in Patent Document 1, the infrared sensor is in a driving state and recognizes the gesture even in such a case. Therefore, a gesture unintended by the user is accepted, and the terminal may malfunction. The same applies when another type of proximity sensor is used instead of the infrared sensor.

  An object of the present invention made in view of such circumstances is to provide an electronic device capable of preventing a malfunction of a proximity sensor.

One aspect of the electronic device is:
A controller that performs processing based on gestures,
With
The controller is
Processing based on the gesture is started according to the physical state of the electronic device.

One aspect of the electronic device is:
A proximity sensor;
A controller,
With
The controller is
The processing based on the gesture detected by the proximity sensor is started according to the physical state of the electronic device.

One aspect of the electronic device is:
A controller that performs processing based on gestures,
With
The controller is
When the predetermined mode is entered, processing based on the gesture is started,
If an event occurs during the predetermined mode, the processing based on the gesture is stopped while the predetermined mode is maintained.

One aspect of the electronic device is:
A proximity sensor;
A controller,
With
The controller is
When an event occurs during a predetermined mode in which the proximity sensor is in a driving state, the driving of the proximity sensor is stopped while maintaining the predetermined mode.

One aspect of the electronic device is:
A proximity sensor;
A controller,
With
The controller is
If an event occurs during a predetermined mode in which the proximity sensor is driven in the first mode, the proximity sensor is driven in a second mode different from the first mode while maintaining the predetermined mode.

  According to the electronic device according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the proximity sensor from malfunctioning.

It is a schematic block diagram of the electronic device which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows a mode that a user operates an electronic device with gesture. (A) is a front view of an electronic device. (B) And (c) is a figure which shows an example of the positional relationship of a user and an electronic device. It is a figure which shows the other example of the positional relationship of a user and an electronic device. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process which the electronic device which concerns on one Embodiment performs. It is a flowchart which shows the other example of the process which the electronic device which concerns on one Embodiment performs.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an electronic device 1 according to an embodiment includes a controller 11, a timer 12, a camera 13, a display 14, a microphone 15, a storage 16, a communication unit 17, a proximity sensor (gesture sensor) 18, and a UV (ultraviolet) sensor. 19 is included. The electronic device 1 further includes an illuminance sensor 20, an acceleration sensor 21, a geomagnetic sensor 22, an atmospheric pressure sensor 23, and a gyro sensor 24. Since FIG. 1 is an example, the electronic apparatus 1 does not have to include all the components shown in FIG. Moreover, the electronic device 1 may include components other than those shown in FIG.

  The controller 11 is a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The controller 11 may be an integrated circuit such as an SoC (System-on-a-Chip) in which other components are integrated. The controller 11 may be configured by combining a plurality of integrated circuits. The controller 10 controls various operations of the electronic device 1 to realize various functions.

  Specifically, the controller 11 refers to data stored in the storage 16 as necessary. The controller 11 implements various functions by executing instructions included in the program stored in the storage 16 and controlling other functional units such as the display 14 and the microphone 15.

  As will be described later, the controller 11 performs a process based on a gesture according to the physical state of the electronic device 1 and stops the process based on the gesture when an event occurs.

  The timer 12 receives a timer operation instruction from the controller 11 and outputs a signal indicating that to the controller 11 when a predetermined time has elapsed. The timer 12 may be provided outside the controller 11 as illustrated in FIG. 1 or may be included inside the controller 11.

  The camera 13 images a subject around the electronic device 1. As an example, the camera 13 of the embodiment is an in-camera provided on the surface of the electronic device 1 on which the display 14 is provided.

  The display 14 includes a liquid crystal display, an organic EL panel (Organic Electro-Luminescence Panel), an inorganic EL panel (Inorganic Electro-Luminescence Panel), or the like. The display 14 displays characters, images, symbols or figures. The display 14 may include a touch screen, and may detect contact with a finger or a stylus pen on the touch screen. In this case, the display 14 can detect a position where a plurality of fingers, a stylus pen, or the like touches the touch screen.

  The microphone 15 detects sounds around the electronic device 1 including a voice uttered by a person.

  The storage 16 stores programs and data as a storage unit. The storage 16 temporarily stores the processing result of the controller 11. The storage 16 may include any storage device such as a semiconductor storage device and a magnetic storage device. The storage 16 may include a plurality of types of storage devices. The storage 16 may include a combination of a portable storage medium such as a memory card and a storage medium reading device.

  The programs stored in the storage 16 include an application executed in the foreground or the background and a control program that supports the operation of the application. For example, the application causes the controller 11 to execute processing according to the gesture. The control program is, for example, an OS (Operating System). The application and the control program may be installed in the storage 16 via wireless communication by the communication unit 17 or a storage medium.

  The communication unit 17 is an interface for communicating by wire or wireless. The communication method performed by the communication unit 17 of one embodiment is a wireless communication standard. For example, wireless communication standards include cellular phone communication standards such as 2G, 3G, and 4G. For example, the cellular phone communication standards include LTE (Long Term Evolution), W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), CDMA2000, PDC (Personal Digital Cellular), GSM (registered trademark) (Global System for Mobile communications), PHS ( Personal Handy-phone System). Examples of wireless communication standards include WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), IEEE 802.11, Bluetooth (registered trademark), IrDA (Infrared Data Association), NFC (Near Field Communication), and the like. The communication unit 17 can support one or more of the communication standards described above.

  The proximity sensor 18 detects the relative distance from the objects around the electronic device 1, the moving direction (gesture) of the objects, and the like in a non-contact manner. The proximity sensor 18 of one embodiment has four visible light photodiodes that sense white, red, green and blue, and can measure the relative distance to the object. The proximity sensor 18 includes one light source infrared LED (Light Emitting Diode) and four infrared photodiodes that sense up, down, left, and right. The proximity sensor 18 detects the moving direction of the object based on the time difference in which the reflected light from the object irradiated with the infrared light from the light source infrared LED enters each infrared photodiode. Therefore, the proximity sensor 18 can detect an air gesture (hereinafter simply referred to as a gesture) performed by the user of the electronic device 1 without touching the electronic device 1.

  The UV sensor 19 can measure the amount of ultraviolet rays contained in sunlight or the like.

  The illuminance sensor 20 detects the illuminance of ambient light incident on the illuminance sensor 20.

  The acceleration sensor 21 detects acceleration acting on the electronic device 1.

  The geomagnetic sensor 22 detects the direction of geomagnetism. In one embodiment, the component obtained by projecting the orientation of the electronic device 1 onto a plane parallel to the ground is the orientation information acquired by the geomagnetic sensor 22. The orientation information acquired by the geomagnetic sensor 22 is the orientation of the electronic device 1.

  The atmospheric pressure sensor 23 detects the atmospheric pressure (atmospheric pressure) outside the electronic device 1.

  The gyro sensor 24 detects the angular velocity of the electronic device 1. The controller 11 can measure the orientation of the electronic device 1 by integrating the angular velocity acquired by the gyro sensor 24 with time.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the user operates the electronic device 1 with a gesture. In FIG. 2, the electronic device 1 is supported by a stand as an example, but as an alternative, the electronic device 1 may be supported against a wall. When the proximity sensor 18 detects a user gesture, the controller 11 performs processing based on the gesture. The process based on the gesture includes scrolling the screen displayed on the display 14 and pinching in or out the screen displayed on the display 14.

  The electronic device 1 shown in FIG. 2 is a smartphone. As an alternative example, the electronic device 1 may be, for example, a mobile phone terminal, a fablet, a tablet PC, or a feature phone. The electronic device 1 is not limited to the above-described one, and can be applied to any electronic device such as a PDA, a remote control terminal, a portable music player, a game machine, a home appliance, and an industrial device (FA device). Furthermore, the electronic device 1 can be applied to any device having the display 14 such as a desktop PC, a bank ATM, a station ticket vending machine, a digital camera, and an electronic book reader.

  In addition, the electronic device 1 including the display 14 can be employed in various vehicles such as a vehicle steering, a car navigation, and an in-vehicle control panel built in a dashboard.

  Hereinafter, a process executed by the controller 11 of the electronic device 1 in one embodiment will be described in detail.

[Process for driving (ON) the proximity sensor 18]
In the state where the driving of the proximity sensor 18 is stopped (OFF), the controller 11 automatically drives the proximity sensor 18 according to the physical state of the electronic device 1 as follows, and performs processing based on the gesture. Start. In one embodiment, as an example, the controller 11 drives the proximity sensor 18 when it is determined that all of the following first event, second event (or third event), and fourth event have occurred. .

  The controller 11 determines whether a predetermined mode is activated based on a user operation. The predetermined mode of the embodiment is, for example, a kitchen mode in which an application for displaying a cooking recipe on the display 14 is activated, but is not limited thereto, and includes an arbitrary mode in the electronic apparatus 1.

[First event related to physical state]
The controller 11 that has detected that the predetermined mode has been activated acquires an output value from the acceleration sensor 21 periodically or irregularly. The controller 11 determines whether the physical state of the electronic device 1 is a stationary state based on the acquired output value. The stationary state is, for example, a state of being placed stationary on a desk, on a knee, on a bed or the like. For example, the controller 11 may determine that the electronic device 1 is in a stationary state when at least one of the following is satisfied.
(Condition 1) The amount of change in the acquired output value is within a predetermined value (Condition 2) The acquired output value is within the predetermined value (Condition 3) The acquired output value change pattern matches the predetermined pattern Controller 11 may determine that the electronic device 1 is in a stationary state when the timer 12 detects that at least one of the above (condition 1) to (condition 3) has continued for a predetermined time.

[Second event related to physical state]
The state where the electronic device 1 and the user face each other as shown in FIG. 2 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. A reference direction D1 illustrated in FIG. 3A is a direction in which the receiver is provided when viewed from the center of the display 14 of the electronic device 1 in the longitudinal direction of the electronic device 1. In FIG. 3A, the reference direction D1 is substantially opposite to the direction of gravity. The proximity sensor 18 of one embodiment can also be used for the purpose of determining whether or not the display 14 should be turned off during a call. For this reason, the proximity sensor 18 is provided within a predetermined distance from the receiver above the electronic device 1. In order to operate the electronic device 1 with a gesture based on this arrangement relationship, as shown in FIG. 3B, the user's hand passes through a region substantially perpendicular to the electronic device 1 with the proximity sensor 18 as a reference. There is a need to. This is because a viewing angle exists in terms of device characteristics or structural design. At this time, since the display 14 is covered by the user's hand, it is difficult for the user to visually recognize the display 14. However, as shown in FIG. 3 (c), when the reference direction D1 of the electronic device 1 is substantially opposite to FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b), the proximity sensor 18 is closer to the user's body. Therefore, the entire display 14 is not covered by the user's hand.

Therefore, the controller 11 determines the attitude of the electronic device 1 as the physical state of the electronic device 1. Specifically, when it is determined that the following two are satisfied, the controller 11 determines that the electronic device 1 is upside down.
(Condition 1) Based on the output value of the acceleration sensor 21, the smaller one of the angles formed by the reference direction D1 of the electronic device 1 and the direction of gravity is within a predetermined value (for example, 50 degrees) (Condition 2) In-camera The user is included in the subject of the captured image captured by the camera 13 as shown in FIG. 3C. At this time, the display 14 is easy for the user to visually recognize. As an alternative example, the controller 11 may determine that the electronic device 1 is upside down when it is determined that the above (condition 1) is satisfied.

[Third event related to physical state]
As an alternative example of determining whether or not the second event has occurred, the controller 11 uses the relative state between the electronic device 1 and the user as shown in FIG. 4 as the physical state of the electronic device 1. It may be determined whether or not a proper positional relationship is established. The relative positional relationship illustrated in FIG. 4 is a positional relationship in which the user exists in the reference direction D1 of the electronic device 1. Specifically, the controller 11 determines based on the output value of the acceleration sensor 21 whether or not the angle formed by the reference direction D1 of the electronic device 1 and the direction of gravity is approximately 90 degrees. In addition, the controller 11 activates the camera 13 and images a subject including the user. The controller 11 determines whether or not the user is imaged upside down with respect to the reference direction D1 in the captured image. Whether or not the image is captured upside down is determined, for example, by detecting the user's nose and eyes in the captured image and determining whether or not they are imaged in a position relationship upside down with respect to the reference direction D1. . When the controller 11 determines that the angle formed by the reference direction D1 and the direction of gravity is approximately 90 degrees and that the user is imaged approximately upside down in the captured image, the user is in the reference direction D1 of the electronic device 1. It is determined that the existing positional relationship is established.

[Fourth event related to physical state]
When the controller 11 determines that the electronic device 1 is upside down or determines that the positional relationship in which the user exists in the reference direction D1 of the electronic device 1 is established, the physical state of the electronic device 1 is as follows: A determination is made on the environment of the electronic device 1. Specifically, the controller 11 determines, based on the output value of the illuminance sensor 20, whether or not the brightness around the electronic device 1 (for example, a room) is greater than or equal to a predetermined value. When it is determined that the brightness is equal to or higher than the predetermined value, the controller 11 drives the proximity sensor 18. As an alternative example, the controller 11 may drive the proximity sensor 18 when it determines that the brightness around the electronic device 1 is greater than or equal to a predetermined value based on the output value of the UV sensor 19 or the image captured by the camera 13. Good.

  As described above, the controller 11 according to the embodiment starts the process based on the gesture according to the physical state of the electronic device 1. Thereby, since the start time of the process based on the gesture can be controlled, it is possible to prevent the proximity sensor 18 from malfunctioning at an unintended time, and to reduce power consumption. According to an embodiment, for example, when a hand is dirty during cooking in a kitchen, the electronic device 1 is wet, or the user does not want to touch the electronic device 1 in a bath, etc. 1 can accept the operation of holding the hand and drive (ON) the display 14. Therefore, the user can perform a desired operation without touching the electronic device 1. The electronic device 1 according to the embodiment is also effective when the hard key is not provided on the front surface of the electronic device 1 but is provided on the side surface, and the display 14 cannot be turned on unless the key on the side surface is pressed. .

[Process for Stopping (Off) Driving of Proximity Sensor 18]
In one embodiment, as an example, when one of the following events occurs during a predetermined mode in which the proximity sensor 18 is in a driving state, the controller 11 drives the proximity sensor 18 while maintaining the predetermined mode. Stop.

[Fifth event]
The controller 11 determines whether or not the electronic device 1 is physically operating (not in a stationary state). Specifically, the controller 11 may acquire an output value from the acceleration sensor 21 and determine that the electronic device 1 is physically operating when at least one of the following is satisfied.
(Condition 1) The amount of change in the acquired output value exceeds a predetermined value (Condition 2) The acquired output value exceeds the predetermined value (Condition 3) The acquired output value change pattern matches the predetermined pattern. When the timer 12 detects that at least one of the above (Condition 1) to (Condition 3) has continued for a predetermined time, it may be determined that the electronic device 1 is physically operating. When it is determined that the electronic device 1 is physically operating, the controller 11 stops driving the proximity sensor 18 while maintaining the predetermined mode, and stops the processing based on the gesture.

[Sixth event]
The controller 11 determines whether or not the electronic device 1 is up and down during a predetermined mode in which the proximity sensor 18 is in a driving state. Specifically, when the controller 11 determines that the following two are satisfied, the controller 11 determines that the upper and lower sides of the electronic device 1 are correct.
(Condition 1) The smaller one of the angles formed by the reference direction D1 of the electronic device 1 and the direction of gravity is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (eg, 130 degrees). (Condition 2) As an alternative example in which the user is included in the subject, the controller 11 may determine that the upper and lower sides of the electronic device 1 are correct when it is determined that the above (condition 1) is satisfied. When the controller 11 determines that the top and bottom of the electronic device 1 are correct, the controller 11 stops driving the proximity sensor 18 while maintaining a predetermined mode, and stops processing based on the gesture.

[Seventh Event]
The controller 11 determines whether or not the brightness of the surroundings (for example, the room) of the electronic device 1 is lower than the predetermined value based on the output value of the illuminance sensor 20 during the predetermined mode in which the proximity sensor 18 is in the driving state. To do. When it is determined that the brightness is lower than the predetermined value, the controller 11 stops driving the proximity sensor 18 while maintaining the predetermined mode, and stops the process based on the gesture.

[Eighth event]
When the controller 11 detects that an arbitrary object (for example, a user's finger) has touched the display 14 or has operated a key of the electronic apparatus 1, the controller 11 stops driving the proximity sensor 18. This is because when the touch is detected or the key of the electronic device 1 is operated, it is considered that the operation by the gesture is unnecessary.

  As described above, the controller 11 according to an embodiment starts processing based on a gesture when a predetermined mode is entered, and when an event occurs during the predetermined mode, the gesture is maintained while maintaining the predetermined mode. Stop processing based on. As a result, it is possible to prevent the proximity sensor 18 from malfunctioning due to an unintended gesture being received. Further, since it is not necessary to always drive the proximity sensor 18, power consumption can be reduced.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing executed by the electronic device 1 according to the embodiment at an arbitrary time when the proximity sensor 18 is in a driving stop state.

  The electronic device 1 determines whether or not a predetermined mode is detected (step S1). When the electronic device 1 detects the predetermined mode (Yes in step S1), the electronic device 1 acquires the output value of the acceleration sensor 21 regularly or irregularly (step S2).

  Subsequently, the electronic device 1 determines whether or not the electronic device 1 is in a stationary state (step S3). Since the method for determining whether or not the vehicle is in the stationary state has been described in the above embodiment, the description thereof is omitted here. When the electronic device 1 determines that the electronic device 1 is in a stationary state (Yes in step S3), the electronic device 1 determines whether the electronic device 1 is upside down (step S4). Since the method for determining whether the electronic device 1 is upside down has been described in the above embodiment, the description thereof is omitted here. If the electronic device 1 determines that the top and bottom of the electronic device 1 are upside down (Yes in step S4), the electronic device 1 determines whether the ambient brightness of the electronic device 1 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (step S5). If the electronic device 1 determines that the brightness around the electronic device 1 is equal to or greater than the predetermined value (Yes in step S5), the electronic device 1 drives the proximity sensor 18 to start processing based on the gesture (step S6). As a result, the electronic device 1 can perform processing such as scrolling of the page displayed on the display 14 based on the gesture.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing executed by the electronic device 1 according to the embodiment at an arbitrary time point when the proximity sensor 18 is in a driving state and in a predetermined mode.

  The electronic device 1 determines whether or not the electronic device 1 is physically operating (step S11). Since the method for determining whether or not the electronic device 1 is physically operating has been described in the above embodiment, a description thereof is omitted here. When the electronic device 1 determines that the electronic device 1 is physically operating (Yes in step S11), the electronic device 1 stops driving (OFF) the proximity sensor 18 while maintaining the predetermined mode, and based on the gesture The process is stopped (step S14).

  If the electronic device 1 determines that the electronic device 1 is not physically operating (No in step S11), the electronic device 1 determines whether the upper and lower sides of the electronic device 1 are correct (step S12). The method for determining whether or not the electronic device 1 is up and down is as described in the above embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted here. If the electronic device 1 determines that the upper and lower sides of the electronic device 1 are correct (Yes in step S12), the electronic device 1 executes step S14.

  If the electronic device 1 determines that the upper and lower sides of the electronic device 1 are not correct (No in step S12), the electronic device 1 determines whether or not the brightness around the electronic device 1 is below a predetermined value (step S13). If the electronic device 1 determines that the brightness is lower than the predetermined value (Yes in step S13), the electronic device 1 executes step S14. When the electronic device 1 determines that the brightness does not fall below the predetermined value (No in step S13), the electronic device 1 returns to step S11.

[Other Embodiments]
In the above embodiment, the controller 11 stops driving the proximity sensor 18 when an event occurs. As an alternative example, instead of stopping the driving of the proximity sensor 18, the controller 11 switches the driving of the proximity sensor 18 from the driving in the first mode to the second mode different from the first mode. The driving in the second mode can be, for example, intermittent driving at a predetermined cycle with respect to continuous driving in the first mode, or continuous or intermittent driving with lower power consumption than in the first mode. Thereby, the power consumption of the electronic device 1 can be reduced.

In the above embodiment, the controller 11 determines whether or not the electronic device 1 is in a stationary state based on the output value from the acceleration sensor 21. As an alternative example, the controller 11 may determine that the electronic device 1 is in a stationary state when at least one of the following is satisfied.
(Condition 1) The electronic device 1 is not on the vehicle (Condition 2) The call function of the electronic device 1 is stopped (OFF) (Condition 3) Between a plurality of captured images captured by the camera 13 at predetermined time intervals The degree of change is within a predetermined value Whether or not the electronic device 1 is on the vehicle may be determined, for example, based on whether or not the driving mode or the in-flight mode is set by the user. It may be determined based on the output value.

In the above embodiment, the controller 11 determines whether or not the electronic device 1 is physically operating based on the output value from the acceleration sensor 21. As an alternative, the controller 11 may determine that the electronic device 1 is physically operating when at least one of the following is satisfied:
(Condition 1) The degree of change of an image captured at a predetermined time interval by the camera 13 is a predetermined value or more (Condition 2) The angular velocity acquired by the gyro sensor 24 is a predetermined value or more (Condition 3) The geomagnetic sensor 22 The obtained change in azimuth is a predetermined value or more (Condition 4) The change in atmospheric pressure obtained by the atmospheric pressure sensor 23 is a predetermined value or more.

  In the above embodiment, the controller 11 drives the proximity sensor 18 when the brightness around the electronic device 1 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. In other words, the controller 11 stops the driving of the proximity sensor 18 when it is determined that the brightness around the electronic device 1 is lower than the predetermined value. Accordingly, for example, the driving of the proximity sensor 18 is stopped at night, so that the proximity sensor 18 is prevented from malfunctioning even if the user is carelessly positioned on the electronic device 1 while the user is sleeping at night. Can do. As an alternative example, the controller 11 may drive the proximity sensor 18 when the brightness around the electronic device 1 falls below a predetermined value. Thereby, for example, even when the surroundings of the electronic device 1 are dark, the user can grasp the position of the electronic device 1 by driving the display 14 of the electronic device 1 with a gesture.

  In the above embodiment, an event related to a physical state for driving the proximity sensor 18 is described. As an alternative example, the controller 11 performs voice recognition using the voice information acquired from the microphone 15 by operating the voice recognition function when the electronic device 1 is in a sleep state, for example, and detects a predetermined word. The proximity sensor 18 may be driven. The predetermined word is, for example, a word or a sentence. This is because the detection of a predetermined word by the voice recognition function is considered to indicate a state in which the user cannot directly operate the electronic device 1. When the controller 11 detects a touch on the display 14 or a key operation on the electronic device 1 during the operation of the voice recognition function, the controller 11 may maintain the drive of the proximity sensor 18 stopped.

  The stand-alone voice recognition function can always be in an operating state, but the word length and the number of words that can be recognized and recorded in the storage 16 by the voice recognition function are limited. Therefore, the controller 11 maintains the voice recognition function in an always operating state regardless of whether the display 14 is driven (ON) or stopped (OFF), and drives the proximity sensor 18 when a predetermined word is detected in that state. Also good.

  In the above-described embodiment, in order to determine whether the electronic device 1 is upside down, the controller 11 has a predetermined value (for example, 50 degrees) as the smaller one of the angles formed by the reference direction D1 of the electronic device 1 and the direction of gravity. ) Or not. As an alternative, the predetermined angle angle may be 90 degrees instead of 50 degrees. Thereby, the controller 11 can drive the proximity sensor 18 even when the electronic device 1 is in the horizontal direction.

  In the above embodiment, the controller 11 drives the proximity sensor 18 when it is determined that the first event, the second event (third event), and the fourth event related to the physical state have occurred. However, the event for driving the proximity sensor 18 may include other events, or only an arbitrary event among them. In addition, the order in which events for driving the proximity sensor 18 occur can be arbitrarily changed. The same applies to an event for stopping the driving of the proximity sensor 18.

  In the above embodiment, the controller 11 stops the driving of the proximity sensor 18 when it is determined that the brightness around the electronic device 1 is lower than a predetermined value based on the output value of the illuminance sensor 20. As an alternative example, when the controller 11 determines that the brightness around the electronic device 1 is lower than a predetermined value based on the output value of the UV sensor 19 or the image captured by the camera 13, the controller 11 stops driving the proximity sensor 18. Also good.

As an alternative example of the event related to the physical state in the embodiment, the controller 11 may drive the proximity sensor 18 when it is determined that at least one of the following conditions is satisfied, for example.
-The current time is included in a predetermined time zone-The position of the electronic device 1 acquired using the GPS (Global Positioning System) function is included in a predetermined range-A predetermined environmental sound is detected by the microphone 15 The electronic device 1 is connected to a predetermined Wi-Fi. The temperature acquired from the temperature sensor is within a predetermined value range. The controller 11 determines that these are not satisfied in the driving state of the proximity sensor 18. Then, the drive of the proximity sensor 18 may be stopped.

  In the above embodiment, the controller 11 can combine the output values from the plurality of sensors shown in FIG. 1 and execute sensor fusion. Thereby, the controller 11 can calculate, for example, the state of the electronic device 1 more accurately.

  Many aspects of the present disclosure are presented as a series of operations performed by a computer system or other hardware capable of executing program instructions. The computer system and other hardware include, for example, a general-purpose computer, a PC (personal computer), a dedicated computer, a workstation, a PCS (Personal Communications System), a mobile (cellular) telephone, and a data processing function. Mobile phones, RFID receivers, game consoles, electronic notepads, laptop computers, GPS (Global Positioning System) receivers or other programmable data processing devices are included. In each embodiment, various operations are performed by dedicated circuitry (eg, individual logic gates interconnected to perform a specific function) implemented by program instructions (software), or by one or more processors. Note that it is executed by a logic block, a program module, or the like. The one or more processors that execute logic blocks, program modules, and the like include, for example, one or more microprocessors, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), a PLD (Programmable). Includes Logic Devices), FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronics, other devices designed to perform the functions described herein, and / or any combination thereof It is. The embodiments shown here are implemented by, for example, hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, or any combination thereof. The instructions may be program code or code segments for performing the necessary tasks. The instructions can then be stored on a machine-readable non-transitory storage medium or other medium. A code segment may represent any combination of procedures, functions, subprograms, programs, routines, subroutines, modules, software packages, classes or instructions, data structures or program statements. A code segment transmits and / or receives information, data arguments, variables or stored contents with other code segments or hardware circuits, thereby connecting the code segments with other code segments or hardware circuits .

  The storage used herein can be further configured as a computer readable tangible carrier (medium) comprised of solid state memory, magnetic disks and optical disks, such media being disclosed herein. An appropriate set of computer instructions, such as program modules, that cause the processor to execute the technique, and data structures are stored. Computer readable media include electrical connections with one or more wires, magnetic disk storage media, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tapes, and other magnetic and optical storage devices (eg CD (Compact Disk), laser disks ( (Registered trademark), DVD (registered trademark) (Digital Versatile Disc), floppy (registered trademark) disk and Blu-ray Disc (registered trademark)), portable computer disk, RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read-Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), flash memory, rewritable and programmable ROM, other tangible storage media capable of storing information, or any combination thereof Is included. The memory can be provided inside and / or outside the processor / processing unit. As used herein, the term “memory” means any type of long-term storage, short-term storage, volatile, non-volatile, or other memory in which a particular type or number of memories or storage is stored. The type of medium is not limited.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electronic device 11 Controller 12 Timer 13 Camera 14 Display 15 Microphone 16 Storage 17 Communication unit 18 Proximity sensor 19 UV sensor 20 Illuminance sensor 21 Acceleration sensor 22 Geomagnetic sensor 23 Pressure sensor 24 Gyro sensor

Claims (2)

A proximity sensor;
A controller,
With
The controller is
During the predetermined mode in which the proximity sensor for detecting a gesture is in a driving state, when the orientation of the device is reversed, the driving of the proximity sensor is stopped while maintaining the predetermined mode.
Electronics. A proximity sensor;
A controller,
With
The controller is
When the proximity sensor is driven in the first mode, if the orientation of the device is reversed, the proximity sensor is maintained in the second mode different from the first mode while maintaining the predetermined mode. Driven by,
Electronics.

Images