JP4810321B2 - Electronic equipment and computer program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology for warning a danger in an electronic device.

  Nowadays, portable electronic devices such as an audio device such as an MP3 player, an imaging device such as a digital camera, a video playback device that plays back video, a PDA, and a game machine are widespread. The user can easily enjoy his / her hobby even when going out or exercising by using these electronic devices while carrying them. Therefore, these electronic devices are expected to become more widespread.

  By the way, when listening to the reproduction sound from the electronic device through the headphones, it becomes difficult for the user to sense the surrounding acoustic information. In addition, when the eye is in the viewfinder of the digital camera, the user is concentrated on the subject, so that attention to the surrounding situation is insufficient. Furthermore, the user lacks attention to surrounding conditions even when viewing a video or an image using the display device. In particular, when using an electronic device while walking on a road, the user must pay close attention to the approach of a car.

Conventionally, a system for preventing an automobile from colliding with an obstacle by detecting the approach of the obstacle by a radar has been proposed.
JP 05-119153 A

  However, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, the radar sensing is performed regardless of whether or not the user's attention is insufficient. Originally, it would be sufficient to perform sensing only when it is assumed that the user's attention is insufficient. This is also desirable from the viewpoint of power saving.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to enable a user to be suitably warned of the approach of an object even in an electronic device that is assumed to be carried. Other issues can be understood throughout the specification.

The present invention is preferably realized in an electronic device, particularly a portable electronic device. Electronic equipment
A receiving means for wirelessly communicating with an external device and receiving sound;
Audio output means for outputting audio received from the external device;
Determination means for determining whether or not sound is output by the sound output means;
Measuring means for measuring the positional relationship between the electronic device and a surrounding object using radio, the measuring means included in the same radio unit as the receiving means,
Warning means for outputting a warning according to the result of measurement by the measurement means,
The measurement means performs measurement in parallel with reception of the sound by the receiving means when it is determined that the sound is output by the determination means, and determines that no sound is output by the determination means. In such a case, the measurement is not performed.

  According to the present invention, a warning is output when it is estimated that the user's attention to the surrounding situation is insufficient and the positional relationship with the object is a specific positional relationship. Therefore, the present invention can warn the user in a situation where it is estimated that the user is in danger.

  An embodiment of the present invention is shown below. Of course, the individual embodiments described below will be helpful in understanding various concepts such as the superordinate concept, intermediate concept and subordinate concept of the present invention. Further, the technical scope of the present invention is determined by the scope of the claims, and is not limited by the following individual embodiments.

[First Embodiment]
The electronic device according to the present invention can be realized as a portable electronic device such as an audio device such as an MP3 player, an imaging device such as a digital camera, a display device that displays video and other information, a PDA, and a game machine. It is. Here, a case where the present invention is applied to a wireless headphone will be introduced.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a portable electronic device according to an embodiment. The wireless headphone 100 is an electronic device that receives and outputs acoustic information from a transmission device (not shown).

  A PHY (physical layer) 101 is a wireless communication unit. The PHY 101 may conform to, for example, the UWB (Ultra Wide Band) standard. The UWB standard is a communication standard that can perform distance measurement substantially in parallel with data communication. The PHY 101 is provided with a data communication unit 102 and a distance measuring unit 103. The data communication unit 102 receives, for example, acoustic information transmitted from the transmission device, or transmits information to another wireless communication device. The distance measuring unit 103 measures a distance from one or more objects existing around. The PHY for UWB can be realized by a single integrated circuit, for example.

  The control unit 104 may be configured by, for example, a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, or may be configured by an integrated circuit such as a microcomputer having functions equivalent to these. The control unit 104 determines whether or not the attention of the user of the electronic device is insufficient with respect to the surrounding situation. For example, when music is output from the sound output unit 105, the control unit 104 determines that the user's attention is insufficient. This determination is actually a process close to “estimation”. That is, the control unit 104 does not determine whether or not the user's attention is actually insufficient, but only determines whether or not the user's attention is likely to be insufficient. Absent. When it is determined that at least attention is insufficient, the control unit 104 determines a positional relationship with at least one object existing around the electronic device. If not sufficient, the control unit 104 omits the positional relationship determination process. The positional relationship means a relative positional relationship between the object and the headphones 100, such as a distance from the object and a change in distance (relative movement direction, relative speed, and relative acceleration).

  The control unit 104 determines whether or not the positional relationship is a specific positional relationship, and outputs a warning when the positional relationship is a specific positional relationship. For example, the control unit 104 determines that the positional relationship has become a specific positional relationship when the distance from the object is rapidly approaching. The output warning may be acoustic information (warning sound, voice, etc.), but may be visual output (light, etc.) or tactile output (vibration, etc.). When realizing the latter, a display device such as an LED or LCD, a vibration generating unit, or the like will be added.

  The acoustic output unit 105 is a unit that outputs acoustic information (sound, voice, or other information that can be sensed by hearing) received by the data communication unit 102. The sound output unit 105 includes a speaker, a volume control knob, an audio data buffer, a decoding circuit, a D / A converter, and the like. The sound output unit 105 is controlled by the control unit 104. The power supply unit 106 is a battery or a fuel cell that supplies power to the headphones 100.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating functional blocks implemented in the control unit according to the embodiment. The determination unit 201 determines whether or not the attention of the user of the electronic device (headphone) is insufficient with respect to the surrounding situation. The determination unit 202 determines a positional relationship with at least one object existing around the headphones when it is determined that at least attention is insufficient. The determination unit 203 determines whether the positional relationship has become a specific positional relationship. The warning output unit 204 outputs a warning when it is determined that the positional relationship has become a specific positional relationship.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an external configuration of the headphones according to the embodiment. The headphone 100 includes a speaker 301, a volume adjustment knob 302, a battery 303, a power switch 304, and a main unit 305. The main unit 305 is the PHY 101 or the control unit 104 described above. The battery 303 is assumed to be built in the headphones 100.

  The speaker 301 and the volume adjustment knob 302 are part of the sound output unit 105. The battery 303 and the power switch 304 are part of the power supply unit 106. Note that the PHY 101 included in the main unit 305 includes a distance measuring unit 103 that measures a distance between the user and a surrounding object, and thus is preferably disposed at the center of the headphones 100.

  Of course, the appearance of the headphones 100 shown in FIG. 3 is merely an example. Each component may be arranged at a different position in the headphones 100. The speaker may be an earplug-shaped earphone.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a warning method according to the embodiment. In parallel with the processing of this flowchart, the data communication unit 102 can receive acoustic information from the outside, and the acoustic output unit 105 can output the received acoustic information. The data communication unit 102 may always execute the reception process of the acoustic information, or may receive the acoustic information collectively at regular intervals.

  In step S401, the determination unit 201 of the control unit 104 determines whether or not the received acoustic information is being reproduced. If it is playing, the user may be obsessed with viewing. That is, it is estimated that the user's attention to the surrounding situation may be insufficient. Therefore, if the playback is in progress, the attention is insufficient. If the playback is stopped, it is estimated that the attention is sufficient. If it is being reproduced, the process proceeds to step S402.

  In step S <b> 402, the determination unit 202 of the control unit 104 instructs the distance measurement unit 103 to measure the distance to an object existing in the vicinity. The distance measuring unit 103 measures the distance to at least one object existing around the headphones 100 over a predetermined time. The determining unit 202 may also calculate a moving direction, a relative speed, a relative speed, and the like based on the distance acquired from the distance measuring unit. In this way, the determination unit 202 determines the positional relationship with at least one object existing around the headphones.

  In step S403, the determination unit 203 of the control unit 104 determines whether a danger is approaching the user. For example, the determination unit 203 determines whether or not the positional relationship with the object is a specific positional relationship in which a collision is expected. Various criteria can be considered. For example, the distance is within a specified value, approaching at a relative speed greater than the specified value, or the expected collision time calculated from the speed and acceleration is within the specified value. Even if the distance is within the specified value, the determination unit 203 may determine that it is not dangerous if the change in distance to the surrounding object is not more than the specified value. If the danger is approaching, the process proceeds to step S404.

  In step S404, the warning output unit 204 of the control unit 104 instructs the sound output unit 105 to change the playback volume. The sound output unit 105 changes the volume output from the speaker 301 based on the instruction, and prompts the user to pay attention to the surrounding situation. As a method for changing the volume, various methods are conceivable, such as changing to a predetermined volume, turning off the sound, and changing the volume currently being reproduced to a specified ratio. The volume may be changed in any way as long as the warning can be promoted. Further, the control unit 104 may store warning sound data and audio data, and send the data to the sound output unit 105.

  On the other hand, if no danger is estimated in step S403, the process proceeds to step S405. In step S <b> 405, the control unit 104 acquires the volume setting value set by the volume adjustment knob 302. In step S406, the control unit 104 changes the volume output from the speaker 301 so that the acquired volume setting is achieved. That is, even if the sound volume is changed once for warning, if the warning is no longer necessary, the control unit 104 restores the original sound volume.

  According to this embodiment, a warning is output when the user's attention is insufficient with respect to the surrounding situation and the positional relationship with the object is a specific positional relationship. Therefore, this embodiment can warn the user in a situation where it is estimated that the user is in danger.

  That is, the headphone 100 outputs a warning to the user when there is an object approaching the surroundings. Therefore, the user can recognize the approach of a car or an obstacle such as a wall even when it is difficult to hear the surrounding sound by wearing headphones, thereby ensuring the safety of the user.

  In the embodiment described above, the warning condition is that the acoustic information is being reproduced, but this is not essential. That is, the warning may be executed even when the acoustic information is not being reproduced. This is because the user's attention may be reduced just by wearing headphones.

  Judgment on whether or not to warn is, for example, that the distance is within a specified value, approaching at a relative speed greater than the specified value, and that the expected collision time calculated from the speed and acceleration is within the specified value And so on. As a result, the control unit 104 can effectively detect the danger for any obstacle that does not move, an object that approaches at a constant speed, and an object that approaches and accelerates.

  Even if the distance is within the specified value, if the change in the distance to the surrounding object is not more than the specified value, the control unit 104 does not determine that it is dangerous. Thereby, when a user is sitting by the wall etc., it is suppressed that a warning is output.

  Moreover, the control part 104 can make a user recognize the approach of danger by changing the reproduction | regeneration volume as a warning. In particular, if the playback volume is lowered, there is an advantage that the user can easily hear surrounding sounds. Furthermore, not only the volume adjustment but also the sound output unit 105 outputs a warning sound, the user will be able to recognize the approach of danger more clearly.

  The headphones 100 can perform distance measurement using the PHY 101 used for communication of acoustic information. Therefore, it is not necessary to add a large-scale sensing device as described in Patent Document 1. In addition, since such a large sensing device is unnecessary, it is not necessary to increase the size of the product. Therefore, it will be possible to realize headphones capable of warning surrounding dangers at a lower cost than conventional methods.

[Second Embodiment]
A display device will be described as an example of the electronic apparatus according to the invention. In recent years, downsizing of display devices capable of displaying still images and moving images such as personal computers, PDAs, mobile phones, one-segment receivers, game devices, and media players has been progressing. The user often uses the display device while walking. However, since the user's consciousness tends to concentrate on the browsing and operation of the display device, there is a problem that it is difficult to notice the approach of a vehicle or the like.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating functional blocks of the display device according to the embodiment. In addition, the description is simplified by giving the same referential mark to the location demonstrated in FIG.

  The display device 500 includes a display unit 501 that displays still images, moving images, documents, WEB contents, and other visually perceptible information. The display unit 501 can be realized by an organic EL device, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), or the like. The recording unit 502 is a storage device including a nonvolatile memory device such as a flash memory and a control circuit thereof. In the recording unit 502, for example, data displayed on the display unit 501 is stored. The operation unit 503 is a volume control knob, an operation mode selection switch, or the like.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating functional blocks realized in the control unit according to the embodiment. In addition, the description is simplified by giving the same referential mark to the location demonstrated in FIG.

  The monitoring unit 601 is a unit for monitoring the state of the user. For example, the monitoring unit 601 monitors a user's operation input to the operation unit 503, monitors a change in information displayed on the display unit 501, or an operation mode (eg, display) applied to the display device 500. Mode). The monitoring result by the monitoring unit 601 is output to the determination unit 201. The determination unit determines whether or not the user's attention is insufficient according to the monitoring result.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of an external configuration of the display device according to the embodiment. The display device 500 includes a liquid crystal monitor 701, operation buttons 702, and a speaker 703. The liquid crystal monitor 701 is a part of the display unit 501. The operation button 702 is a part of the operation unit 503. The speaker 703 is a part of the sound output unit 105. The operation button 702 is used to change the brightness of the backlight of the liquid crystal monitor 701, change the volume, or change the operation mode. Examples of the operation mode include a game mode, a WEB browsing mode, a TV display mode, a text display mode, a still image display mode, a moving image playback mode, and a standby mode.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a warning method according to the embodiment. In parallel with the processing of this flowchart, the data communication unit 102 can receive data from the outside, and the display unit 501 can output the data. The parts described with reference to FIG. 4 are given the same reference numerals to simplify the description.

  In step S <b> 802, the monitoring unit 601 of the control unit 104 monitors the operation state of the display device 500. The monitoring unit 601 monitors, for example, operations, processes, or states related to the user's attention, such as presence / absence of operation input of the operation unit 503, change of operation mode, change of display content, and the like. In step S801, the determination unit 201 of the control unit 104 determines whether or not it is estimated that the user's attention is insufficient based on the monitoring result.

  Various criteria for determining the attention can be considered. For example, the determination unit 201 determines that attention to the surrounding area is insufficient when the operation button 702 is continuously pressed or within a predetermined time since the last operation of the button. May be. Further, the determination unit 201 may determine that the attention to the surroundings is sufficient when the operation by the operation button 702 is locked (prohibited). In addition, the determination unit 201 determines that attention to the surroundings is insufficient when the display device 500 is in a predetermined operation mode (eg, a mode for viewing moving images, still images, TV, text, etc.). May be. Further, the determination unit 201 may determine that the attention is sufficient when the content displayed on the display unit 501 has not changed for a predetermined time or more. Further, the determination unit 201 may determine that the attention is sufficient when the brightness of the backlight of the liquid crystal monitor 701 is equal to or lower than a predetermined value. In addition, when the time when the user plans to watch the display device 500 in advance (eg, commuting / commuting time) is set, the determination unit 201 compares the current time with the set time, It may be determined whether or not attention is sufficient.

  As a result of the determination, if it is estimated that attention is sufficient, the process returns to step S800, and the control unit 104 continues monitoring without performing distance measurement. On the other hand, if it is estimated that attention is insufficient, the process proceeds to step S402, and the distance measuring unit 103 performs distance measurement. It should be noted that the distance measuring unit 103 may be enabled (active) only when a lack of attention is estimated, or may be always enabled. Also, the control unit 104 may enable the distance measuring unit 103 only when the monitoring unit detects that the remaining battery level of the power supply unit 106 is sufficient.

  In step S403, when approaching danger is estimated, the process proceeds to step S804. In step S804, the warning output unit 204 outputs a warning. Various warning output methods are conceivable. In addition to the method described in the first embodiment, for example, a method of displaying characters or images on the liquid crystal monitor 701, a method of blinking the liquid crystal monitor 701, or the like can be considered. Of course, any warning method may be adopted as long as the user can be warned.

  On the other hand, in step S403, when the approach of danger is not estimated, it progresses to step S805 and the warning output part 204 cancels | releases a warning. Note that step S805 may be skipped if warning output is not continued at that time.

  According to the present embodiment, a warning is output when the user of the display device has insufficient attention with respect to the surrounding situation and the danger is imminent. Therefore, the present embodiment can suitably warn a user who is presumed to be watching the display device. Note that it goes without saying that the second embodiment has the same effect with respect to the other effects described in the first embodiment.

[Third Embodiment]
An imaging device (e.g., a digital camera) will be described as an example of the electronic apparatus according to the invention. When the photographer takes a picture while looking through the viewfinder of the imaging apparatus, the consciousness concentrates on the subject. Therefore, there is a possibility that the photographer may not notice the approach of the car.

  FIG. 9 is an exemplary block diagram of the imaging apparatus according to the embodiment. The description will be simplified by giving the same reference numerals to the parts already described. The imaging apparatus 900 includes an eyepiece detection unit 901 for detecting whether or not a photographer has an eyepiece on the viewfinder, and an imaging unit 902 for capturing an image of a subject. Note that the configuration shown in FIGS. 2 and 6 can be adopted as the configuration of the control unit 104.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an external configuration example of the imaging apparatus according to the embodiment. An operation button 1001, a liquid crystal monitor 1002, a viewfinder 1003, and an eyepiece detection sensor 1004 are provided on the back surface of the imaging apparatus 900. An operation button 1001 is a part of the operation unit 503. A liquid crystal monitor 1002 is a part of the display unit 501. The viewfinder 1003 is an optical component used to confirm the position of the subject. The eyepiece detection sensor 1004 is a part of the eyepiece detection unit 901. When a user of the imaging apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a photographer) brings his face close to look into the viewfinder 1003, the eyepiece detection sensor 1004 detects that the eye is in contact.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a warning method according to the embodiment. In parallel with the processing of this flowchart, the data communication unit 102 can receive data from the outside, and the display unit 501 can output the data. The description will be simplified by giving the same reference numerals to the parts already described.

  Compared to FIG. 8, step S800 is replaced with step S1100. In step S <b> 1100, the monitoring unit 601 of the control unit 104 acquires the result of eyepiece detection from the eyepiece detection unit 901. The eyepiece detection unit 901 sets the flag to 1 when the eyepiece detection sensor 1004 detects an eyepiece. The eyepiece detection unit 901 sets a flag to 0 when the eyepiece detection sensor 1004 does not detect an eyepiece.

  In step S <b> 1101, the determination unit 201 determines whether the photographer's attention to the surroundings is sufficient based on the eyepiece detection result acquired through the monitoring unit 601. If the attention is sufficient, the distance measuring unit 103 is invalidated and the process returns to step S1100. On the other hand, if the attention is not sufficient, the process proceeds to step S402, and the distance measuring unit 103 performs distance measurement for determining the positional relationship. The subsequent warning processing is as described above.

  According to the present embodiment, a warning is output when the user of the imaging apparatus has insufficient attention with respect to the surrounding situation and the danger is imminent. Therefore, this embodiment can suitably warn a user who is presumed to concentrate only on imaging. In addition, it cannot be overemphasized that 3rd Embodiment has the same effect about the other effect demonstrated in 1st, 2nd embodiment.

[Fourth Embodiment]
There are various methods for realizing the above-described UWB ranging function. For example, it goes without saying that an IR (impulse radio) -UWB system, a DS (direct spreading) -UWB system, an MB (multiband) -OFDM-UWB system, or the like can be adopted for the PHY 101.

  The IR-UWB system is the simplest method and uses a pulse having a fine pulse width (0 <pulse width = <1 nanosecond (ns)) without using a carrier wave. At present, pulses having a width of several hundred picoseconds (ps) to 1 ns or less are being studied.

  The DS-UWB system and the MB-OFDM-UWB system are a type of multiband system, in which a frequency band used in UWB is divided into a plurality of bands, and a carrier wave is modulated in each band. The DS-UWB scheme uses a direct spreading technique, while the MB-OFDM-UWB scheme uses a combination of OFDM and frequency hopping.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the PHY according to the embodiment. Here, an IR-UWB wireless unit will be described. The PHY 101 includes a transmission unit 1200 and a reception unit 1250. In the transmission unit 1200, the pulse generator 1201 generates a pulse signal corresponding to the input data. The amplifier 1202 amplifies the generated pulse signal. On the other hand, in the receiving unit 1250, the amplifier 1251 amplifies the received pulse signal. Correlator 1252 obtains a correlation value between the received pulse signal and the template pulse signal in order to extract data from the received pulse signal. Since the correlation value is basically 0 or 1, data is determined based on the correlation value.

  Note that the timing at which the distance measurement unit 103 performs distance measurement may be any time as long as the PHY 101 is not used to receive acoustic information or data. For example, it is assumed that a beacon period is inserted every 65 ms in the superframe. In this case, it is preferable to perform distance measurement using this beacon section because there is almost no influence on the data section.

  The distance measurement unit 103 measures the time from when the UWB pulse signal for distance measurement is transmitted from the transmission unit 1200 until it is reflected by the distance measurement object and received by the reception unit 1250. The distance measuring unit 103 calculates the distance by multiplying this time by the propagation speed of the radio wave. Since this distance is a round trip distance between the electronic device and the object to be measured, a one-way distance is determined by dividing the round trip distance by two.

  If the object to be measured is another wireless communication device, the distance measuring unit 103 may measure the round trip time of the signal by receiving a signal transmitted by the other wireless communication device. However, when the return signal is used, the ranging accuracy tends to be relatively lowered as compared with the case where the reflected signal is used.

  When a plurality of wireless communication apparatuses communicate synchronously, the distance measuring unit 103 can also measure the distance to the counterpart wireless communication apparatus based on the beacon arrival deviation time from the synchronization time. However, if there is a synchronization shift between a plurality of wireless communication devices, this distance measurement method will deteriorate the distance measurement accuracy. Therefore, with respect to ranging accuracy, a method using a reflected signal will be excellent. In general, the required distance measurement accuracy varies depending on the application using the distance measurement information. Therefore, the distance measurement method may be determined in consideration of the application.

  In order to measure the distance of any object, the method using the pulse reflection described first is excellent. In the method using other wireless communication devices, only an object equipped with a wireless communication device such as an automobile can be measured, but this approach may be adopted because the approach of an automobile is the most notable event. Let's go.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of another PHY according to the embodiment. Here, a DS-UWB wireless unit will be described. The PHY 101 includes a transmission unit 1300 and a reception unit 1350. The code modulator 1301 of the transmission unit 1300 performs primary modulation such as phase modulation and amplitude modulation on the input data. The spread modulator 1302 performs spread modulation (secondary modulation) on the primary modulated signal. On the other hand, the spread demodulator 1351 of the receiving unit 1350 despreads the received signal. When despreading, the same spreading code as the spreading code used on the transmission side is used. A correlation peak is obtained by the correlation calculation of such spreading codes. Therefore, the distance measuring unit 103 can perform distance measurement using the correlation peak. The code demodulator 1352 extracts data by demodulating the despread signal.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of another wireless unit according to the embodiment. Here, the OFDM-UWB PHY 101 will be described. In the transmission unit 1400, the serial / parallel converter (S / P) 1401 converts the input serial data into parallel data. A plurality of modulators (mod) 1402 perform code modulation on each parallel data. The inverse Fourier transformer 1403 converts the code-modulated signal (frequency axis signal) into a time axis signal. On the other hand, the low-pass filter (LPF) 1451 of the receiving unit 1450 extracts a low-frequency component from the received signal. The Fourier transformer 1452 transforms the extracted signal into a plurality of signal components on the frequency axis by performing a Fourier transform. A plurality of demodulators (dmod) 1453 extract data by demodulating each signal component. A parallel / serial converter (P / S) 1454 converts parallel data into serial data.

  Here, regarding distance measurement, the inverse Fourier transformer 1455 extracts a pulse train on the time axis by performing inverse Fourier transform on the signal from the Fourier transformer 1452. The pulse determination unit 1456 determines the pulse that has arrived earliest among the plurality of pulse trains, and outputs only the determined pulse to the distance measurement unit 103. Therefore, the distance measuring unit 103 can perform distance measurement based on the earliest pulse.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a communication frame according to the embodiment. A beacon section is provided at the head of each frame. Further, a data section is provided following the beacon section. Not only the nth frame but also the (n-1) th frame and the (n + 1) th frame have the same configuration. In addition, the beacon section is regularly provided. That is, the wireless unit transmits a beacon periodically (eg, 65 ms). This means that the frame length is constant (eg, 65 ms). The frame is divided into, for example, 256 media access slots (MAS). Beacons are used to reserve synchronization and MAS. The DRP (Distributed Reservation Protocol) WUSB provided in the data section is a MAS in which Wireless USB data is performed.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a temporal relationship between the use state of the communication path and the internal processing of the wireless communication apparatus according to the embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 16, the distance measurement unit 103 performs transmission of a beacon and reception of a reflected beacon to the wireless unit in a beacon period. Then, the distance measuring unit 103 may determine the distance based on the signal obtained from the wireless unit in the data section. For example, in the case of performing ranging with the n-th frame, the ranging unit 103 may end the determination of the distance before the next n + 1-th beacon is transmitted.

  As described above, if ranging can be completed within one frame period, the ranging unit 103 can perform ranging for each frame. That is, since the wireless unit periodically transmits a beacon, the wireless unit can periodically perform distance measurement.

  Further, the distance measuring unit 103 can measure the relative speed of the distance measuring object from the amount of temporal distance variation determined based on beacons transmitted periodically. For example, the distance measuring unit 103 can calculate the moving speed by dividing the difference between the distance detected in the nth frame and the distance detected in the (n + 1) th frame by a frame period (eg, 65 ms). . Needless to say, this moving speed corresponds to the relative speed of the wireless communication device and the object to be measured.

  As described above, by using the UWB standard PHY 101, distance measurement can be performed in parallel with data communication. In other words, an electronic device adopting the UWB standard has an advantage that a user can be warned that an object is approaching even when browsing content by data communication.

It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the portable electronic device which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the functional block implement | achieved in the control part which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the external appearance structure of the headphones which concern on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the warning method which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the functional block of the display apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the functional block implement | achieved in the control part which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the external appearance structure of the display apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the warning method which concerns on embodiment. 1 is an exemplary block diagram of an imaging apparatus according to an embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of an external appearance structure of the imaging device which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the warning method which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of PHY which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the other PHY which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the other PHY which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the communication frame which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the temporal relationship between the use condition of the communication path which concerns on embodiment, and the internal process of a radio | wireless communication apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

100 Headphone 101 PHY (physical layer)
102 Data Communication Unit 103 Distance Measuring Unit 104 Control Unit 105 Sound Output Unit 106 Power Supply Unit

Claims (5)

Electronic equipment,
A receiving means for wirelessly communicating with an external device and receiving sound;
Audio output means for outputting audio received from the external device ;
Determination means for determining whether or not sound is output by the sound output means;
Measuring means for measuring the positional relationship between the electronic device and a surrounding object using radio, the measuring means included in the same radio unit as the receiving means ,
Anda warning means for outputting a warning according to the result of measurement by said measuring means,
The measurement means performs measurement in parallel with reception of the sound by the receiving means when it is determined that the sound is output by the determination means, and determines that no sound is output by the determination means. An electronic device characterized in that no measurement is performed when it is performed.   The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sound output unit is a headphone. 3. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the measurement unit measures a positional relationship with the object by measuring at least one of a distance, a relative speed, and a relative acceleration with respect to the object. . The wireless unit, electronic apparatus according to the Turkish operates according UWB standards in claim 1. A computer program,
A computer program for controlling the electronic device according to claim 1 .

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