JP5838676B2 - Arm-mounted electronic device and control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an arm-mounted electronic device and the like.

  There are various types of wrist-worn electronic devices such as watches, pedometers, GPS devices, and small computers. These arm-mounted electronic devices can basically be mounted on either the left or right arm. In addition, as represented by, for example, a wristwatch, it is usually possible to attach it to either the inside or the outside of the wrist.

  However, since a general electronic device has a predetermined vertical direction, if it is mounted with the vertical direction reversed, it is displayed upside down. Therefore, as a countermeasure when the apparatus is mounted upside down, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-228707 describes a technique for turning the display direction upside down by a long press operation of a predetermined button.

JP 2008-286799 A

  However, from the viewpoint of a user who wants to wear the camera upside down, it is troublesome to operate the buttons in order to reverse the up / down display direction.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to enable appropriate automatic control of the display direction of an arm-mounted electronic device and to increase the degree of freedom of the mounting direction of the arm-mounted electronic device on the arm.

  A first form for solving the above problems is a main body having a display, a band for attaching the main body to an arm, a GPS antenna provided at a predetermined position of the main body, Among a plurality of mounting patterns formed by a combination of the acceleration sensor and the normal direction of the display surface of the display unit at the time of mounting and the direction of the display unit, the current mounting pattern is determined based on the detection result of the acceleration sensor. A discriminator and a display orientation control unit that controls to change the display orientation of the display unit according to the discrimination result of the discriminator, and the main body can be mounted on either the inside or the outside of the arm; In addition, it is an arm-mounted electronic device configured to be able to mount the main body portion in any direction.

  Further, as another form, it comprises a main body part having a display part, a band part for mounting the main body part on an arm, a GPS antenna part provided at a predetermined position of the main body part, and an acceleration sensor, A control method for an arm-mounted electronic device configured so that the main body can be mounted either on the inner side or the outer side of the arm, and the main body can be mounted in any direction. Determining a current mounting pattern based on a detection result of the acceleration sensor among a plurality of mounting patterns composed of a combination of the normal direction of the display surface of the display unit and the direction of the display unit, and the determination It is good also as comprising the control method including changing control of the display direction of the said display part according to the done result.

  According to the first form and the like, the main body portion having the display portion is attached to the arm by the band portion, but the main body portion can be attached to either the inner side or the outer side of the arm, and any one of the upper and lower sides. It can also be installed in the direction. Therefore, as the mounting pattern, a plurality of mounting patterns composed of combinations of the normal direction of the display surface of the display unit at the time of mounting and the direction of the display unit can be considered. According to the first form or the like, the current wearing pattern can be determined based on the detection result of the acceleration sensor. Then, by changing and controlling the display direction of the display unit according to the determination result, it is possible to automatically control the display unit to an appropriate display direction.

  Further, as a second form, in the first form, the apparatus further includes a walk determination unit that determines whether or not the user is walking based on a detection result of the acceleration sensor for a predetermined time, and the determination unit includes the walk determination. It is good also as comprising an electronic device which discriminate | determines a mounting pattern using the detection result of the said acceleration sensor when it determines with walking by the part.

  According to the second aspect, it is determined whether or not the user is walking based on the detection result of the acceleration sensor for a predetermined time. And a wearing pattern is discriminate | determined using the detection result of the acceleration sensor when it determines with walking. During walking, the movement of the arms is generally constant. For this reason, a wearing pattern can be discriminate | determined appropriately by using the detection result of the acceleration sensor in walking.

  Further, as a third mode, in the second mode, the determination unit determines a mounting pattern based on a two-dimensional acceleration along the display surface direction of the display unit detected by the acceleration sensor. An electronic device may be configured.

  According to the third embodiment, the detection direction of the acceleration sensor may be two-dimensional along the display surface direction of the display unit. For this reason, an inexpensive acceleration sensor is sufficient compared to a three-dimensional acceleration sensor, and the manufacturing cost of the entire electronic device can be reduced.

  Further, as a fourth mode, in any one of the first to third modes, the GPS antenna unit is either one end side or the other end side of the main body unit connected to the band unit. Suitable orientation determination that determines whether or not the predetermined position where the GPS antenna unit is provided is on the thumb side of the mounting arm based on the determination result of the determination unit It is good also as comprising the electronic device further provided with the alerting | reporting part which alert | reports according to the determination result of the said suitable direction determination part.

  Further, in this case, as a fifth form, when the notification unit determines that the determination result by the suitable direction determination unit is not the mounting direction in which the predetermined position is on the thumb side of the mounting arm, It is good also as comprising the electronic device which alert | reports prompting the change of mounting direction.

  According to the 4th form, the GPS antenna part is provided in the side part of the one end part side or the other end part side of the main-body part connected to the band part. Then, based on the determined mounting pattern, it is determined whether or not the GPS antenna unit is in a mounting orientation on the thumb side of the mounting arm. The GPS antenna unit receives signals from GPS satellites in the sky. Therefore, if the GPS antenna unit is mounted on the thumb side of the mounting arm, it is suitable for signal reception from a GPS satellite.

  Therefore, for example, as in the fifth embodiment, when the GPS antenna unit is not mounted on the thumb side of the mounting arm, a signal is received from the GPS satellite by notifying the user to change the mounting direction. Can be urged to be mounted in a suitable orientation.

  Further, as a sixth form, in any one of the first to fifth forms, a plurality of buttons provided at point-symmetric positions on the main body, and the plurality of buttons according to the determination result of the determination unit It is good also as comprising the electronic device further provided with the button function switching control part which switches each function.

  According to the sixth embodiment, the main body is provided with a plurality of buttons at point-symmetric positions, and the function of each button is controlled to be switched according to the current wearing pattern. The main body can be attached to either the inside or the outside of the arm, and can be attached in any direction. For example, if there is one button on each of the left and right sides of the main body, regardless of the mounting pattern, if the control is performed so that the same function is assigned to buttons located in the same relative direction (left if left) as viewed from the user, Even if the orientation is changed, the user does not get lost in the button operation.

FIG. Explanatory drawing of the definition of direction. Explanatory drawing of the movement of the arm at the time of walking. Explanatory drawing of a detection acceleration range. The figure which shows an example of the wearing pattern of a wristwatch. The figure which shows an example of the wearing pattern of a wristwatch. The block diagram which shows an example of a function structure of a wristwatch. The figure which shows an example of the table structure of the button function setting table. The flowchart which shows the flow of a main process. The flowchart which shows the flow of a mounting pattern discrimination | determination process.

  Hereinafter, an example of a preferred embodiment to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings. This embodiment is a kind of wrist-worn electronic device, and is an embodiment of a wristwatch that can be used by wearing on a wrist. The wristwatch of this embodiment is configured to be able to calculate a position using a GPS (Global Positioning System) which is a kind of satellite positioning system. However, it goes without saying that embodiments to which the present invention can be applied are not limited to the embodiments described below.

1. Schematic Configuration FIG. 1 is a schematic external view of a wristwatch 1 in the present embodiment. The wristwatch 1 includes a main body portion 2 and a band portion 3 as main components. The wristwatch 1 is not fixed in the vertical direction, and the main body 2 has a shape that is symmetrical with respect to the center of the main body 2 when viewed from the front. For this reason, the user can mount the main body 2 on either the inside or the outside of the wrist, and can mount the main body 2 in any direction.

  The band unit 3 is a mounting tool for fixing and mounting the main body unit 2 on the user's wrist, and has a known configuration. For example, a band provided with a hook-and-loop fastener or a shrinking rubber band can be considered as a configuration that can realize the ease of mounting the main body 2 in an arbitrary direction at low cost.

  The main body 2 is the main body of the wristwatch 1 and includes a display unit 30 in the center of the front surface. The display unit 30 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display and a drive circuit thereof. On the display unit 30, in addition to time information indicating the current time, position information calculated by the GPS position calculation unit 50 incorporated in the main body unit 2 is displayed in a digital format, for example.

  The main body 2 has an acceleration sensor 60 built therein. In the present embodiment, the acceleration sensor 60 is a three-dimensional acceleration sensor that detects three-axis accelerations orthogonal to each other. In the present embodiment, as shown in the right part of FIG. 1, the detection axis of the acceleration sensor 60 is the normal direction of the cover glass surface of the main body 2 and the axis that is positive on the display surface side is the “Z axis”. The vertical axis with the upward direction being positive in the drawing is referred to as the “Y axis”, and the horizontal axis with the left direction being positive as viewed in the drawing is referred to as the “X axis”.

  A GPS antenna unit 5 is built in a predetermined position of the main body unit 2. The GPS antenna unit 5 has an antenna for receiving GPS satellite signals transmitted from GPS satellites.

  In the present embodiment, the GPS antenna unit 5 is provided on the side portion on the one end side in the negative Y-axis direction of the main body unit 2 connected to the band unit 3. If the upper direction toward the paper surface is defined as the 12 o'clock direction of the watch and the lower direction is defined as the 6 o'clock direction of the watch, the GPS antenna unit 5 must be provided on the side of one end of the 6 o'clock direction. become.

  A GPS position calculation device 50 that calculates the position of the wristwatch 1 using a GPS satellite signal received by the GPS antenna unit 5 is built in a predetermined position near the GPS antenna unit 5. The wristwatch 1 displays the position of the wristwatch 1 calculated by the GPS position calculation device 50 on the display unit 30.

  Further, the main body 2 has four operation buttons (first operation button 21 to fourth operation button 24) provided at point-symmetric positions on the side surface. In the following, the first operation button 21 to the fourth operation button 24 will be described in the counterclockwise direction from the upper left operation button toward FIG. 1.

  Different functions are assigned to the first to fourth operation buttons 21 to 24, respectively. In the present embodiment, description will be made assuming that four types of functions of “light on”, “mode change”, “time adjustment”, and “position calculation” are assigned. Although the details will be described later, the function assigned to each operation button is switched in accordance with the determination result of the wearing pattern of the wristwatch 1.

  On the display unit 30, simplified displays obtained by simplifying the functions assigned to the first to fourth operation buttons 21 to 24 are displayed in the vicinity of the corresponding operation buttons. Specifically, “LIGHT”, “MODE”, “TIME”, and “POSITION” are simplified displays corresponding to the functions of “light on”, “mode change”, “time adjustment”, and “position calculation”. Are displayed at the four corners of the display unit 30.

2. Principle FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the definition of directions in the present embodiment. FIG. 2A is a left side view of the user, and illustrates a state where the user has lowered his arm vertically downward. In FIG. 2A, the right direction toward the paper surface is defined as the rear direction, and the left direction toward the paper surface is defined as the front direction. That is, the front-rear direction is defined so as to coincide with the front-rear direction based on the user.

  FIG. 2B is a rear view of the user, and illustrates a state in which the user has lowered both arms vertically downward. In FIG. 2 (2), the left direction is defined as the left direction and the right direction is defined as the right direction. That is, the left / right direction is defined so as to coincide with the left / right direction based on the user.

  The wristwatch 1 can be worn on either the right arm or the left arm of the user, and can be worn on either the inside or the outside of the wrist. Therefore, a plurality of mounting patterns can be considered as a mode of mounting the wristwatch 1 (a mounting pattern). In this embodiment, a plurality of mounting patterns are defined based on the definition of the direction.

  In the wristwatch 1, which of the plurality of mounting patterns is a combination of the normal direction of the display surface of the display unit 30 and the direction of the display unit 30 when the user is wearing the wristwatch 1, which is the current mounting pattern. Is determined based on the detection result of the acceleration sensor 60. Specifically, it is determined whether the user is walking based on the detection result of the acceleration sensor 60 for a predetermined time. When it is determined that the vehicle is walking, the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 60 is determined as a threshold, and the wearing pattern of the wristwatch 1 is determined based on the result of the threshold determination.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the movement of the user's arm during walking. Here, it is assumed that the movement of the arm is simplified and the user always walks with the arm extended. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the wristwatch 1 is worn outside the left arm and in the standard direction. That is, with the arm lowered along the body side, the Y-axis positive direction of the acceleration sensor 60 is the rear direction, the X-axis positive direction is the direction from the user's wrist to the elbow, and the Z-axis positive direction is the left direction. The wristwatch 1 is worn by the user in a matching posture.

  As shown in FIG. 3 (1), when the user's arm is directly below, the negative X-axis direction coincides with the direction of gravity. Therefore, the detected acceleration of the X axis is approximately “−1G”. Further, the detected acceleration of the Y axis and the Z axis is approximately “0G”.

  As shown in FIG. 3 (2), when the arm is raised about “45 °” forward, a gravitational force is applied in the negative X-axis direction and the positive Y-axis direction. Therefore, the detected acceleration on the X axis is approximately “−0.7 G”, and the detected acceleration on the Y axis is approximately “+0.7 G”. Further, the detected acceleration of the Z axis is about “0G”.

  As shown in FIG. 3 (3), when the arm is raised about “90 °” forward, the positive Y-axis direction coincides with the direction of gravity. Therefore, the detected acceleration on the Y axis is approximately “+ 1G”. Further, the detected acceleration of the X axis and the Z axis is approximately “0G”.

  Although the arm swings slightly backward, it is generally considered that the arm moves between FIGS. 3 (1) to 3 (3) during walking. Therefore, an acceleration in the range of about “−1G to 0G” is detected for the X axis, and an acceleration in the range of about “0G to + 1G” is detected for the Y axis. Further, the acceleration detected for the Z axis is approximately “0G”. The range of acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 60 (hereinafter referred to as “detected acceleration range”) is classified for each wearing pattern of the wristwatch 1.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the detected acceleration range, and shows a table in which the Y-axis positive direction, the Z-axis positive direction, the detected acceleration range, and the mounting pattern are associated with each other. A description will be given for each wearing pattern of the wristwatch 1.

(1) Pattern A
Pattern A is a case where the wearer is worn on the outside of the left arm or the inside of the right arm, and is worn when the Y axis positive direction is the rear direction. In terms of coordinate axes, this is a mounting pattern in which the Z-axis positive direction is the left direction and the Y-axis positive direction is the rear direction. In this case, the detected acceleration range is “−1G to 0G” on the X axis, “0G to + 1G” on the Y axis, and “≈0G” on the Z axis.

(2) Pattern B
Pattern B is a case where it is worn on the inner side of the left arm or the outer side of the right arm, and is worn when the Y-axis positive direction is the rear direction. In terms of coordinate axes, this is a mounting pattern in which the Z-axis positive direction is the right direction and the Y-axis positive direction is the rear direction. In this case, the detected acceleration range is “0G to + 1G” for the X axis, “0G to + 1G” for the Y axis, and “≈0G” for the Z axis.

(3) Pattern C
Pattern C is a case where it is worn on the outside of the left arm or the inside of the right arm, and is worn when the Y axis positive direction is the front direction. In terms of coordinate axes, this is a mounting pattern in which the Z-axis positive direction is the left direction and the Y-axis positive direction is the front direction. In this case, the detected acceleration range is “0G to + 1G” for the X axis, “−1G to 0G” for the Y axis, and “≈0G” for the Z axis.

(4) Pattern D
Pattern D is a case where it is worn on the inner side of the left arm or the outer side of the right arm, and is worn when the Y-axis positive direction is the front direction. In terms of coordinate axes, this is a mounting pattern in which the Z-axis positive direction is the right direction and the Y-axis positive direction is the front direction. In this case, the detected acceleration range is “−1G to 0G” for the X axis, “−1G to 0G” for the Y axis, and “≈0G” for the Z axis.

  It can be seen from this result that the detected acceleration range differs depending on the wearing pattern of the wristwatch 1. In particular, the combination of the detected acceleration ranges of the X axis and the Y axis is different for each mounting pattern. Therefore, the wearing pattern of the wristwatch 1 can be determined from the two-dimensional acceleration (detected acceleration on the X axis and the Y axis) along the display surface direction of the display unit 30 detected by the acceleration sensor 60.

  When the user actually walks, the movement of the arm does not reach the entire range of FIGS. 3 (1) to 3 (3), and may be repeated in the range of FIGS. 3 (1) to 3 (2). Therefore, for example, based on the detected acceleration range shown in FIG. 4, threshold values for the detected acceleration on the X axis and the Y axis are determined. Specifically, for the axis where the detected acceleration range is “−1G to 0G”, for example, “−0.4G” is set as the threshold value of the detected acceleration. For the axis where the detected acceleration range is “0G to + 1G”, for example, “+ 0.4G” is set as the threshold value of the detected acceleration.

  Then, for the X axis and the Y axis, the average value of the detected acceleration for a predetermined period is calculated for each detection axis, and the threshold value is determined for the calculated average value, so that the detection result of the acceleration sensor 60 is in any detected acceleration range. It is determined whether the result corresponds to. From the determination result, the wearing pattern of the wristwatch 1 is determined according to FIG.

  Among the mounting patterns defined in FIG. 4, “Pattern A” or “Pattern B” is a direction suitable for the GPS antenna unit 5 to receive a GPS satellite signal (hereinafter referred to as “reception suitable direction”). This is a mounting pattern. This is because, in the “pattern A” or “pattern B”, the GPS antenna unit 5 faces the zenith side when the user walks.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wearing state of the wristwatch 1. The state shown in FIG. 5 shows a state in which the wristwatch 1 is mounted in the pattern A mode on the outside of the user's left arm. In this state, the position (predetermined position) where the GPS antenna unit 5 is provided is the mounting orientation on the thumb side of the mounting arm. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, when walking, one end portion side where the GPS antenna unit 5 is provided faces the zenith direction, so that the GPS antenna unit 5 can receive GPS satellite signals with high sensitivity.

  On the other hand, “Pattern C” or “Pattern D” is a mounting pattern in which the GPS antenna unit 5 is not suitable for receiving a GPS satellite signal (hereinafter referred to as “unsuitable reception direction”). This is because, in the “pattern C” or “pattern D”, the GPS antenna unit 5 faces the ground side when the user walks.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating another example of the wearing state of the wristwatch 1. The state shown in FIG. 6 shows a state in which the wristwatch 1 is worn in the pattern D manner inside the user's left arm. This state is unsuitable for reception.

  Therefore, when the wearing pattern determined based on the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 60 is “Pattern C” or “Pattern D”, a predetermined notification process for prompting the user to change the wearing direction of the wristwatch 1 is performed. This is equivalent to performing notification that prompts the user to change the mounting direction when it is determined that the setting position of the GPS antenna unit 5 is not in the mounting direction on the thumb side of the mounting arm.

  When the mounting direction of “Pattern C” is reversed, the mounting direction of “Pattern A” is obtained. Therefore, if it is determined that the mounting pattern is “pattern C”, an instruction is given to change to the “pattern A” mode. Further, when the mounting direction of “Pattern D” is reversed, the mounting direction of “Pattern B” is obtained. Therefore, when it is determined that the mounting pattern is “pattern D”, an instruction is given to change to the “pattern B” mode.

  As a specific notification method in this case, for example, a message instructing to remount the wristwatch 1 with the main body unit 2 turned upside down at the same mounting location is displayed on the display unit 30. It can be considered that sound guidance is output from a speaker. In addition, a message instructing to attach the wristwatch 1 in the same direction on the opposite side of the same arm may be displayed on the display unit 30, or a voice guidance to that effect may be output from a speaker. In addition, a method of displaying a predetermined lamp or vibrating a piezoelectric vibrator is also conceivable.

  When the user changes the mounting direction of the wristwatch 1, the wristwatch 1 controls to change the display direction of the display unit 30 according to the determination result of the mounting pattern. In addition, the wristwatch 1 switches and controls the functions of the first to fourth operation buttons 21 to 24 according to the wearing pattern discrimination result.

  This will be specifically described with reference to FIG. In the “pattern D” before the change, functions of “mode change”, “light on”, “position calculation”, and “time adjustment” are assigned to the first to fourth operation buttons 21 to 24, respectively. When the wearing direction of the wristwatch 1 is changed, the wristwatch 1 determines the wearing pattern of the wristwatch 1 as “pattern B” based on the detection result of the acceleration sensor 60.

  Therefore, the wristwatch 1 controls the display direction of the display unit 30 and switches and controls the function of each operation button. As a result, the functions of “position calculation”, “time adjustment”, “mode change”, and “light on” are assigned to the first to fourth operation buttons 21 to 24, respectively. The simplified display corresponding to the changed function is displayed on the display unit 30.

3. Functional Configuration FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the wristwatch 1. The wristwatch 1 includes a GPS antenna unit 5, a processing unit 10, an operation unit 20, a display unit 30, a notification unit 40, a GPS position calculation unit 50, an acceleration sensor 60, a communication unit 70, and a clock unit 80. And a storage unit 90.

  The GPS antenna unit 5 is an antenna that receives an RF (Radio Frequency) signal including a GPS satellite signal transmitted from the GPS satellite SV, and outputs the received signal to the GPS position calculation unit 50.

  The processing unit 10 is a control device and arithmetic device that comprehensively controls each unit of the wristwatch 1 according to various programs such as a system program stored in the storage unit 90, and is a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or DSP (Digital Signal Processor). ) And the like.

  The processing unit 10 includes, for example, a mounting pattern determination unit 11, a display orientation control unit 13, a walking determination unit 14, a button function switching control unit 15, a suitable reception direction determination unit 17, and a notification control unit 19. Have as part. However, these functional units are only described as one embodiment, and all the functional units are not necessarily essential components.

  The operation unit 20 includes first to fourth operation buttons 21 to 24 and outputs a signal of the pressed operation button to the processing unit 10.

  The display unit 30 includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like, and performs various displays based on a display signal input from the processing unit 10.

  In addition to the display unit 30 described above, the notification unit 40 includes, for example, a speaker, a piezoelectric vibrator, and the like, and performs various notifications based on a notification signal input from the processing unit 10. For example, various notifications are given to the user by outputting voice guidance from a speaker, displaying a predetermined lamp, or vibrating a piezoelectric vibrator. Although the display unit 30 is illustrated separately from the notification unit 40, the display unit 30 is of course a type of the notification unit 40.

  The GPS position calculation unit 50 calculates the position of the wristwatch 1 based on the received signal of the GPS satellite signal received by the GPS antenna unit 5, and outputs the calculated position to the processing unit 10.

  The communication unit 70 transmits / receives information used inside the apparatus to / from an external information processing apparatus such as a personal computer (PC) under the control of the processing unit 10. As a communication method of the communication unit 70, a form of wired connection via a cable compliant with a predetermined communication standard, a form of connection via an intermediate device also used as a charger called a cradle, or short-range wireless communication is used. Various systems such as a wireless connection type can be applied.

  The timepiece unit 80 includes a crystal oscillator and a crystal oscillator including an oscillation circuit thereof, and measures time. The time measured by the clock unit 80 is output to the processing unit 10 as needed.

  The storage unit 90 includes a storage device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash ROM, and a RAM (Random Access Memory), and implements various functions such as a system program of the wristwatch 1, a time display function, and a wearing pattern discrimination function. Various programs, data, and the like are stored. In addition, it has a work area for temporarily storing data being processed and results of various processes.

  The storage unit 90 stores a main program 91 executed as a main process (see FIG. 9) by the processing unit 10 as a program. The main program 91 includes a mounting pattern determination program 911 executed as a mounting pattern determination process (see FIG. 10) as a subroutine. These processes will be described later in detail using a flowchart.

  The storage unit 90 stores a button function setting table 93 and mounting pattern determination data 95 as data.

  The button function setting table 93 is a table used for setting the function of each operation button, and an example of the table configuration is shown in FIG. In the button function setting table 93, a mounting pattern 931, an operation button 933, and a function 935 are stored in association with each other.

  Four types of patterns “pattern A” to “pattern D” are defined in the mounting pattern 931. In the operation button 933, four operation buttons “first operation button” to “fourth operation button” are defined. The function 935 has four types of functions: “light on”, “mode change”, “time adjustment”, and “position calculation”.

  Specifically, for pattern A, the first operation button 21 has “light on”, the second operation button 22 has “mode change”, the third operation button 23 has “time adjustment”, and the fourth The operation buttons 24 are defined with “position calculation” associated therewith.

The function of the pattern C is determined point-symmetrically with respect to the function of the pattern A. That is, for pattern C, “time adjustment” is set for the first operation button 21, “position calculation” is set for the second operation button 22, “lighting” is set for the third operation button 23, and the fourth operation button 24 is set. “Mode change” is defined in association with each other.
The same applies to the patterns B and D.

  The wearing pattern discriminating data 95 is data used for judging the wearing pattern of the wristwatch 1. For example, this includes threshold value data for each mounting pattern for the detected acceleration of each axis.

  The storage unit 90 stores detected acceleration data 97 and calculated position data 99. The detected acceleration data 97 is data in which triaxial accelerations detected by the acceleration sensor 60 are stored in time series. The calculated position data 99 is data in which the position of the wristwatch 1 calculated by the GPS position calculating unit 50 is stored in time series.

4). Process Flow FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of the main process executed in the wristwatch 1 when the main program 91 stored in the storage unit 90 is read out by the processing unit 10. In the main process, the processing unit 10 acquires the acceleration data detected by the acceleration sensor 60 as needed and stores it in the detected acceleration data 97, and acquires the position data calculated by the GPS position calculation unit 50 as needed. The calculation position data 99 will be described as being stored.

  First, the processing unit 10 waits until the acceleration data detected by the acceleration sensor 60 is stored in the detected acceleration data 97 for a predetermined period (step A1; No). If it is determined that the detected acceleration data for a predetermined time has been stored (step A1; Yes), the walking determination unit 14 determines whether the user is walking based on the detected acceleration data for the predetermined time. Is determined (step A3).

  When it is determined that the walking determination unit 14 is not walking (step A3; No), the processing unit 10 returns to step A1. On the other hand, when the walking determination unit 14 determines that the user is walking (step A3; Yes), the processing unit 10 performs a mounting pattern determination process according to the mounting pattern determination program 911 stored in the storage unit 90 (step A5). ).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of the mounting pattern discrimination process.
The wearing pattern discriminating unit 11 calculates an average value of detected accelerations for the past predetermined period with respect to the X axis and the Y axis of the acceleration sensor 60 (step B1). The predetermined period may be, for example, the past 1 second from the current time, or the past 2 seconds.

  Next, the wearing pattern discriminating unit 11 uses the wearing pattern discriminating data 95 stored in the storage unit 90 to perform threshold judgment for the calculated average value of detected accelerations (step B3). Then, the wearing pattern discriminating unit 11 discriminates the wearing pattern of the wristwatch 1 based on the result of the threshold judgment (Step B5), and ends the wearing pattern discriminating process.

  Returning to the main process of FIG. 9, if the mounting pattern determination process is performed, the button function switching control unit 15 performs the button function switching control process (step A7). Specifically, the button function switching control unit 15 refers to the button function setting table 93 stored in the storage unit 90, and changes the function 935 associated with the mounting pattern 931 determined in step A5 to each function 935. The operation button 933 is set.

  Further, the display orientation control unit 13 performs display orientation control processing (step A9). Specifically, the display orientation control unit 13 controls the display orientation of time information, simplified display, position information, and the like displayed on the display unit 30 based on the mounting pattern determined in step A5.

  Next, the preferred reception direction determination unit 17 determines whether or not the mounting pattern determined in step A5 is “pattern C” (step A11). And when satisfy | filling this condition (step A11; Yes), the notification control part 19 performs notification control which encourages mounting | wearing of "pattern A" (step A13). Then, the processing unit 10 returns to Step A1.

  When it is determined in step A11 that the condition is not satisfied (step A11; No), the reception suitable direction determination unit 17 determines whether or not the mounting pattern determined in step A5 is “pattern D”. (Step A15). And when satisfy | filling this condition (step A15; Yes), the alerting | reporting control part 19 performs alerting | reporting control which encourages mounting | wearing of "pattern B" (step A17). Then, the processing unit 10 returns to Step A1.

  Moreover, when it determines with not satisfy | filling conditions in step A15 (step A15; No), the process part 10 returns to step A1.

5. In the wristwatch 1, the main body 2 having the display unit 30 is attached to the arm by the band part 3, but the main body 2 can be attached to either the inside or the outside of the arm, It is configured so that it can be mounted in any direction. Accordingly, as the mounting patterns, four types of mounting patterns that are combinations of the normal direction of the display surface of the display unit 30 and the direction of the display unit 30 at the time of mounting can be considered. In the present embodiment, the mounting pattern determination unit 11 determines the current mounting pattern based on the detection result of the acceleration sensor 60 built in the main body unit 2. Then, the display orientation control unit 13 controls to change the display orientation of the display unit 30 in accordance with the mounting pattern discrimination result. Thereby, it is possible to automatically control in an appropriate display direction.

  In the wristwatch 1, four buttons of first to fourth operation buttons 21 to 24 are provided at positions that are point-symmetric with respect to the main body 2. The button function switching control unit 15 performs control to switch the function of each of the first to fourth operation buttons 21 to 24 in accordance with the mounting pattern determination result by the mounting pattern determination unit 11. The main body 2 can be mounted either on the inner side or the outer side of the arm, and can be mounted in any direction. Therefore, by controlling to assign the same function to buttons located in the same relative direction when viewed from the user (for example, upper left if it is upper left), the user will not get lost in button operation even if the mounting orientation is changed. It ’s convenient.

  The wristwatch 1 is provided with a GPS antenna unit 5 on a side portion on one end side of the main body unit 2 connected to the band unit 3, and a GPS satellite signal received by the GPS antenna unit 5 is used to The position calculation unit 50 performs position calculation processing. Based on the discrimination result of the wearing pattern discriminating unit 11, the reception suitable orientation judging unit 17 determines whether or not the position (predetermined position) where the GPS antenna unit 5 is provided is the wearing direction coming to the thumb side of the wearing arm. judge. Then, the notification control unit 19 performs notification according to the determination result of the reception suitable direction determination unit 17 via the notification unit 40.

  Specifically, when the notification control unit 19 determines that the determination result by the reception preferable direction determination unit 17 is not the mounting direction in which the installation position of the GPS antenna unit 5 is on the thumb side of the mounting arm, A notification is given via the notification unit 40 to prompt the change. Thereby, it is possible to prompt the user to change the mounting direction so that the GPS antenna unit 5 has a direction suitable for signal reception from a GPS satellite. As a result, the GPS antenna unit 5 can receive GPS satellite signals with high sensitivity, and as a result, the accuracy of position calculation by the GPS position calculation unit 50 can be improved.

6). Modifications Embodiments to which the present invention can be applied are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Hereinafter, modified examples will be described.

6-1. In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a wrist watch worn on the wrist has been described. However, this is merely an example, and the present invention can be similarly applied to other electronic devices. Of course.

  As a type of electronic device, it may be applied to an electronic device such as a pedometer, GPS device, small computer, etc., and as a device for measuring a user's biological information, a pulse meter that measures a pulse or a blood pressure meter that measures a blood pressure You may apply to.

  Also, the mounting site of the electronic device is not limited to the user's wrist. For example, an electronic device that can be used by being mounted on the upper arm may be used. The present invention can be applied to any arm-mounted electronic device.

6-2. GPS antenna unit In the above embodiment, the GPS antenna unit is described as being provided on the side of one end (Y-axis negative direction side) of the main unit connected to the band unit. Of course, a GPS antenna unit may be provided on the end side (Y-axis positive direction side). Needless to say, this case can also be considered in the same manner as in the above embodiment.

6-3. Acceleration Sensor In the above embodiment, the acceleration sensor built in the electronic device has been described as the three-dimensional acceleration sensor 60. However, as described in the principle, it is possible to determine the mounting pattern based on the two-dimensional acceleration along the display surface direction of the display unit.

  Therefore, a two-dimensional acceleration sensor that detects two-dimensional acceleration (X-axis and Y-axis acceleration) along the display surface direction of the display unit 30 may be incorporated in the electronic device. In this case, since an inexpensive acceleration sensor is sufficient as compared with a three-dimensional acceleration sensor, the manufacturing cost of the entire electronic device can be reduced.

6-4. Operation Buttons In the above embodiment, the four operation buttons, the first to fourth operation buttons, are arranged symmetrically as the operation buttons. However, the arrangement and number of operation buttons are not limited to this. Of course. For example, one button may be arranged on the left and right of the main body 2.

6-5. Discrimination of the mounting mode By using the acceleration in the normal direction of the display surface together with the two-dimensional acceleration along the display surface direction of the display unit 30, it is also possible to discriminate the mounting mode of the electronic device in more detail. .

  For example, when the wristwatch 1 of the above embodiment is worn outside the left arm, the Z-axis negative direction of the acceleration sensor coincides with the direction of gravity in a state where the back of the hand is up and the arm is extended forward. For this reason, the detected acceleration of the Z axis is “−G”. On the other hand, when the wristwatch 1 is worn on the inner side of the left arm, the Z-axis positive direction of the acceleration sensor coincides with the direction of gravity when the arm is extended forward with the back of the hand facing up. For this reason, the detected acceleration of the Z axis is “+ G”. The same applies to the case where the wristwatch 1 is worn on the right arm.

  Therefore, for example, the user instructs the user to extend the arm forward with the back of the hand up, and the positive and negative signs of the Z-axis acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor at that time are stored. In addition, the wearing patterns (pattern A to pattern D) are determined based on the X-axis and Y-axis accelerations detected during walking, as in the above-described embodiment. Then, based on the positive and negative signs of the Z-axis acceleration stored in advance and the determined mounting patterns (pattern A to pattern D), the wrist arm 1 (right arm or left arm) and the mounting location (outside or Inside).

  In this case, since the wrist and the mounting location of the wristwatch 1 can be determined, when the wristwatch 1 is worn in an unsuitable reception direction, a notification that prompts the user to change the wristwatch 1 wearing direction to a suitable reception direction. More detailed instructions can be included in the notification content. For example, when the user wears a wristwatch on the inner side of the left arm so that reception is not appropriate, a notification can be issued to instruct the user to remount the wristwatch 1 with the main body 2 turned upside down inside the left arm. Or you may perform the notification which instruct | indicates to re-mount the wristwatch 1 in the same direction on the outer side of a left arm.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wristwatch, 2 Body part, 3 Band part, 5 GPS antenna part, 10 Processing part, 20 Operation part, 30 Display part, 40 Notification part, 50 GPS position calculation part, 60 Acceleration sensor, 70 Communication part, 80 Clock part, 90 storage unit

Claims (5)

A main body having a display unit;
A band for attaching the main body to the arm;
A GPS antenna unit provided at a predetermined position on one side or the other end of the main body connected to the band unit ;
An acceleration sensor,
A discriminating unit for discriminating a current mounting pattern based on a detection result of the acceleration sensor among a plurality of mounting patterns formed by a combination of a display surface normal direction of the display unit and a direction of the display unit at the time of mounting;
A display orientation control unit that controls to change the display orientation of the display unit according to the discrimination result of the discrimination unit;
Based on the determination result of the determination unit, a suitable direction determination unit that determines whether or not the predetermined position where the GPS antenna unit is provided is a mounting direction that comes to the thumb side of the mounting arm;
A notification unit for notifying the user to change the mounting direction when the determination result by the suitable direction determination unit is determined that the predetermined position is not the mounting direction on the thumb side of the mounting arm;
Arm-mounted electronic device with A walking determination unit for determining whether or not walking based on a detection result of the acceleration sensor for a predetermined time;
The determination unit determines a wearing pattern using a detection result of the acceleration sensor when the walking determination unit determines that the user is walking.
The electronic device according to claim 1. The determination unit determines a mounting pattern based on a two-dimensional acceleration along a display surface direction of the display unit detected by the acceleration sensor;
The electronic device according to claim 2. A plurality of buttons provided at point-symmetric positions on the main body,
A button function switching control unit that switches the function of each of the plurality of buttons according to the determination result of the determination unit;
The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , further comprising: A predetermined position of a main body portion having a display portion, a band portion for mounting the main body portion on an arm, and a side portion on one end side or the other end side of the main body portion connected to the band portion. A method for controlling an arm-mounted electronic device including a GPS antenna unit and an acceleration sensor.
Determining a current mounting pattern based on a detection result of the acceleration sensor among a plurality of mounting patterns composed of a combination of a display surface normal direction of the display unit and a direction of the display unit at the time of mounting;
Changing and controlling the display direction of the display unit according to the determined result;
Based on the determined result, determining whether or not the predetermined position where the GPS antenna unit is provided is a mounting orientation on the thumb side of the mounting arm;
If the determined result is a determination result that the predetermined position is not in the mounting direction on the thumb side of the mounting arm, informing the user to change the mounting direction;
Control method.

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