Information processing apparatus, control method thereof, and storage medium for controlling power state shifting based on amplitudes of received sound waves

• US 10,298,796 B2
• Filed: 07/21/2017
• Issued: 05/21/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Yokoyama, Junnosuke, Hada, Manabu, Horishita, Yusuke, Fukushima, Michio
• Primary Examiner(s): Hyder, G. M. A
• Application Number:
  US15/656,196
• Publication Number:
  US 20180034995A1
• Time in Patent Office: 669 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/04 Systems determining presence of a target
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/88 Sonar systems specially adapted for specific applications seismic or acoustic prospecting or detecting G01V1/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00037 Detecting, i.e. determining the occurrence of a predetermined state H04N1/00031 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00082 Adjusting or controlling interrupting an operation H04N1/00915; inhibiting an operation H04N1/00925
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00381 Input by recognition or interpretation of visible user gestures manual input means, e.g. digitisers, writing tablets H04N1/00392; gesture input to computers G06F3/017; recognition algorithms G06V40/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00896 using a low-power mode, e.g. standby
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0094 Multifunctional device, i.e. a device capable of all of reading, reproducing, copying, facsimile transception, file transception

Abstract

An information processing apparatus including: a sound wave sensor that outputs a sound wave and receives a reflected wave of the output sound wave; a control unit configured to measure an amplitude of a sound wave, at predetermined time intervals, which is received by the sound wave sensor after the sound wave sensor outputs a sound wave; and a power control unit configured to shift the information processing apparatus from a first power state into a second power state where power consumption is larger than that in the first power state, on a basis that the amplitude of the sound wave measured by the control unit is larger than or equal to a threshold value, wherein in a case where a number of times amplitude of a sound wave measured by the control unit is larger than or equal to the threshold value during a predetermined period of time is larger than or equal to a predetermined number of times, the control unit maintains the power state of the information processing apparatus in the first power state.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

a sound wave sensor that outputs a sound wave and receives a reflected wave of the output sound wave;

a control unit that stores a plurality of amplitudes of sound waves which are received by the sound wave sensor during a predetermined time interval; and

a power control unit that shifts a power state of the information processing apparatus from a first power state into a second power state where power consumption is larger than that in the first power state, on a basis that a received sound wave is of an amplitude that is larger than or equal to a threshold value, in a case where, among the plurality of the amplitudes of the sound waves received in the predetermined time interval, the number of the amplitudes that are larger than or equal to the threshold value is equal to or smaller than a predetermined number, and maintains the power state of the information processing apparatus in the first power state in a case where, among the plurality of amplitudes of the sound waves received during the predetermined time interval, the number of the amplitudes of the sound waves that are larger than or equal to the threshold value is larger than the predetermined number.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs measurement of the amplitudes at predetermined time intervals and stores the plurality of measured amplitudes, and performs measurement again in a case where a number of distances that are obtained in one time measurement is two or more, the distance being represented by the time elapsed between the sound wave sensor radiating a sound wave and the sound wave sensor receiving the sound wave.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit has a counter that counts each time sound waves corresponding to a plurality of distances are received by one-time measurement, and

the control unit performs again the measurement at predetermined time intervals in a case where a counter value of the counter becomes larger than or equal to a predetermined value.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit measures the amplitudes at predetermined time intervals, and

in results of the measurement at the predetermined time intervals, in a case where a distance corresponding to an amplitude of a sound wave received by a first measurement is longer than a distance corresponding to an amplitude of a sound wave received by a second measurement that is a measurement before the first measurement, the control unit performs again the measurement at predetermined time intervals.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit measures the amplitudes at predetermined time intervals, and

in results of the measurement at the predetermined time intervals, in a case where there is no change between a distance corresponding to an amplitude of a sound wave received by a first measurement and a distance corresponding to an amplitude of a sound wave received by a second measurement that is a measurement before the first measurement, and the amplitude of the sound wave received by the first measurement becomes smaller than the amplitude of the sound wave received by the second measurement, the control unit performs again the measurement at predetermined time intervals.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the control unit has a counter that counts each time it is determined that, in results of the measurement at the predetermined time intervals, there is no change between the distance corresponding to a sound wave received by the first measurement and the distance corresponding to a sound wave received by the second measurement that is the measurement before the first measurement and the amplitude of the sound wave received by the first measurement becomes smaller than the amplitude of the sound wave received by the second measurement, and

the control unit performs again the measurement at predetermined time intervals in a case where a counter value of the counter becomes larger than or equal to a predetermined value.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit measures the amplitudes at predetermined time intervals, and

in results of the measurement at the predetermined time intervals, in a case where the amplitude of the received sound wave is larger than or equal to a threshold value and a distance corresponding to a sound wave received by first measurement is shorter than a distance corresponding to a sound wave measured by second measurement that is measurement before the first measurement, the power control unit shifts the information processing apparatus into the second power state.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the control unit has a counter that counts each time it is determined that, in results of the measurement at the predetermined time intervals, the distance corresponding to a sound wave received by the first measurement is shorter than the distance corresponding to a sound wave received by the second measurement in a case where the amplitude of the received sound wave is larger than or equal to a threshold value, and

the power control unit shifts the information processing apparatus into the second power state in a case where a counter value of the counter becomes larger than or equal to a predetermined value.

9. A control method of an information processing apparatus, the information processing apparatus including:

a sound wave sensor that outputs a sound wave and receives a reflected wave of the output sound wave; and

a control unit that stores a plurality of amplitudes of sound waves which are received by the sound wave sensor during a predetermined time interval, the method comprising;

a determination step of determining whether an amplitude of a reflected wave is larger than or equal to a threshold value; and

a power control step of shifting, in a case where it is determined that the amplitude of the sound wave is larger than or equal to the threshold value at the determination step, a power state of the information processing apparatus from a first power state into a second power state where power consumption is larger than that in the first power state in a case where, among the plurality of stored amplitudes of the sound waves received in the predetermined time interval, the number of amplitudes that are larger than or equal to the threshold value is equal to or smaller than a predetermined number, and maintaining the power state of the information processing apparatus in the first power state in a case where, among the plurality of stored amplitudes of the sound waves received in the predetermined time interval, the number of the amplitudes of the sound waves that are larger than or equal to the threshold value is larger than the predetermined number.

10. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to perform a control method of an information processing apparatus including:

a sound wave sensor that outputs a sound wave and receives a reflected wave of the output sound wave; and

a control unit that stores a plurality of amplitudes of sound waves which are received by the sound wave sensor during a predetermined time interval, the program comprising;

code for a determination step of determining whether an amplitude of a reflected wave is larger than or equal to a threshold value; and

code for a power control step of shifting, in a case where it is determined that the amplitude of the sound wave is larger than or equal to the threshold value at the determination step, a power state of the information processing apparatus from a first power state into a second power state where power consumption is larger than that in the first power state in a case where, among the plurality of stored amplitudes of the sound waves received in the predetermined time interval, the number of amplitudes that are larger than or equal to the threshold value is equal to or smaller than a predetermined number, and maintaining the power state of the information processing apparatus in the first power state in a case where, among the plurality of stored amplitudes of the sound waves received in the predetermined time interval, the number of the amplitudes of the sound waves that are larger than or equal to the threshold value is larger than the predetermined number.