Electronic apparatus, and receiver control method

• US 10,310,093 B2
• Filed: 02/22/2016
• Issued: 06/04/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Sano, Fumikazu, Shiratsuka, Akihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Issing, Gregory C.
• Application Number:
  US15/049,439
• Publication Number:
  US 20160245926A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,198 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/34 Power consumption
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0225 using monitoring of external events, e.g. the presence of a signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0241 where no transmission is received, e.g. out of range of the transmitter
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

An electronic apparatus includes a controller that intermittently drives a receiver in a predetermined cycle, the receiver receiving a positioning signal to generate predetermined information, and the controller determines an upper limit of a period to be spent for the generation of the predetermined information on the basis of a period spent for the generation in the past.

Claims

1. An electronic apparatus comprising:

a global positioning system (GPS) sensor; and

a controller that is configured to intermittently drive the GPS sensor in a predetermined cycle between an up period where the GPS sensor receives a positioning signal to generate position information and a sleep period where the GPS sensor is idled after the GPS has generated the position information,

wherein the controller is configured to control when the GPS sensor is to enter the up period, control an amount of time that the GPS sensor remains in the up period to receive the positioning signal to generate the position information, and control an amount of time that the GPS sensor remains in the sleep period,

wherein the controller is configured to determine an upper limit of the amount of time that the GPS sensor remains in the up period to receive the positioning signal and generate the position information on the basis of a previous up period where the GPS sensor received a previous positioning signal, and is configured to either increase or decrease the sleep period based on the amount of time that the GPS sensor remained in the up period to receive the positioning signal to generate the position information, and

wherein when the GPS sensor receives the positioning signal and generates the position information before the upper limit has been reached, the controller is configured to add the remaining amount of time to a stock time period that is stored by the controller and decrease the sleep period.

2. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the GPS sensor fails to receive the positioning signal and generate the position information before the upper limit has been reached, the controller is configured to subtract time from the stock time period and add the time subtracted from the stock time period to each of the upper limit and the sleep period to increase each of the upper limit and the sleep period.

3. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the GPS sensor is configured to receive information representing an orbit of a positioning satellite that transmits the positioning signal.

4. A control method of an electronic apparatus including a GPS sensor and a controller, the control member comprising:

intermittently driving the GPS sensor in a predetermined cycle between an up period where the GPS sensor receives a positioning signal to generate position information and a sleep period where the GPS sensor is idled after the GPS has generated the position information,

wherein the intermittent driving of the GPS sensor includes;

controlling when the GPS sensor is to enter the up period;

controlling an amount of time that the GPS sensor remains in the up period to receive the positioning signal to generate the position information;

controlling an amount of time that the GPS sensor remains in the sleep period;

determining an upper limit of the amount of time that the GPS sensor remains in the up period to receive the positioning signal and generate the position information on the basis of a previous up period where the GPS sensor received a previous positioning signal; and

either increasing or decreasing the sleep period based on the amount of time that the GPS sensor remained in the up period to receive the positioning signal to generate the position information,

wherein when the GPS sensor receives the positioning signal and generates the position information before the upper limit has been reached, the method further comprises adding the remaining amount of time to a stock time period that is stored by the controller and decreasing the sleep period.

5. The control method according to claim 4, wherein when the GPS sensor fails to receive the positioning signal and generate the position information before the upper limit has been reached, the control method further comprises subtracting time from the stock time period and adding the time subtracted from the stock time period to each of the upper limit and the sleep period to increase each of the upper limit and the sleep period.