MOBILE DEVICE AND METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING LOCATION THEREOF

• US 20100304757A1
• Filed: 07/14/2009
• Published: 12/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intertrust Technologies Corporation (Fidelio Acquisition Co LLC)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Yoshioka, Mototaka
• Granted Patent: US 8,351,958 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 21/02 for measuring length, width, or thickness G01B21/10 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3246 by software initiated power-off
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3265 Power saving in display device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1637 Sensing arrangement for detection of housing movement or orientation, e.g. for controlling scrolling or cursor movement on the display of an handheld computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0251 using monitoring of local events, e.g. events related to user activity
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

To provide a mobile device which can accurately identify a location of the mobile device in relation to a user.

The mobile device includes: an operation input unit (101) which receives an input of operation information entered by the user; a sensor unit (102) which detect speed information regarding the mobile device (100); a reference point rule holding unit (103) which holds reference point rules each of which indicates a relationship between the operation information and a reference point which indicates the location of the mobile device (100) at a point in time when the input of the operation information is received; a reference point determining unit (104) which determines, as an operation reference point, the reference point corresponding to the operation information received by the operation input unit (101), with reference to the reference point rules; a trajectory calculating unit (105) which calculates a movement trajectory of the mobile device (100), based on the speed information detected by the sensor unit (102); and a location identifying unit (106) which identifies a location of an end point of the movement trajectory originating at a start point that is a point corresponding to the operation reference point, using the movement trajectory calculated by the trajectory calculating unit (105).

Claims

1. A mobile device which identifies a location of said mobile device in relation to a user, said mobile device comprising:

an operation input unit configured to receive an input of operation information entered by the user;

a sensor unit configured to detect speed information regarding said mobile device;

a reference point rule holding unit configured to hold reference point rules each of which indicates a relationship between the operation information and a reference point which indicates the location of said mobile device at a point in time when the input of the operation information is received;

a reference point determining unit configured to determine, as an operation reference point, the reference point corresponding to the operation information received by said operation input unit, with reference to the reference point rules;

a trajectory calculating unit configured to calculate a movement trajectory of said mobile device, based on the speed information detected by said sensor unit; and

a location identifying unit configured to identify a location of an end point of the movement trajectory originating at a start point that is a point corresponding to the operation reference point, using the movement trajectory calculated by said trajectory calculating unit.

2. The mobile device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an operation position history holding unit configured to hold position information regarding the operation reference point; and

an operation position history registering unit configured to register, on said operation position history holding unit, the position of the end point as position information regarding a second operation reference point, when assuming a first operation reference point to be the start point and the second operation reference point to be the end point, the first operation reference point and the second operation reference point being determined by said reference point determining unit using the movement trajectory calculated by said trajectory calculating unit,

wherein said location identifying unit is configured to identify the position of the end point, based on the position information regarding the second operation reference point held in said operation position history holding unit.

3. The mobile device according to claim 1,

wherein said location identifying unit further includes:

an error characteristics detecting unit configured to detect characteristics of the movement trajectory, the characteristics resulting from an error in the speed information detected by said sensor unit; and

an end point determining unit configured to determine the end point of the movement trajectory according to the detected characteristics of the movement trajectory.

4. The mobile device according to claim 3,

wherein said sensor unit is configured to detect at least acceleration as the speed information,

said error characteristics detecting unit is configured to detect a quadratic change in the location of said mobile device, the quadratic change resulting from an error in the acceleration detected by said sensor unit, and

said end point determining unit is configured to determine, as the end point, a point at which the quadratic change starts to be detected by said error characteristics detecting unit.

5. The mobile device according to claim 4,

wherein said end point determining unit is configured to determine the end point based on whether or not said operation input unit has received the input of the operation information and whether or not the quadratic change continues within a predetermined time after the quadratic change starts to be detected.

6. The mobile device according to claim 5,

wherein said end point determining unit is configured to judge whether or not said operation input unit has received the input of the operation information and whether or not the quadratic change continues within the predetermined time after the quadratic change starts to be detected, and (i) to determine, as the end point, a point at which the quadratic change starts to be detected, when judging that said operation input unit has not received the input of the operation information and that the quadratic change continues, and (ii) not to determine, as the end point, the point at which the quadratic change starts to be detected, when judging that said operation input unit has received the input of the operation information or that the quadratic change does not continue.

7. The mobile device according to claim 1,

wherein said reference point rule holding unit is configured to hold the reference point rules including a reference point rule which associates operation information regarding determining of a function of said mobile device with a chest reference point indicating a front of the user'"'"'s chest, and a reference point rule which associates operation information regarding text messaging with the chest reference point, and

said reference point determining unit is configured to determine the chest reference point as the operation reference point in the case where operation information newly received by said operation input unit is the operation information regarding the determining of the function of said mobile device and is the operation information regarding text messaging.

8. The mobile device according to claim 1,

wherein said reference point rule holding unit is configured to hold the reference point rules including a reference point rule which associates an audio signal that is a type of the operation information with an ear reference point indicating a side of the user'"'"'s ear, and

said reference point determining unit is configured to determine the ear reference point as the operation reference point, in the case where operation information newly received by said operation input unit is the audio signal.

9. The mobile device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a mode holding unit configured to hold a mode rule indicating a relationship between the position of the end point identified by said location identifying unit and a mode indicating a setting for a function and an operation of said mobile device; and

a mode switching unit configured to switch the mode, with reference to the mode rule, to a mode corresponding to the position of the end point identified by said location identifying unit.

10. The mobile device according to claim 1,

wherein, in the case where said operation input unit has newly received a plurality of operation information pieces and where the plurality of operation information pieces include a predetermined piece of operation information, said reference point determining unit is configured to determine, as the operation reference point, a reference point corresponding to the predetermined piece of operation information.

11. The mobile device according to claim 10,

wherein the predetermined piece of operation information is an audio signal resulting from a call.

12. The mobile device according to claim 1,

wherein said sensor unit is configured to start detecting the speed information when said operation input unit receives the input of the operation information.

13. The mobile device according to claim 1,

wherein said location identifying unit is configured to identify the position of the end point of the movement trajectory calculated by said trajectory calculating unit, by reversely tracking the movement trajectory.

14. The mobile device according to claim 13,

wherein the operation information is an audio signal resulting from a call, and

said location identifying unit is configured to identify the position of the end point at a time of receiving the call corresponding to the audio signal resulting from the call.

15. A mobile device location identifying method for identifying a location of a mobile device in relation to a user, used in the mobile device including an operation input unit which receives an input of operation information entered by the user and a sensor unit which detects speed information regarding the mobile device, said mobile device location identifying method comprising:

determining, as an operation reference point, a reference point corresponding to the operation information received by the operation input unit with reference to reference point rules each of which indicates a relationship between the operation information and the reference point which indicates the location of the mobile device at a point in time when the input of the operation information is received;

calculating a movement trajectory of the mobile terminal, based on the speed information detected by the sensor unit; and

identifying a location of an end point of the movement trajectory originating at a start point that is a point corresponding to the operation reference point, using the movement trajectory calculated in said calculating.

16. A program for identifying a location of a mobile device in relation to a user, in the mobile device including an operation input unit which receives an input of operation information entered by the user and a sensor unit which detects speed information regarding the mobile device, said program causing a computer to execute:

determining, as an operation reference point, a reference point corresponding to the operation information received by the operation input unit with reference to reference point rules each of which indicates a relationship between the operation information and a reference point which indicates the location of the mobile device at a point when the input of the operation information is received;

calculating a movement trajectory of the mobile terminal, based on the speed information detected by the sensor unit; and

identifying a location of an end point of the movement trajectory originating at a start point that is a point corresponding to the operation reference point, using the movement trajectory calculated in the calculating.