Mobile electronic apparatus and bearing display method of same

• US 7,950,160 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2007
• Issued: 05/31/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Inventors: Ito, Kazuto, Ueno, Yasuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): GUADALUPE, YARITZA
• Application Number:
  US12/162,598
• Publication Number:
  US 20090300928A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,582 Days
• Field of Search: 333/56, 333/55.R, 333/55.D, 333/63.R
• US Class Current: 33/356
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 17/28 Electromagnetic compasses with north seeking magnetic elements and having electric pick-offs G01C17/26
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion

Abstract

A mobile electronic apparatus capable of effectively preventing erroneous recognition of a bearing (azimuth oz compass direction) by a user, as a correct display of the bearing is correct when the reliability of the display of the bearing is lowered by a change of the usage environment, and a bearing display method of the same, are provided. If a mobile electronic apparatus (100) is mounted on a charger (200) having a speaker (201), while information on a bearing calculated according to geomagnetism detected by a geomagnetic sensor (108) is displayed on a display part (107), updating of the information on the bearing repeated up to them is stopped, and information on a predetermined bearing is continuously displayed on the display part (107). This enables a user to correctly recognize that the information on the bearing displayed on the display part (107) is incorrect, thereby preventing the user from being misled by the unreliable information on the display part (107).

Claims

1. A mobile electronic apparatus comprising:

a display part displaying information;

a geomagnetic sensor detecting geomagnetism; and

a control part configured to calculate a bearing based on geomagnetism detected by the geomagnetic sensor and to display the information of the calculated bearing on the display part, wherein,

the electronic apparatus is configured to detect a state where an external device generating a magnetic field is connected to the electronic apparatus in a state where the information of the bearing is displayed on the display part, and

the control part is configured to indicate that the information of the bearing is incorrect on the display part, or configured to stop the display of the information of the bearing, when the state where the external device is connected to the electronic apparatus is detected.

2. A mobile electronic apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein

the electronic apparatus comprises a detection part detecting a connection of the external device, and

the control part judges whether or not the external device is connected to the electronic apparatus based on the detection result of the detection part.

3. A mobile electronic apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein

the control part repeats the calculation of the bearing, updates the information of the bearing displaying on the display part in accordance with the calculated bearing, and stops the updating of information of the bearing when the detection part detects the connection.

4. A mobile electronic apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein,

when the control part stops the updating of the information of the bearing displayed on the display part, the control part displays the information of the bearing based on the geomagnetism detected by the geomagnetic sensor, before the detection part detects the connection, on the display part.

5. A mobile electronic apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein,

when the detection part detects the connection at the time when the information of the bearing is displayed on the display part, the control part displays information which is not the calculated bearing, but a predetermined bearing, on the display part.

6. A mobile electronic apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein the control part has a bearing calculation unit configured to periodically acquire the detection result of the geomagnetic sensor, calculate the bearing based on the detection result of the acquired geomagnetism, and output the calculation result as bearing data,

a display control part configured to periodically acquire the bearing data from the bearing calculation unit and control the display of the information of the bearing on the display part in accordance with the acquired bearing data, and the bearing calculation unit outputs a fixed bearing data to the display control part when the detection part detects the connection.

7. A mobile electronic apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein the bearing calculation unit outputs, a bearing data based on the detection result of the geomagnetic sensor acquired before the detection part detects the connection, as the fixed bearing data.

8. A mobile electronic apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein the bearing calculation unit outputs the bearing data indicating a predetermined bearing as the fixed bearing data.

9. A mobile electronic apparatus comprising:

a display part displaying information;

a geomagnetic sensor detecting geomagnetism;

a control part configured to calculate the bearing based on the geomagnetism detected by the geomagnetic sensor and to display the information of the calculated bearing on the display part; and

an audio signal supply unit supplying audio signals to a speaker provided in an external device,

wherein, the electronic apparatus is configured to detect a state where the external device is connected to the electronic apparatus and the audio signal supply unit starts an output of audio signals in a state where the information of the bearing is displayed on the display part, and

the control part is configured to indicate that, the information of the bearing is incorrect on the display part, or configured to stop the display of the information of the bearing, when the state where the external device is connected to the electronic apparatus is detected.

10. A mobile electronic apparatus comprising:

a display part displaying information;

a geomagnetic sensor detecting geomagnetism;

a control part configured to calculate the bearing based on the geomagnetism detected by the geomagnetic sensor and to display the information of the calculated bearing on the display part; and

a battery,

wherein, the electronic apparatus is configured to detect a state where an external device is connected to the electronic apparatus and the battery is charged by electric power from the external device in the state where the information of the bearing is displayed on the display part, and

the control part is configured to indicate that the information of the bearing is incorrect on the display part or configured to stop the display of the information of the bearing, when the state where the external device is connected to the electronic apparatus is detected.

11. A method for displaying a bearing by which a mobile electronic apparatus comprises a display part and a geomagnetic sensor, and displays information of a bearing on the display part, the method having

a first step of calculating the bearing based on the geomagnetism detected by the geomagnetic sensor, and displaying information of the calculated bearing on the display part;

a second step of detecting a connection of a predetermined external device generating a magnetic field to the electronic apparatus, in the first step; and

a third step of displaying that the information of the bearing is incorrect on the display part, or stopping the display of the information of the bearing when the connection is detected according to the second step.