Portable terminal device and location result acquisition interval setting method thereof

• US 8,791,858 B2
• Filed: 02/06/2008
• Issued: 07/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Innovations Ltd Hong Kong (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Nakagawa, Takao
• Primary Examiner(s): GALT, CASSI J
• Application Number:
  US12/526,237
• Publication Number:
  US 20100323754A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,365 Days
• Field of Search: 3423572-35778, 455/566.1, 455/456.1, 701/93, 701/468
• US Class Current: 342/357.74
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/34 Power consumption
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/35 Constructional details or hardware or software details of the signal processing chain
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/52 Determining velocity
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/017 Detecting state or type of motion
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/019 Energy consumption
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0258 controlling an operation mode according to history or models of usage information, e.g. activity schedule or time of day
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Power consumption can be reduced in a portable terminal device that is equipped with a location means to locate the current position. A portable terminal device carried by a user includes: A location means that locates the current position of the portable terminal device; and a microprocessor that intermittently acquires the result of location from the location means, in which the microprocessor calculates the traveling speed of the portable terminal device based on the result of location done by the location means, and switches the time intervals at which the microprocessor acquires the result of location from the location means in accordance with the traveling speed so that when the result of calculation indicates a small speed, the time intervals become longer than when the result of calculation indicates a large speed.

Claims

1. A portable terminal device comprising:

a location unit configured to repeatedly locate a current position of the portable terminal device;

a microprocessor configured to intermittently access the location unit to acquire positional information of the portable terminal device from the location unit at access intervals; and

a memory configured to store information on corresponding relationship between the access intervals and traveling speeds of the portable terminal device carried by a user,

wherein the microprocessor is further configured to calculate a traveling speed of the portable terminal device based on the acquired positional information, obtain the access intervals corresponding to the calculated traveling speed by referring to the stored information on corresponding relationship, and switch the access intervals to the obtained access intervals so that the access intervals become longer stepwise as the traveling speed lowers, and

wherein when the current position represented by the positional information newly acquired from the location unit is away from a previous position represented by the previously acquired positional information, the microprocessor is further configured to acquire map information corresponding to the current position represented by the newly acquired positional information via a communication network and display on a screen the current position in the corresponding map, and

wherein the location unit is configured to constantly locate the current position of the portable terminal device at constant time intervals that are shorter than a minimum access interval stored in the memory, and, when accepting an acquisition request of the location result from the microprocessor, to output the latest location result to the microprocessor.

2. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the microprocessor calculates the traveling speed of the portable terminal device every time the microprocessor acquires the positional information from the location unit.

3. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the location unit locates the current position of the portable terminal device in a GPS method.

4. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the portable terminal device is a portable phone.

5. A location result acquisition interval switching method of a portable terminal device that includes (a) a location unit that repeatedly locates the current position of the portable terminal device, (b) a microprocessor that intermittently accesses the location unit to acquire positional information of the portable terminal device from the location unit at access intervals, and (c) a memory that stores information on corresponding relationship between the access intervals and traveling speeds of the portable terminal device carried by a user, the method comprising steps of:

calculating a traveling speed of the portable terminal device based on the acquired positional information;

obtaining the access intervals corresponding to the calculated traveling speed by referring to the stored information on corresponding relationship;

switching the access intervals to the obtained access intervals so that the access intervals become longer stepwise as the traveling speed lowers; and

when the current position represented by the positional information newly acquired from the location unit is away from a previous position represented by the previously acquired positional information, acquiring map information corresponding to the current position represented by the newly acquired positional information via a communication network, and displaying on a screen the current position in the corresponding map, and

wherein the method further comprises;

the location unit constantly locating the current position of the portable terminal device at constant time intervals that are shorter than a minimum access interval stored in the memory, and, when accepting an acquisition request of the location result from the microprocessor, outputting the latest location result to the microprocessor.