Mobile terminal and control method for mobile terminal

• US 8,812,025 B2
• Filed: 04/11/2011
• Issued: 08/19/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Takahashi, Makoto, Hashimoto, Jun, Itagaki, Kentaro
• Primary Examiner(s): Hu, Jinsong
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chang, Jean
• Application Number:
  US13/634,277
• Publication Number:
  US 20130005357A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,226 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.1, 455/456.2, 455/456.6
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/34 Power consumption
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/028 switching on or off only a part of the equipment circuit blocks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/006 with additional information processing, e.g. for direction or speed determination
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A positioning portion does not identify a position of a mobile terminal in a case in which a stationary continuation determiner determines that the mobile terminal has continued to be stationary during a period, the positioning portion identifies the position of the mobile terminal in a case in which the stationary continuation determiner determines that the mobile terminal has not continued to be stationary during the period and in which a traveling condition determiner determines that the mobile terminal is in traveling condition, and the positioning portion does not identify the position of the mobile terminal in a case in which the stationary continuation determiner determines that the mobile terminal has not continued to be stationary during the period and in which the traveling condition determiner determines that the mobile terminal is in a stationary condition.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal comprising:

a positioning portion configured to identify a position of the mobile terminal repetitively;

a stationary continuation determiner configured to determine whether or not the mobile terminal has continued to be stationary during a period including a current time depending on whether a traveling sensor is in a sleep state or not; and

a traveling condition determiner configured to determine whether the mobile terminal is in a stationary condition or is in a traveling condition,

wherein the positioning portion does not identify the position of the mobile terminal, without reference to a determination result of the traveling condition determiner, in a case in which the stationary continuation determiner determines that the mobile terminal has continued to be stationary during the period,

wherein the positioning portion identifies the position of the mobile terminal in a case in which the stationary continuation determiner determines that the mobile terminal has not continued to be stationary during the period and in which the traveling condition determiner determines that the mobile terminal is in a traveling condition,

wherein the positioning portion does not identify the position of the mobile terminal in a case in which the traveling condition determiner determines that the mobile terminal is in a stationary condition even in a case in which the stationary continuation determiner determines that the mobile terminal has not continued to be stationary during the period.

2. The mobile terminal of claim 1,

the traveling condition determiner comprising:

a visited zone change determiner configured to determine whether or not a visited zone in which the mobile terminal is located has changed during the period;

a traveling distance calculator configured to calculate a traveling distance of the mobile terminal during the period; and

a comparison determiner configured to determine whether or not the traveling distance that the traveling distance calculator has calculated is greater than a threshold,

wherein the positioning portion identifies the position of the mobile terminal in a case in which the stationary continuation determiner determines that the mobile terminal has not continued to be stationary during the period; and

in which the visited zone change determiner determines that the visited zone in which the mobile terminal is located has changed during the period or in which the comparison determiner determines that the traveling distance during the period is greater than the threshold,

wherein the positioning portion does not identify the position of the mobile terminal in a case in which the stationary continuation determiner determines that the mobile terminal has not continued to be stationary during the period, in which the visited zone change determiner determines that the visited zone in which the mobile terminal is located is not changed during the period, and in which the comparison determiner determines that the traveling distance during the period is equal to or lower than the threshold.

3. The mobile terminal of Claim 2, wherein the comparison determiner only makes a determination on whether or not the traveling distance during the period is greater than the threshold when the visited zone change determiner determines that the visited zone in which the mobile terminal is located is not changed during the period.

4. The mobile terminal of claim 1,

the traveling condition determiner comprising:

a visited zone change determiner configured to determine whether or not a visited zone in which the mobile terminal is located changes during the period,

wherein the positioning portion identifies the position of the mobile terminal in a case in which the stationary continuation determiner determines that the mobile terminal has not continued to be stationary during the period and in which the visited zone change determiner determines that the visited zone in which the mobile terminal is located changes during the period,

wherein the positioning portion does not identify the position of the mobile terminal in a case in which the stationary continuation determiner determines that the mobile terminal has not continued to be stationary during the period and in which the visited zone change determiner determines that the visited zone in which the mobile terminal is located is not changed during the period.

5. The mobile terminal of claim 1,

the traveling condition determiner comprising:

a traveling distance calculator configured to calculate a traveling distance of the mobile terminal during the period; and

a comparison determiner configured to determine whether or not the traveling distance that the traveling distance calculator has calculated is greater than a threshold,

wherein the positioning portion identifies the position of the mobile terminal in a case in which the stationary continuation determiner determines that the mobile terminal has not continued to be stationary during the period and in which the comparison determiner determines that the traveling distance during the period is greater than the threshold,

wherein the positioning portion does not identify the position of the mobile terminal in a case in which the stationary continuation determiner determines that the mobile terminal has not continued to be stationary during the period and in which the comparison determiner determines that the traveling distance during the period is equal to or lower than the threshold.

6. The mobile terminal of claim 1, further comprising:

a receiver configured to receive information which an information service provision apparatus sends to the mobile terminal via a mobile communication network, the information adjusted to a present position of the mobile terminal; and

a transmitter configured to repetitively transmit a signal which represents the position of the mobile terminal which the positioning portion has identified to the information service provision apparatus,

wherein the transmitter does not transmit the signal that represents the position of the mobile terminal to the information service provision apparatus in a case in which the positioning portion does not identify the position of the mobile terminal.

7. The mobile terminal of Claim 1, further comprising:

a timer, wherein a moment for determining a necessity of positioning the mobile terminal is based on a time counted down by the timer since the previous moment of determining the necessity of positioning the mobile terminal.

8. A control method for a mobile terminal, comprising:

identifying a position of the mobile terminal repetitively;

determining whether or not the mobile terminal has continued to be stationary during a period including current time depending on whether a traveling sensor is in a sleep state or not;

determining whether the mobile terminal is in a stationary condition or is in a traveling condition;

not identifying the position of the mobile terminal, without reference to a result of a determination as to whether the mobile terminal is in stationary condition or is in a traveling condition, in a case in which it is determined that the mobile terminal has continued to be stationary during the period;

identifying the position of the mobile terminal in a case in which it is determined that the mobile terminal has not continued to be stationary during the period and in which it is determined that the mobile terminal is in traveling condition; and

not identifying the position of the mobile terminal in a case in which it is determined that the mobile terminal is in a stationary condition even in a case in which it is determined that the mobile terminal has not continued to be stationary during the period.