Portable electronic device including a pedometer function with suppression of counting errors

• US 9,062,976 B2
• Filed: 07/29/2009
• Issued: 06/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Inventors: Tanabe, Shigeki
• Primary Examiner(s): Miah, Liton
• Application Number:
  US13/056,502
• Publication Number:
  US 20110177848A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,155 Days
• Field of Search: 702/160, 455/418
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 22/006 Pedometers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion

Abstract

Provided is a portable electronic device that has a pedometer function wherein generation of counting errors has been suppressed. The portable electronic device is provided with a housing, an acceleration-detecting unit that is mounted in the housing, a counting unit that counts the number of steps based on temporal changes in acceleration detected by the acceleration-detecting unit, and a correcting unit that corrects the number of steps counted by the counting unit.

Claims

1. A portable electronic device comprising:

a housing containing a vibration producing unit that vibrates the housing, the vibration producing unit comprising a motor with an eccentric weight attached to an output portion of the motor;

a three-axis acceleration detection unit housed in the housing; and

a step counting unit, the step counting unit comprising;

a counting unit that counts a number of steps based on temporal changes in acceleration detected by the acceleration detection unit,

and a correction unit that corrects the number of steps counted by the counting unit,

the step counting unit further comprising;

a timer unit housed in the housing;

a determination unit that determines whether a waveform pattern detected by the acceleration detection unit is a first waveform pattern, a second waveform pattern, or a third waveform pattern, wherein one of the first waveform pattern or the second waveform pattern represents a waveform pattern of a user walking or running, a other of the first waveform pattern or the second waveform pattern is caused by addition of vibration to walking motion or running motion of the user, and the third waveform pattern is a waveform pattern of temporal changes in acceleration values due to movement of the housing produced by only vibration by the vibration producing unit;

a waveform pattern counting unit that counts a number of the first waveform patterns; and

a storage unit that stores information regarding the third waveform pattern;

the correction unit comprising;

a calculation unit that calculates a number of detections in a first detected value waveform pattern in a time period;

a measurement unit that measures a duration period of a second detected value waveform pattern utilizing time information from the timer unit;

a presumption unit that presumes a number of detections of the first detected value waveform patterns by multiplying the number of detections in a time period calculated by the calculation unit by the duration period measured by the measurement unit; and

an adder unit that adds the number of detections presumed by the presumption unit to the count number in the waveform pattern counting unit but does not change the count number if the determination unit determines that the detected value waveform pattern is the third waveform pattern.

2. The portable electronic device according to claim 1 wherein

the storage unit stores the waveform pattern, wherein the other of the first waveform pattern or the second waveform pattern is generated in response to the vibration produced by the vibration producing unit, the vibration produced in response to a predetermined move by the user, and

the storage unit stores the other of the first waveform pattern or the second waveform pattern.

3. The portable electronic device according to claim 2, wherein

the determination unit compares a detected value waveform pattern that is a pattern of temporal changes in acceleration values detected by the acceleration detection unit and a waveform pattern stored in the storage unit, and

determines whether the detected value waveform pattern is the first waveform pattern or the second waveform pattern.

4. The portable electronic device according to claim 2, wherein

the storage unit stores amplitude information and oscillation period information in a waveform pattern.

5. The portable electronic device of claim 2, wherein the vibration produced by the vibration producing unit is continuous or intermittent.

6. A portable electronic device comprising:

a housing containing a vibration producing unit that vibrates the housing, the vibration producing unit comprising a motor with an eccentric weight attached to an output portion of the motor;

a three-axis acceleration detection unit housed in the housing;

a step counting unit, the step counting unit comprising;

a counting unit that counts a number of steps based on temporal changes in acceleration detected by the acceleration detection unit; and

a correction unit that corrects the number of steps counted by the counting unit,

the step counting unit further comprising;

a timer unit housed in the housing;

a storage unit that stores information about a waveform pattern of temporal changes in acceleration values, which is information of a first threshold information about an oscillation period of a waveform pattern and a second threshold information about an amplitude of a waveform pattern;

a first determination unit that determines whether a detected value waveform pattern that is a waveform pattern of temporal changes in acceleration values detected by the acceleration detection unit is a first detected value waveform pattern in which the oscillation period is greater than or equal to the first threshold and the amplitude is greater than or equal to the second threshold, wherein the first detected value waveform pattern represents a waveform pattern of a user walking or running;

a second determination unit that determines whether the detected value waveform pattern is a second detected value waveform pattern in which the oscillation period is smaller than the first threshold and the amplitude is greater than or equal to the second threshold, and a virtual waveform pattern calculated from the detected value waveform pattern has substantially identical shape to all or a part of the first detected value waveform pattern, wherein the second detected value waveform pattern represents a waveform pattern caused by addition of other vibration to walking motion or running motion of the user;

a third determination unit that determines whether the detected value waveform pattern is a third detected value waveform pattern in which the oscillation period is smaller than the first threshold and the amplitude is greater than or equal to the second threshold, and the virtual waveform pattern has different shape from the first detected value waveform pattern, wherein the third detected value waveform pattern represents a waveform pattern of temporal changes in acceleration values due to movement of the housing produced by only the vibration by the vibration producing unit; and

a first counting unit that counts a number of the first detected value waveform pattern determined by the first determination unit;

the correction unit comprises comprising;

a second counting unit that counts a number of the virtual waveform patterns in the second detected value waveform pattern determined by the second determination unit; and

an adder unit that adds a count number in the second counting unit to a count number in the first counting unit, but does not change the count number if the third determination unit determined that the detected value waveform pattern is the third detected value waveform pattern.

7. The portable electronic device according to claim 6, wherein

the first determination unit and/or the second determination unit determines whether the virtual waveform pattern is the second detected value waveform pattern that has substantially identical shape to all or a part of the first detected value waveform pattern by comparing the virtual oscillation period and the virtual amplitude of the second detected value waveform pattern, and peaks and troughs of waveforms of the virtual waveform pattern.

8. A portable electronic device comprising:

a housing containing a vibration producing unit that vibrates the housing, the vibration producing unit comprising a motor with an eccentric weight attached to an output portion of the motor;

a three-axis acceleration detection unit housed in the housing;

a step counting unit including a counting unit that counts a number of steps based on temporal changes in acceleration detected by the acceleration detection unit, and a correction unit that corrects the number of steps counted by the counting unit,

the step counting unit further comprising;

a timer unit housed in the housing;

a positional information acquisition unit that is housed in the housing and acquires positional information of the housing, wherein the positional information acquisition unit comprises a GPS function;

a storage unit that stores information about a waveform pattern of temporal changes in acceleration values, which is information of a first threshold information about an oscillating period of the waveform pattern and second threshold information about an amplitude of the waveform pattern;

a first determination unit that determines whether the amplitude is greater than or equal to the second threshold in a detected value waveform pattern that is a waveform pattern of temporal changes in acceleration values detected by the acceleration detection unit;

a second determination unit that determines whether a current state is a moving state when the housing is moving based on the positional information in a case where the amplitude is determined as greater than or equal to the second threshold by the first determination unit;

a third determination unit that determines whether an oscillating period of a detected value waveform pattern is greater than or equal to the first threshold in a case where the second determination unit determined that the current state is the moving state, the oscillation period related to a vibration of the housing; and

a first counting unit that counts a number of the first detected value waveform patterns determined as having the oscillation period greater than or equal to the first threshold by the third determination unit among the detected value waveform patterns;

the correction unit comprising;

a calculation unit that calculates a number of detections in the first detected value waveform pattern in a time period;

a measurement unit that measures a duration period of the second detected value waveform pattern determined as having the oscillation period smaller than the first threshold by the third determination unit among the detected value waveform patterns;

a presumption unit that presumes a number of detections of the first detected value waveform patterns by multiplying the duration period measured by the measurement unit by the number of detections in a time period calculated by the calculation unit; and

an adder unit that adds the number of detections presumed by the presumption unit to the count number in the first counting unit.

9. The portable electronic device according to claim 8, wherein the adder unit does not change the count number if the second determination unit determines that the housing is not in the moving state.

10. The portable electronic device according to claim 8, further comprising:

a moving distance calculation unit that calculates a moving distance moved during a predetermined time period from the positional information acquired by the positional information acquisition unit, wherein

the second determination unit determines whether a current state is the moving state based on the moving distance moved during the predetermined time period calculated by the moving distance calculation unit.

11. The portable electronic device according to claim 8, further comprising:

a moving velocity calculation unit that calculates a moving velocity from the positional information acquired by the positional information acquisition unit, wherein

the second determination unit determines whether a current state is the moving state based on the moving velocity calculated by the moving velocity calculation unit.

12. The portable electronic device according to claim 11, wherein the second determination unit determines that the current state is not the moving state, when the moving velocity is greater than or equal to a predetermined first velocity.

13. A portable electronic device comprising:

a housing containing a vibration producing unit that vibrates the housing, the vibration producing unit comprising a motor with an eccentric weight attached to an output portion of the motor;

a three-axis acceleration detection unit housed in the housing;

a step counting unit, the step counting unit comprising;

a counting unit that counts a number of steps based on temporal changes in acceleration detected by the acceleration detection unit, and

a correction unit that corrects the number of steps counted by the counting unit,

the step counting unit further comprising;

a timer unit housed in the housing;

a positional information acquisition unit that is housed in the housing and acquires positional information of the housing, wherein the positional information acquisition unit comprises a GPS function;

a storage unit that stores information about a waveform pattern of temporal changes in acceleration values, which is information of a first threshold information about an oscillation period of a waveform pattern and second threshold information about an amplitude of a waveform pattern;

a first determination unit that determines that the amplitude is greater than or equal to the second threshold in a detected value waveform pattern that is a waveform pattern of temporal changes in acceleration values detected by the acceleration detection unit;

a second determination unit that determines whether a current state is a moving state where the housing is moving based on the positional information in a case where the first determination unit determined that the amplitude is greater than or equal to the second threshold;

a third determination unit that determines whether an oscillation period of the detected value waveform pattern is greater than or equal to the first threshold in a case where the second determination unit determined that the current state is the moving state, the oscillation period related to a vibration of the housing; and

a first counting unit that counts a number of the first detected value waveform patterns determined as having the oscillation period greater than or equal to the first threshold by the third determination unit among the detected value waveform patterns;

the correction unit comprising;

a second counting unit that counts a number of virtual waveform patterns that are made by coupling adjacent top points in the second detected value waveform patterns determined as having the oscillation period smaller than the first threshold among the detected value waveform patterns; and

an adder unit that adds the count number in the first counting unit to the count number in the second counting unit.