Sensing device and electronic apparatus

• US 9,176,164 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2011
• Issued: 11/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Chino, Taketo
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh, Kim
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHANG, VINCENT WEN-LIANG
• Application Number:
  US13/118,790
• Publication Number:
  US 20120023354A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,617 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 13/00 Indicating or recording presence, absence, or direction, of movement electric switches H01H; counting moving objects G06M7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/00 Measuring acceleration; Measuring deceleration; Measuring shock, i.e. sudden change of acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0254 detecting a user operation or a tactile contact or a motion of the device

Abstract

A sensing device includes: a sensor module that includes a group of sensors, at least one of which is set as a motion sensor, and can switch an operation mode to an overall operation mode in which all of the group of sensors operate and a partial operation mode in which a part of the sensors including the at least one sensor set as the motion sensor operate; and a control unit that controls the switching of the operation mode of the sensor module on the basis of an output from the motion sensor.

Claims

1. A sensing device comprising:

a sensor module that includes a group of sensors, at least one of which being a motion sensor, the sensor module being configured to output a sensing result;

a control unit configured to switch between an overall operation mode in which all of the group of sensors operate and a partial operation mode in which a part of the group of sensors operate based on an output from the motion sensor, the control unit being configured to output a mode control signal when the control unit switches between the overall operation mode and the partial operation mode;

a data generation unit configured to generate output data based on the sensing result of the sensor module at a predetermined rate, wherein

the predetermined rate is changed at multiple stages based on the mode control signal and an elapsed time after the mode is switched between the overall operation mode and the partial operation mode,

the control unit calculates a mean of a plurality of outputs from the motion sensor,

the control unit switches from the overall operation mode to the partial operation mode when the mean is smaller than a first threshold in a predetermined time,

the control unit switches from the partial operation mode to the overall operation mode when the mean is larger than a second threshold,

the second threshold is greater than or equal to the first threshold, and

the predetermined time is more than several seconds.

2. The sensing device according to claim 1, further comprising a register unit including a status register that represents the predetermined rate at which the output data is generated, wherein

the data generating unit updates the status register when the predetermined rate changes.

3. The sensing device according to claim 2, wherein the data generating unit outputs an interrupt signal when the status register is updated.

4. The sensing device according to claim 1, wherein the data generating unit outputs a signal representing the predetermined rate at which the output data is generated.

5. The sensing device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a display device that displays an image.

6. A sensing device comprising:

a sensor module that includes a group of sensors, the sensor module being configured to output a sensing result;

an auxiliary sensor module that includes at least one motion sensor;

a control unit configured to switch between an overall operation mode in which all of the group of sensors operate and a stop operation mode in which a part of the group of sensors stops operating based on an output from the motion sensor, the control unit being configured to output a mode control signal when the control unit switches between the overall operation mode and the stop operation mode; and

a data generation unit configured to generate output data based on the sensing result of the sensor module at a predetermined rate, wherein

the predetermined rate is changed at multiple stages based on the mode control signal and an elapsed time after the mode is switched between the overall operation mode and the stop operation mode,

the control unit calculates a mean of a plurality of outputs from the motion sensor,

the control unit switches from the overall operation mode to the stop operation mode when the mean is smaller than a first threshold in a predetermined time,

the control unit switches from the stop operation mode to the overall operation mode when the mean is larger than a second threshold,

the second threshold is greater than or equal to the first threshold, and

the predetermined time is more than several seconds.

7. A sensing device comprising:

a sensor module that includes a group of sensors, at least one of which being a first motion sensor, the sensor module being configured to output a sensing result;

an auxiliary sensor module that includes at least one second motion sensor; and

a control unit configured to switch between an overall operation mode in which all of the group of sensors operate and a stop operation mode in which a part of the group of sensors stops operating based on an output from one of the first motion sensor and the second motion sensor and that switches between an operation mode in which the auxiliary sensor module operates and a stop mode in which the auxiliary sensor module does not operate based on the overall operation mode and the stop operation mode of the sensor module, the control unit being configured to output a mode control signal when the control unit switches between the overall operation mode and the stop operation mode; and

a data generation unit configured to generate output data based on the sensing result of the sensor module at a predetermined rate, wherein

the predetermined rate is changed at multiple stages based on the mode control signal and an elapsed time after the mode is switched between the overall operation mode and the stop operation mode,

the control unit calculates a first mean of a plurality of outputs from the first motion sensor, and the control unit calculates a second mean of a plurality of outputs from the second motion sensor,

the control unit switches from the overall operation mode to the stop operation mode when the first mean is smaller than a first threshold in a predetermined time,

the control unit switches from the stop operation mode to the overall operation mode when the second mean is larger than a second threshold,

the second threshold is greater than or equal to the first threshold,

the control unit switches from the operation mode to the stop mode when the sensor module is the overall operation mode,

the control unit switches from the stop mode to the operation mode when the sensor module is the stop mode, and

the predetermined time is more than several seconds.