Wearable terminal mountable on part of body of user

• US 9,871,546 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2016
• Issued: 01/16/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Aoki, Hideshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hai V
• Application Number:
  US15/252,015
• Publication Number:
  US 20170077974A1
• Time in Patent Office: 504 Days
• Field of Search: 455 411
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/385 Transceivers carried on the body, e.g. in helmets
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 13/005 Transmission systems in which the medium consists of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/3855 carried in a belt or harness
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/3861 carried in a hand or on fingers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication

Abstract

A wearable terminal includes a display input unit which displays an image, which corresponds to a program identical to at least one program stored in another wearable terminal among a plurality of programs stored in a storage unit and is used for starting the program in response to an operation performed thereto, on a display screen based on another terminal program information, which is received in a case where another wearable terminal is authenticated, and receives an operation with respect to the image displayed on the display screen, and a control unit which performs control such that in a case where the display input unit receives an operation with respect to the image, the program corresponding to the image which receives the operation is started and a communication unit is allowed to transmit specific information associated with the program to another wearable terminal.

Claims

1. A wearable terminal comprising:

a processor; and

a memory having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program causing the processor to execute operations including;

authenticating another wearable terminal which is distinct from the wearable terminal,

storing a plurality of programs which are different from each other,

communicating with the another wearable terminal to receive another terminal program information representing at least one program stored in the another wearable terminal from the another wearable terminal when the another wearable terminal is authenticated,

determining whether the at least one program, which is represented by the another terminal program information, is or is not identical to each of the plurality of programs stored in the wearable terminal,

displaying an image on a display screen, the image corresponding to one of the plurality of programs stored in the wearable terminal which is identical to the at least one program stored in the another wearable terminal, when the at least one program stored in the another wearable terminal is determined to be identical to the one of the plurality of programs stored in the wearable terminal, the image being used for starting the one of the plurality of programs in response to receipt of an operation with respect to the image which is displayed on the display screen, and

when an operation with respect to the image is received, starting the one of the plurality of programs corresponding to the image which receives the operation and transmitting specific information associated with the one of the plurality of programs to the another wearable terminal.

2. The wearable terminal according to claim 1, further comprising:

a body connector which connects to a body;

a first communicator which communicates with the another wearable terminal by human body communication, the human body communication being communication using a human body as a communication medium, via the body connector; and

a second communicator which communicates with the another wearable terminal by radio communication performed without an intermediary of the body connector, wherein

the computer program causes the processor to execute operations including;

authenticating the another wearable terminal when connection with the another wearable terminal through the human body communication is established by the first communicator.

3. The wearable terminal according to claim 2, wherein the computer program causes the processor to execute operations including:

allowing the second communicator to transmit the specific information to the another wearable terminal.

4. The wearable terminal according to claim 3, wherein the computer program causes the processor to execute operations including:

allowing the first communicator to transmit the specific information to the another wearable terminal during connection through the human body communication.

5. The wearable terminal according to claim 3, wherein the computer program causes the processor to execute operations including:

allowing the first communicator to transmit a first part of the specific information to the another wearable terminal during connection through the human body communication and allowing the second communicator to transmit a further part of the specific information to the another wearable terminal after disconnection of the human body communication.

6. The wearable terminal according to claim 5, wherein the computer program causes the processor to execute operations including:

allowing the second communicator to transmit the further part of the specific information to the another wearable terminal after disconnection of the human body communication and after reception of approval information from the another wearable terminal.

7. The wearable terminal according to claim 2, wherein the computer program causes the processor to execute operations including:

allowing the first communicator to transmit the specific information to the another wearable terminal.

8. The wearable terminal according to claim 2, wherein the computer program causes the processor to execute operations including:

switching between the first communicator and the second communicator based on an attribute of the specific information and allowing the switched one of first communicator and the second communicator to transmit the specific information to the another wearable terminal.

9. The wearable terminal according to claim 8, wherein

the attribute is data capacity, and

the computer program causes the processor to execute operations including:

allowing the second communicator to transmit the specific information to the another wearable terminal when the data capacity of the specific information is equal to or larger than a predetermined value, and

allowing the first communicator to transmit the specific information to the another wearable terminal when the data capacity of the specific information is smaller than the predetermined value.

10. The wearable terminal according to claim 8, wherein

the attribute is a data classification, and

the computer program causes the processor to execute operations including:

allowing the second communicator to transmit the specific information to the another wearable terminal when the data classification of the specific information is image data, voice data, or moving image data, and

allowing the first communicator to transmit the specific information to the another wearable terminal when the data classification of the specific information is account data, profile data, or text data.

11. The wearable terminal according to claim 1, wherein the computer program causes the processor to execute operations including:

storing information associated with each of the plurality of programs and transmission propriety of the information, as the specific information, and

transmitting the specific information, the specific information being stored as transmittable information, to the another wearable terminal.

12. The wearable terminal according to claim 1, wherein the specific information is at least one of account data, profile data, text data, image data, voice data, and moving image data.

13. The wearable terminal according to claim 1, further comprising:

a sensor which detects a first action with respect to the wearable terminal, wherein

the computer program causes the processor to execute operations including;

receiving second action information representing a second action with respect to the another wearable terminal, and

authenticating the another wearable terminal upon a determination that the second action, represented by the second action information received and the first action detected by the sensor, are identical actions.

14. The wearable terminal according to claim 1, further comprising:

a first communicator that communicates with the another wearable terminal by human body communication, the human body communication being communication using a human body as a communication medium; and

a second communicator that communicates with the another wearable terminal by radio communication performed without an intermediary of the human body;

wherein the computer program causes the processor to execute operations further including;

switching between the first communicator and the second communicator based on an attribute of the specific information, and allowing the switched one of the first communicator and the second communicator to transmit the specific information to the another wearable terminal.

15. A communication method causing a processor included in a wearable terminal to execute operations comprising:

authenticating another wearable terminal which is distinct from the wearable terminal;

receiving another terminal program information representing at least one program stored in the another wearable terminal, from the another wearable terminal when the another wearable terminal is authenticated;

determining whether the at least one program, which is represented by the another terminal program information, is or is not identical to each of the plurality of programs stored in the wearable terminal,

displaying an image, on a display screen, the image corresponding to one of the plurality of programs stored in the wearable terminal which is identical to the at least one program stored in the another wearable terminal when the at least one program stored in the another wearable terminal is determined to be identical to the one of the plurality of programs stored in the wearable terminal, the image being used for starting the one of the plurality of programs in response to receipt of an operation with respect to the image which is displayed on the display screen; and

when an operation with respect to the image is received, starting the one of the plurality of programs corresponding to the image which receives the operation and transmitting specific information associated with the one of the plurality of programs to the another wearable terminal.

16. The communication method according to claim 15,

communicating, via a human body, with the another wearable terminal by human body communication, the human body communication being communication using a human body as a communication medium, via a body connector;

communicating, via radio, with the another wearable terminal by radio communication performed without an intermediary of the body connector, and

authenticating the another wearable terminal when connection with the another wearable terminal through the human body communication is established by the communicating via a human body.

17. The communication method according to claim 16,

switching between the communicating via a human body and communicating via radio based on an attribute of the specific information and allowing the switched one of the communication via a human body and communication via radio to transmit the specific information to the another wearable terminal.

18. A non-transitory recording medium having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program causing a processor, included in a wearable terminal, to execute operations including:

authenticating another wearable terminal which is distinct from the wearable terminal;

receiving another terminal program information representing at least one program stored in the another wearable terminal, from the another wearable terminal when the another wearable terminal is authenticated;

determining whether the at least one program, which is represented by the another terminal program information, is or is not identical to each of the plurality of programs stored in the wearable terminal,

displaying an image, on a display screen, the image corresponding to one of the plurality of programs stored in the wearable terminal which is identical to the at least one program stored in the another wearable terminal when the at least one program stored in the another wearable terminal is determined to be identical to the one of the plurality of programs stored in the wearable terminal, the image being used for starting the one of the plurality of programs in response to an operation performed with respect to the image which is displayed on the display screen; and

when an operation with respect to the image is received, starting the one of the plurality of programs corresponding to the image which receives the operation and transmitting specific information associated with the one of the plurality of programs to the another wearable terminal.

19. The non-transitory recording medium according to claim 18,

communicating, via a human body, with the another wearable terminal by human body communication, the human body communication being communication using a human body as a communication medium, via a body connector;

communicating via radio with the another wearable terminal by radio communication performed without an intermediary of the body connector, and

authenticating the another wearable terminal when connection with the another wearable terminal through the human body communication is established by the communicating via a human body.

20. A non-transitory recording medium according to claim 19, switching between the communicating via a human body and the communicating via radio based on an attribute of the specific information and allowing the switched one of the communicating via a human body and the communicating via radio to transmit the specific information to the another wearable terminal.