Position information system

• US 6,448,927 B1
• Filed: 04/20/2001
• Issued: 09/10/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Miyano, Akifumi, Ishigaki, Toshihiro, Arima, Masaki, Kurosawa, Arata
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAN, DAO LINDA
• Application Number:
  US09/830,047
• Time in Patent Office: 508 Days
• Field of Search: 342/357.01, 342/357.06, 342/357.13, 701/207, 701/213
• US Class Current: 342/357.31
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/34 Power consumption

Abstract

In a position informing apparatus using position-measuring means, such as a GPS receiver, and communications means, such as a portable cellular phone, the operating time of the position-measuring means is shortened, thereby diminishing power consumption.

Communications means (3), such as a portable cellular phone, of the position informing apparatus is provided with a position-measuring request button (3b) Position-measuring (1), such as a GPS receiver, is usually held in a power-off state, and the communications means (3) remains in a standby state. When the position-measuring request button (3b) is pressed, a control section (2) turns on power to the position-measuring means (1). A signal output from a GPS satellite is received by means of a position-measuring antenna (1a), and the position-measuring means (1) effects position-measuring operation. When position-measurement information is determined, the control section (2) sends the position-measurement information to the communications means (3), thus turning off power to the position-measuring means (1). The communications means (3) retains position information. When access is made to the communications means (3) from the outside, the position information is transmitted by way of a communications antenna (3a) . Alternatively, a predetermined number is automatically dialed, whereby the position information is transmitted.

Claims

1. A position informing apparatus comprising:

position-measuring means which determines a current position of the position informing apparatus;

a control section which controls power to the position-measuring means;

communications means; and

a position-measuring request button which, when pressed, triggers the control section to activate a position-measuring operation by turning on power to the position-measuring means, wherein the control section automatically turns off power to the position measuring means when the current position is determined.

5. A position informing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising means which inhibits execution of position-measuring operation when the communications means is outside a communicable range thereof.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication means may continue operating or be in a standby mode even after the control section has turned off power to the position-measuring means.

2. A position informing apparatus comprising:

position-measuring means which determines a current position of the position informing apparatus;

a control section which controls power to the position-measuring means, and

communications means, wherein

the control section turns on power to the position measuring means when existing buttons provided on the communications means are pressed in a specific pattern, wherein the control section automatically turns off power to the position measuring means when the current position is determined.

3. A position informing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the specific pattern is a specific number.

4. A position informing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control section turns on power to the position-measuring means when the communications means has received an incoming call originating from a specific number, wherein the control section automatically turns off power to the position measuring means when the current position is determined.

14. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the communication means may continue operating or be in a standby mode even after the control section has turned off power to the position-measuring means.

6. A position informing apparatus comprising:

position-measuring means which determines a current position of the position informing apparatus;

a control section which controls power to the position-measuring means;

communications means;

a storage section which stores the current position; and

a timer which periodically outputs an instruction for executing position-measuring operation, by means of turning on power to the position-measuring means by way of the control section.

7. A position informing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising means which effects control operation so as to prevent position-measurement during a communication period of the communication means.

8. A position informing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising means which changes a time interval at which position-measurement is to be performed, in accordance with a change in the position determined by the position-measuring means.

9. A position informing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising means which changes a time interval at which position-measurement is to be performed, in accordance with a change in the velocity determined by the position-measuring means.

10. A position informing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the position-measuring means includes:

a signal demodulation section which demodulates a signal for determining a current position of the position informing apparatus;

a position-measuring computation section for effecting a computation operation in order to determine the current position on the basis of a demodulated signal;

means which supplies power individually to the signal demodulation section and the position-measuring computation section of the position-measuring means;

means which turns on power to only the signal demodulation section until position-measurement information output from the signal demodulation section is received; and

means which turns off power to the signal demodulation section by means of turning on power to the position-measurement computation section when the position-measurement information output from the signal demodulation section is received.

11. A position informing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the position-measurement means includes:

a signal demodulation section for demodulating a signal for determining a current position of the position informing apparatus;

a position-measuring computation section which performs a computation operation in order to determine the current position on the basis of a demodulated signal;

means which supplies a clock signal individually to the signal demodulation section and the position-measuring computation section of the position-measuring means;

means which supplies the clock signal to only the signal demodulation section until the position-measurement information output from the signal demodulation section is received; and

means for stopping supply of the clock signal to the signal demodulation section when the position-measurement information output from the signal demodulation section is received by supplying the clock signal to the position-measuring computation section.

12. A positioning informing apparatus according to claim 10 or 11, further comprising means which periodically receives the position-measurement information output from the signal demodulation section and storing the position-measurement information into the storage section, and means which reads out the position-measurement information from the storage section only when a position-measuring request is received, thereby causing the position-measuring computation section to performing position-measuring operation.

15. A communication apparatus with a position determining function comprising:

position-measuring means which determines a current position of the position informing apparatus when powered on;

control means which controls power to the position-measuring means, wherein, when the communication apparatus is activated, power is not provided to the position-measuring means until a request for measuring a current position has been received; and

communications means, wherein the control means turns on power to the position-measuring means when the request for measuring a current position has been received, wherein power to the position measuring means is automatically turned off by said control means when the current position has been determined, and further wherein the communication means may continue operating or be in a standby mode even after the control means has turned off power to the position measuring means.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein said communication means includes a position-measuring request button, and further wherein activating the position-measuring request button sends the request for determining a current position to the control means.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein activating buttons provided on the communications means for providing communications functions in a specific pattern sends the request for determining a current position to the control means.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the specific pattern is a phone number or a communications address.

19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein receiving a call from a specific number or from a specific originator sends the request for determining a current position to the control means.