Electronic device and time adjustment method

• US 7,616,153 B2
• Filed: 07/30/2007
• Issued: 11/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Fujisawa, Teruhiko, Urano, Osamu, Honda, Katsuyuki, Matsuzaki, Jun
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAN, DAO LINDA
• Application Number:
  US11/830,629
• Publication Number:
  US 20080030403A1
• Time in Patent Office: 834 Days
• Field of Search: 342/357.01, 342/357.06, 342/357.13, 342/357.15, 701/213, 701/215
• US Class Current: 342/357.74
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/14 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/23 Testing, monitoring, correcting or calibrating of receiver elements
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/34 Power consumption
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/35 Constructional details or hardware or software details of the signal processing chain
• CPC Class Codes: G04R 20/02 the radio signal being sent by a satellite, e.g. GPS

Abstract

An electronic device having a reception unit that receives satellite signals from positioning information satellites orbiting the Earth; a time information generating unit that generates time information; a time correction information storage unit that stores time correction information for correcting the time information; a time correction information generating unit that generates the time correction information based on the satellite signals; an environmental information acquisition unit that gets information about the reception unit environment; a reception environment information generating unit that generates reception environment information for the reception unit based on the environment information; and a positioning information satellite selection unit that selects the positioning information satellite from which signals are to be received by the reception unit based on the reception environment information.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a reception unit that captures a positioning information satellite orbiting the Earth and receives a signal from the positioning information satellite; and

a corrected time information display unit that generates time correction information based on the satellite signal received by the reception unit, corrects the displayed time information based on the time correction information, and displays the corrected time;

wherein the reception unit includes an indoor/outdoor determination unit that comprises;

a solar panel;

a power generation detection data storage unit that detects power generation by the solar panel, and acquires and stores power generation detection data, and

a power generation threshold value data storage unit that stores power generation threshold value data related to a power generation threshold value used by the reception unit for the indoor/outdoor determination;

wherein the indoor/outdoor determination unit determines the environment of the electronic device based on the power generation detection data in the power generation detection data storage unit and the power generation threshold value data in the power generation threshold value data storage unit of the indoor/outdoor determination unit; and

wherein the reception unit captures the positioning information satellite based on the indoor/outdoor determination unit.

2. The electronic device described in claim 1, wherein:

the indoor/outdoor determination unit comprises an acceleration sensor;

an acceleration sensor detection data storage unit that detects the output waveform of the acceleration sensor and stores the resulting acceleration sensor output waveform data;

a generated waveform amplitude data storage unit that generates and stores amplitude data from the acceleration sensor output waveform data; and

an acceleration threshold value data storage unit that stores acceleration sensor output signal amplitude threshold value data related to a threshold value of the amplitude data used by the reception unit for the indoor/outdoor determination; and

the indoor/outdoor determination unit determines the environment of the electronic device further based on the amplitude data from the acceleration sensor of the indoor/outdoor determination unit, and the acceleration sensor output signal amplitude threshold value data in the acceleration threshold value data storage unit.

3. The electronic device described in claim 2, wherein:

the indoor/outdoor determination unit comprises a date data storage unit that stores date data for a date display unit of the electronic device;

a time data storage unit that stores time data for a time display unit of the electronic device;

a region-of-use data storage unit for inputting region-of-use information for the location of the reception unit; and

a daylight data table storage unit that stores data tables including a region data table, a date data table, and a daylight time data table;

the electronic device further comprising;

a daylight time extraction data storage unit that extracts and stores daylight time data from the daylight time data table based on the date data and region-of-use information, and the region data table and date data table in the daylight data table storage unit; and

a power generation/acceleration selection unit that compares the daylight time data with the time data in the time data storage unit.

4. The electronic device described in claim 3, wherein the region-of-use information is the position of the reception unit determined from the satellite signal received from the positioning information satellite.

5. The electronic device described in claim 4, wherein:

the indoor/outdoor determination unit comprises an indoor/outdoor determination information storage unit that stores a time band when the reception unit captured the positioning information satellite; and

the reception unit captures the positioning information satellite further based on the time band in the indoor/outdoor determination information storage unit.

6. The electronic device described in claim 1, wherein:

the indoor/outdoor determination unit further comprises a temperature sensor; and

the power generation detection data storage unit detects power generation from the temperature sensor.

7. A time correction method for a timepiece device, comprising:

a step of a reception unit that receives satellite signals from positioning information satellites orbiting the Earth capturing the positioning information satellite;

a time correction information generating step of a time correction unit generating time correction information based on the satellite signals received by the reception unit; and

a displayed time information correcting step of a display information correction unit correcting the displayed time information based on the time correction information;

wherein the reception unit has an indoor/outdoor determination unit for determining the environment of the timepiece device in the step of capturing the positioning information satellite;

the indoor/outdoor determination unit has a power generation detection process including

detecting and storing power generation by a solar panel, and

comparing the power generation detection data and power generation threshold value data in a power generation threshold value data storage unit that stores power generation threshold value data related to a power generation threshold value used to determine if the reception unit is indoors or outdoors; and

the reception unit is an electronic device that captures the positioning information satellite based on the indoor/outdoor determination unit.

8. A time correction method for a timepiece device, comprising:

a step of a reception unit that receives satellite signals from positioning information satellites orbiting the Earth capturing the positioning information satellite;

a time correction information generating step of a time correction unit generating time correction information based on the satellite signals received by the reception unit; and

a displayed time information correcting step of a display information correction unit correcting the displayed time information based on the time correction information;

wherein the reception unit has an indoor/outdoor determination unit for determining the environment of the timepiece device in the step of capturing the positioning information satellite;

the indoor/outdoor determination unit has an acceleration sensor output waveform detection process including

detecting and storing output waveform data from the acceleration sensor,

generating and storing amplitude data from the output waveform data, and

comparing the amplitude data with acceleration sensor output signal amplitude threshold value data related to a threshold value of the amplitude data used to determine if the reception unit is indoors or outdoors; and

the reception unit is an electronic device that captures the positioning information satellite based on the indoor/outdoor determination unit.

9. A time correction method for a timepiece device, comprising:

a step of a reception unit that receives satellite signals from positioning information satellites orbiting the Earth capturing the positioning information satellite;

a time correction information generating step of a time correction unit generating time correction information based on the satellite signals received by the reception unit; and

a displayed time information correcting step of a display information correction unit correcting the displayed time information based on the time correction information;

wherein the reception unit has an indoor/outdoor determination unit for determining the environment of the timepiece device in the step of capturing the positioning information satellite;

the indoor/outdoor determination unit has a power generation detection process including

detecting and storing power generation by a solar panel, and

comparing the power generation detection data and power generation threshold value data in a power generation threshold value data storage unit that stores power generation threshold value data related to a power generation threshold value used to determine if the reception unit is indoors or outdoors; and

an acceleration sensor output waveform detection process including

detecting and storing output waveform data from the acceleration sensor,

generating and storing amplitude data from the output waveform data, and

comparing the amplitude data with acceleration sensor output signal amplitude threshold value data related to the amplitude data used to determine if the reception unit is indoors or outdoors; and

the reception unit is an electronic device that captures the positioning information satellite based on the indoor/outdoor determination unit.