Bearing display apparatus and bearing display method

• US 8,155,884 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2005
• Issued: 04/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Inventors: Okeya, Shigeo
• Primary Examiner(s): Najarian, Lena
• Assistant Examiner(s): SEOH, MINNAH L
• Application Number:
  US10/599,535
• Publication Number:
  US 20080294336A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,567 Days
• Field of Search: 701/200, 333/56, 333/55.R, 33351-352, 333/57, 333/16, 702 92- 94, 324/244, 324/260
• US Class Current: 701/449
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 17/38 Testing, calibrating, or compensating of compasses
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/005 including pedestrian guidance indicator
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/106 using electronic means

Abstract

A bearing display apparatus provided with a geomagnetic sensor for detecting earth-magnetism, a display unit, and a control unit for calculating a geographical bearing based on detection values of the geomagnetic sensor and making the display unit display the information of the calculated bearing. The control unit monitors for an event of changes in operation of electronic parts mounted in the bearing display apparatus and updates the display of the information of the bearing on the display unit in accordance with an occurrence of the event.

Claims

1. A bearing display apparatus comprising:

a geomagnetic sensor for detecting earth-magnetism,

a display unit, and

a control unit for calculating a geographical bearing based on detection values of the geomagnetic sensor and making said display unit display the information of the calculated bearing, wherein

said control unit monitors for an event that is a change in operation of an electronic part in the bearing display apparatus and updates display of the information of the bearing on the display unit in accordance with an occurrence of the event,

wherein the change in operation of the electronic part is

a change in a loaded state of a storage medium in a storage medium loading unit;

or

a change in detection of a detection unit for detecting an operating state of a movement mechanism connected to two housings;

or

a change in operation/nonoperation of a wireless communicating means;

or

a change in a display luminance;

or

occurrence of presence of audio output.

2. A bearing display apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein

said storage medium loading unit is part of the electronic part and in which a storage medium can be loaded.

3. A bearing display apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein

said two housings are connected through a movement mechanism, at least one of the housings having said display unit.

4. A bearing display apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein

said movement mechanism has a plurality of operating states differing in orientation of said display unit with respect to said other housing, and

said control unit corrects the information of the bearing on the change in orientation of said display unit in accordance with a change in detection so as to perform said update of the display.

5. A bearing display apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein

said electronic part has a luminance changing unit for changing a display luminance of said display unit and/or an audio processing unit for outputting audio.

6. A bearing display apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein

said the wireless communicating means connects to a communication network.

7. A bearing display apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein

said apparatus further comprises a position information acquiring unit for acquiring information relating to a geographical location of a current position, and

said control unit acquires map information of surroundings of a current position, specified based on position information acquired at said position information acquiring unit, from said communication network via said wireless communicating unit, and performs processing for displaying said map information together with the information of the bearing on said display unit, and monitors for said change in operation while displaying said map information.

8. A bearing display apparatus as set forth in claim 7, wherein

said map information is a predetermined size, and

if a current position specified based on said position information is at an end region of said map information, said control unit controls said wireless communicating unit so as to acquire map information adjoining to said end region while displaying said map information on said display unit.

9. A bearing display apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein said control unit controls said wireless communicating unit to perform processing for call reception or mail reception while displaying said map information on said display unit.

10. A bearing display apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said control unit corrects the information of the bearing in accordance with a change in operation so as to update the display.

11. A bearing display apparatus as set forth in claim 10, wherein said control unit performs predetermined correction on detection values of said geomagnetic sensor detected at the time of occurrence of a change in operation, and corrects the information of the bearing based on the corrected values so as to update the display.

12. A bearing display apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said control unit monitors for a change in operation for a plurality of electronic parts and corrects the information of the bearing in accordance with the type of change of operation.

13. A bearing display method in a bearing display apparatus comprising a geomagnetic sensor for detecting earth-magnetism, a display unit and electronic parts changing in their operations, comprising

a step of calculating a geographical bearing based on detection values of the geomagnetic sensor;

a step of making said display unit display information of the calculated bearing;

a step of monitoring for a change in operation of the electronic part; and

a step for updating the display of the information of said bearing on said display unit in accordance with an occurrence of said change in operation,

wherein the occurrence of said change in operation is

a change in a loaded state of a storage medium in a storage medium loading unit;

or

a change in detection of a detection unit for detecting an operating state of a movement mechanism connected to two housings;

or

a change in operation/nonoperation of a wireless communicating means;

or

a change in a display luminance;

or

occurrence of presence of audio output.