JP2020170007A - Electronic apparatus, positioning control method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform satellite positioning capable of guaranteeing a required positioning performance. An electronic device includes a GPS unit 16, a GPS information acquisition unit 51, a sensor information acquisition unit 52, and a reception condition determination unit 54. The GPS unit 16 receives radio waves from the positioning satellite. The GPS information acquisition unit 51 acquires ephemeris information by the GPS unit 16, and acquires satellite arrangement information of each of the plurality of positioning satellites for which the ephemeris information has been acquired. The sensor information acquisition unit 52 acquires location condition information of the current location where the electronic device 1 exists. The reception condition determination unit 54 specifies the number of positioning satellites that can be captured at the current location among the plurality of positioning satellites for which the ephemeris information has been acquired, based on the location condition information of the current location and the satellite arrangement information. [Selection diagram] Fig. 3

Description

The present invention relates to electronic devices, positioning control methods and programs.

Conventionally, there is known a technique of intermittently performing positioning using a positioning satellite such as GPS and estimating the position while GPS positioning is not performed by autonomous navigation (dead reckoning) (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-155802

However, in the conventional technology, when GPS positioning is performed after autonomous navigation (dead reckoning), if the GPS signal reception environment deteriorates due to the location conditions of the current location and the time until positioning is prolonged, in autonomous navigation. Since errors larger than expected are accumulated, the required positioning performance may not be guaranteed.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to perform satellite positioning that can guarantee the required positioning performance.

In order to achieve the above object, the electronic device of one aspect of the present invention is
An electronic device that has a receiver that receives radio waves from a positioning satellite.
Location condition acquisition means for acquiring location condition information of the current location where the electronic device exists, and
A satellite arrangement information acquisition means that acquires ephemeris information by the receiving unit and acquires satellite arrangement information of each of the plurality of positioning satellites that have acquired the ephemeris information.
Among the plurality of positioning satellites that have acquired the ephemeris information based on the location condition information of the current location and the satellite arrangement information, satellite identification means for identifying the positioning satellite that can be captured at the current location, and
A positioning time acquisition means for acquiring an estimated positioning time by the receiving unit based on ephemeris information acquired from a positioning satellite identified as a positioning satellite that can be captured at the current location by the satellite identifying means.
A control means for intermittently driving the receiving unit is provided.
The control means controls on / off of the receiving unit based on the predicted positioning time, calculates the expected error accumulated while the receiving unit is off, and the prediction error is preset. When the permissible error is exceeded, the receiving unit is turned on.

According to the present invention, satellite positioning that can guarantee the required positioning performance can be performed.

It is the schematic of the electronic device which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the usage example of an electronic device. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware composition of an electronic device. It is a functional block diagram which shows the functional configuration for executing the positioning control processing among the functional configurations of the electronic device of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which the number of receiveable GPS satellites changes. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of the control form in the case of performing intermittent reception of a GPS signal, and is the figure which shows the example of the basic control form in the case of performing intermittent reception of a GPS signal. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of the control form in the case of performing intermittent reception of a GPS signal, and is the figure which shows the example of the case where it is controlled by the basic control form when the reception environment of a GPS signal is bad. is there. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of the control form in the case of performing intermittent reception of a GPS signal, and is the figure which shows the example of the case of being controlled by the control form of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of the positioning control processing executed by an electronic device. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which the number of receiveable GPS satellites changes. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of the positioning control processing executed by an electronic device.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
[Constitution]
FIG. 1A is a schematic view of an electronic device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Further, FIG. 1B is a schematic view showing an example of usage of the electronic device 1.
The electronic device 1 of the present embodiment executes positioning based on a signal from a positioning satellite by executing a positioning control process described later.
Further, the electronic device 1 functions as a sensor unit including various sensors, and when attached to the measurement target, it senses the movement of the measurement target and acquires sensor information. Then, the electronic device 1 executes positioning by autonomous navigation using the acquired sensor information (for example, acceleration and geomagnetism). In the present embodiment, the movement of the user is sensed by attaching the electronic device 1 to the user who performs activities such as trekking. As an example, the electronic device 1 can be attached to the shoulder strap of a rucksack carried by the user.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the electronic device 1.
As shown in FIG. 2, the electronic device 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, a bus 14, an input / output interface 15, and a GPS. It includes a unit 16, a sensor unit 17, an imaging unit 18, an input unit 19, an output unit 20, a storage unit 21, a communication unit 22, and a drive 23.

The CPU 11 executes various processes according to the program recorded in the ROM 12 or the program loaded from the storage unit 21 into the RAM 13.

Data and the like necessary for the CPU 11 to execute various processes are also appropriately stored in the RAM 13.

The CPU 11, ROM 12 and RAM 13 are connected to each other via the bus 14. An input / output interface 15 is also connected to the bus 14. The GPS unit 16, the sensor unit 17, the imaging unit 18, the input unit 19, the output unit 20, the storage unit 21, the communication unit 22, and the drive 23 are connected to the input / output interface 15.

The GPS unit 16 receives GPS signals (information indicating the route of satellites, time information, etc.) from a plurality of GPS satellites via GPS receiving antennas (not shown). Based on the GPS signal received by the GPS unit 16, the CPU 11 acquires position information such as latitude, longitude, and altitude information indicating the current position of the device.

The sensor unit 17 includes a geomagnetic sensor 17a, a gyro sensor (angular velocity sensor) 17b, an acceleration sensor 17c, and a pressure sensor 17d, and outputs data of detection results by these sensors to the CPU 11. In addition to these sensors, the sensor unit 17 can be appropriately provided with various sensors (temperature sensor and the like) necessary for processing executed by the electronic device 1.

Although not shown, the image pickup unit 18 includes an optical lens unit and an image sensor.
The optical lens unit is composed of a lens that collects light, such as a focus lens or a zoom lens, in order to photograph a subject.
The focus lens is a lens that forms a subject image on the light receiving surface of the image sensor. A zoom lens is a lens that freely changes the focal length within a certain range.
The imaging unit 18 is also provided with peripheral circuits for adjusting setting parameters such as focus, exposure, and white balance, if necessary.

The image sensor is composed of a photoelectric conversion element, an AFE (Analog Front End), and the like.
The photoelectric conversion element is composed of, for example, a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) type photoelectric conversion element or the like. A subject image is incident on the photoelectric conversion element from the optical lens unit. Therefore, the photoelectric conversion element performs photoelectric conversion (imaging) of the subject image, accumulates an image signal for a certain period of time, and sequentially supplies the accumulated image signal as an analog signal to AFE.
The AFE executes various signal processing such as A / D (Analog / Digital) conversion processing on the analog image signal. A digital signal is generated by various signal processing and is output as an output signal of the imaging unit 18.
The output signal of the imaging unit 18 is appropriately supplied to the CPU 11 or an image processing unit (not shown) as the data of the captured image.

The input unit 19 is composed of various buttons and the like, and inputs various information according to a user's instruction operation.
The output unit 20 is composed of a display, a speaker, or the like, and outputs an image or sound.
In the present embodiment, an input unit 19 capable of input operation such as touch or swipe is superposed on the output unit 20 which is a display for displaying images, icons, etc., to form a touch panel as an interface.

The storage unit 21 is composed of a semiconductor memory such as a flash memory and stores various data.

The communication unit 22 uses wireless communication compliant with standards such as BLE (Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy) or Wi-Fi (Wi-Filess Fidelity), or wired communication with a cable compliant with the USB (Universal Serial Bus) standard. , Controls communication with other devices (eg, smartphones). The communication unit 22 may have a function of performing communication by a plurality of communication methods.

A removable medium 31 made of a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like is appropriately mounted on the drive 23. The program read from the removable media 31 by the drive 23 is installed in the storage unit 21 as needed. In addition, the removable media 31 can also store various data stored in the storage unit 21 in the same manner as the storage unit 21.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration for executing positioning control processing among the functional configurations of the electronic device 1 of FIG. 1.
The positioning control process is a reception condition when the GPS signal is not received when the electronic device 1 performs positioning by combining the intermittent reception of the GPS signal and the estimation of the current position using the pedestrian dead reckoning. Based on this, it refers to a series of processes that control the on / off of GPS signal reception.

When the positioning control process is executed, as shown in FIG. 3, in the CPU 11, the GPS information acquisition unit 51, the sensor information acquisition unit 52, the dead reckoning unit 53, the reception condition determination unit 54, and the positioning control Part 55 and
Further, in one area of the storage unit 21, a position information storage unit 71, a GPS information storage unit 72, and a dead reckoning information storage unit 73 are set.

The position information storage unit 71 stores the position information acquired by receiving the GPS signal and the position information acquired by pedestrian dead reckoning together with the time information.
GPS-related information for GPS positioning is stored in the GPS information storage unit 72. For example, the GPS information storage unit 72 stores ephemeris information used in GPS positioning, information on signal quality and positioning accuracy of received GPS signals, GPS satellite arrangement information, and the like.

The dead reckoning information storage unit 73 stores dead reckoning-related information related to position estimation by pedestrian dead reckoning. For example, the dead reckoning information storage unit 73 stores information indicating the degree of occurrence of a position estimation error in pedestrian dead reckoning. In the present embodiment, the amount (distance) of the position estimation error per unit time is stored as the information indicating the degree of occurrence of the position estimation error in the pedestrian dead reckoning. In this case, the estimation error can be set to zero when the user is not moving. As information indicating the degree of occurrence of position estimation error in pedestrian dead reckoning, the amount of occurrence (distance) of position estimation error per unit movement distance may be stored. Information indicating the degree of occurrence of position estimation error in pedestrian dead reckoning can be obtained by actual measurement or simulation.

When the GPS signal is received by the GPS unit 16, the GPS information acquisition unit 51 acquires position information (latitude, longitude and height) based on the GPS signal.
The sensor information acquisition unit 52 acquires the detection results of various sensors acquired by the sensor unit 17.

When the GPS signal is not received by the GPS unit 16, the dead reckoning unit 53 determines the moving direction and moving distance of the user by pedestrian dead reckoning based on the detection results of various sensors acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit 52. calculate. In the present embodiment, the dead reckoning unit 53 acquires the traveling direction by the geomagnetic sensor 17a and / or the gyro sensor 17b, acquires the number of steps and the like by the acceleration sensor 17c, and acquires the movement locus of the user. Further, the dead reckoning unit 53 acquires the altitude difference by the barometric pressure sensor 17d. Then, the dead reckoning unit 53 acquires the position information by adding the movement distance to the movement direction calculated by the pedestrian dead reckoning with respect to the position information acquired based on the GPS signal.

The reception condition determination unit 54 determines whether or not the currently accumulated valid ephemeris information satisfies a predetermined condition (whether or not it is equal to or greater than the lower limit of the ephemeris information). When the currently stored valid ephemeris information satisfies the predetermined conditions, the reception condition determination unit 54 stores the current traveling direction and the slope of the current position (location condition information) and the GPS information storage unit 72. The GPS satellites that can be captured at the current location are specified from the GPS satellite arrangement information provided. The current traveling direction can be obtained from the detection result of the geomagnetic sensor 17a, for example, and the slope of the current position can be obtained from the detection result of the acceleration sensor 17c, for example. Further, the reception condition determination unit 54 is based on the currently accumulated valid ephemeris information (more specifically, the ephemeris information acquired from the GPS satellites identified as being able to be captured at the current location), and the estimated positioning time of GPS. Is calculated. Further, the reception condition determination unit 54 calculates the estimation error of the pedestrian dead reckoning corresponding to the calculated estimated positioning time and the estimation error of the position occurring in the pedestrian dead reckoning up to the present. Then, the reception condition determination unit 54 estimates the value of the pedestrian dead reckoning prediction error (the pedestrian dead reckoning estimation error corresponding to the predicted positioning time, and the position estimated in the pedestrian dead reckoning up to now). It is determined whether or not the sum of errors) is equal to or greater than the tolerance value. When the value of the prediction error of the pedestrian dead reckoning is equal to or greater than the value of the tolerance error, the positioning control unit 55 turns on the reception of the GPS signal.

The positioning control unit 55 allows the value of the prediction error of pedestrian dead reckoning when it is determined by the reception condition determination unit 54 that the currently accumulated valid ephemeris information does not satisfy the predetermined conditions. If it is determined that it is equal to or greater than the error value, GPS signal reception is turned on. The positioning control unit 55 turns on the reception of the GPS signal immediately after the positioning control process is started or when an instruction is given by the user. In addition, the positioning control unit 55 determines whether or not the GPS is fixed and the ephemeris information is acquired in a predetermined number or more. When the ephemeris information is acquired in a predetermined number or more, the positioning control unit 55 stores the acquired ephemeris information in the GPS information storage unit 72. Further, the positioning control unit 55 calculates the GPS satellite arrangement information when the GPS is fixed and the ephemeris information is acquired in a predetermined number or more, and the calculated GPS satellite arrangement information is stored in the GPS information storage unit 72. After storing in, the reception of GPS signals is turned off.

By realizing such a function, in the electronic device 1, in the state where the GPS signal reception is turned off, the GPS signal reception condition is determined, the GPS signal reception is turned on, and then the position is determined by GPS. By the time the information is acquired, it is sequentially determined whether or not the value of the estimated error accumulated by the pedestrian dead reckoning is equal to or greater than the value of the tolerance.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the number of receivable GPS satellites changes.
As shown in FIG. 4, when the user is located on the northern slope of the mountain, the satellite in the south direction (the satellite in the shaded area A1 in FIG. 4) cannot be received. If the user is located on the eastern slope of the mountain, the satellite in the west direction (the satellite in the shaded area A2 in FIG. 4) cannot be received. In this way, the number of satellites that can be captured differs depending on the slope on which the user is located. Further, even if a GPS signal can be received from a satellite in a direction opposite to the slope on which the user is located, the CN value of the received signal decreases.

5A to 5C are schematic views showing an example of a control mode when the GPS signal is intermittently received, and FIG. 5A is a basic control mode when the GPS signal is intermittently received. For example, FIG. 5B is an example when the GPS signal reception environment is poor and the GPS signal is controlled by the basic control mode of FIG. 5A, and FIG. 5C is an example when the GPS signal is controlled by the control mode of the present invention. It is a figure which shows.
As shown in FIG. 5A, in the basic control mode, the reception of the GPS signal is turned on at a preset timing, and the reception of the GPS signal is turned off after the GPS is fixed. At this time, it takes a predetermined time for the GPS to be fixed. Then, after the reception of the GPS signal is turned off, pedestrian dead reckoning is performed. Then, GPS signal reception is turned on again before the tolerance due to pedestrian dead reckoning is exceeded.

Here, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the GPS signal reception environment is poor, a situation occurs in which the GPS does not fix for a time set in advance as a timeout after turning on the GPS signal reception. In this case, , Once the GPS signal reception is turned off, the retry is performed. If such a process is repeated, the time required to fix the GPS becomes long, and the tolerance due to pedestrian dead reckoning may be exceeded. Therefore, the required positioning performance is not satisfied.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5C, in the control mode of the present invention, the GPS signal reception condition is determined in the state where the GPS signal reception is turned off, and the value of the prediction error of the pedestrian dead reckoning is allowed. If it is determined that the error value is equal to or greater than the error value, GPS signal reception is turned on.
As a result, the timing until the GPS is fixed can be accelerated, and the situation where the tolerance due to pedestrian dead reckoning is exceeded can be suppressed.
That is, it is possible to more appropriately control the positioning performed by intermittently receiving the signal from the positioning satellite, and to perform satellite positioning that can guarantee the required positioning performance.

[motion]
Next, the operation of the electronic device 1 will be described.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of positioning control processing executed by the electronic device 1.
The positioning control process is started by performing an operation instructing the start of the positioning control process via the input unit 19.

In step S1, the positioning control unit 55 turns on the reception of the GPS signal.
In step S2, the positioning control unit 55 determines whether or not the GPS is fixed and the ephemeris information is acquired in a predetermined number or more.
When the GPS is fixed and the ephemeris information is not acquired in a predetermined number or more, NO is determined in step S2, and the process of step S2 is repeated.
On the other hand, when GPS is fixed and more than a predetermined number of ephemeris information is acquired, it is determined as YES in step S2, and the acquired ephemeris information, the signal quality of the received GPS signal, and the information on the positioning accuracy are GPS. It is stored in the information storage unit 72, and the process proceeds to step S3.

In step S3, the positioning control unit 55 calculates the GPS satellite arrangement information, and stores the calculated GPS satellite arrangement information in the GPS information storage unit 72.
In step S4, the positioning control unit 55 turns off the reception of the GPS signal.
In step S5, the reception condition determination unit 54 determines whether or not the currently accumulated valid ephemeris information satisfies a predetermined condition (whether or not it is equal to or greater than the lower limit value of the ephemeris information).
If the currently accumulated valid ephemeris information does not satisfy the predetermined conditions, it is determined as NO in step S5, and the process proceeds to step S1.
On the other hand, when the currently accumulated valid ephemeris information satisfies a predetermined condition, YES is determined in step S5, and the process proceeds to step S6.

In step S6, the reception condition determination unit 54 identifies GPS satellites that can be captured at the current location from the current traveling direction and the inclination of the current position and the GPS satellite arrangement information stored in the GPS information storage unit 72.
In step S7, the reception condition determination unit 54 calculates the expected GPS positioning time based on the ephemeris information acquired from the GPS satellites identified as being able to be captured at the current location among the valid ephemeris information currently accumulated. ..
In step S8, the reception condition determination unit 54 calculates the estimation error of the pedestrian dead reckoning corresponding to the calculated estimated positioning time.
In step S9, the reception condition determination unit 54 calculates the estimation error of the position that has occurred in the pedestrian dead reckoning up to now.

In step S10, the reception condition determination unit 54 determines the value of the prediction error of the pedestrian dead reckoning (the estimation error of the pedestrian dead reckoning corresponding to the predicted positioning time, and the position that has occurred in the pedestrian dead reckoning up to now. It is determined whether or not the sum of the estimated errors) is equal to or greater than the tolerance value.
If the value of the predicted error of the pedestrian dead reckoning is not equal to or more than the value of the tolerance, it is determined as NO in step S10, and the process proceeds to step S5.
On the other hand, when the value of the prediction error of the pedestrian dead reckoning is equal to or greater than the value of the tolerance error, YES is determined in step S10, and the process proceeds to step S1.
Such processing is repeated until an operation for instructing the end of the positioning control processing is performed.

As described above, the electronic device 1 according to the present embodiment determines the reception condition of the GPS signal in the state where the reception of the GPS signal is turned off, and after turning on the reception of the GPS signal, the position information is obtained by GPS. By the time it is acquired, it is sequentially determined whether or not the value of the estimated error accumulated by the pedestrian dead reckoning is equal to or greater than the value of the tolerance. Then, when the electronic device determines that the value of the predicted error of the pedestrian dead reckoning is equal to or greater than the value of the tolerance, the electronic device turns on the reception of the GPS signal.
As a result, the timing until the GPS is fixed can be accelerated, and the situation where the tolerance due to pedestrian dead reckoning is exceeded can be suppressed.
That is, it is possible to more appropriately control the positioning performed by intermittently receiving the signal from the positioning satellite, and to perform satellite positioning that can guarantee the required positioning performance.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, the second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The hardware configuration of the electronic device 1 according to the second embodiment is the same as the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 2 of the first embodiment.
Further, among the functional configurations of the electronic device 1 according to the second embodiment, the functional configurations shown in FIG. 3 of the first embodiment are the same except for the configuration of the reception condition determination unit 54.
Hereinafter, the functional configuration of the reception condition determination unit 54 and the flow of the positioning control process, which are different from the first embodiment, will be mainly described.

The reception condition determination unit 54 is a range that becomes a blind spot in the acquisition of GPS satellites from the current traveling direction and the inclination of the current position when the reception of the GPS signal is turned on (the range that cannot be seen in the whole sky). Remember. Further, the reception condition determination unit 54 determines whether or not the currently accumulated valid ephemeris information satisfies a predetermined condition (whether or not it is equal to or more than the lower limit value of the ephemeris information). When the currently accumulated valid ephemeris information satisfies the predetermined conditions, the reception condition determination unit 54 determines the blind spot in the acquisition of the GPS satellite from the current traveling direction and the inclination (location condition) of the current position. The range (the range that cannot be seen in the whole sky) is calculated. Then, the reception condition determination unit 54 determines whether or not the deviation between the stored blind spot range and the newly calculated blind spot range is equal to or greater than a preset size. If the deviation between the stored blind spot range and the newly calculated blind spot range is greater than or equal to the preset size, the number of satellites that can be captured changes significantly and GPS signals are received. Since it is considered that the ephemeris information accumulated in the ephemeris information cannot be used, the GPS signal reception is turned on by the positioning control unit 55.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the number of receivable GPS satellites changes.
As shown in FIG. 7, when the user is located on the northern slope of the mountain, a predetermined range in the south direction (diagonal portion A3 in FIG. 7) becomes a blind spot in the acquisition of GPS satellites. Further, when the user is located on the southern slope of the mountain, a predetermined range in the north direction (diagonal portion A4 in FIG. 7) becomes a blind spot in the acquisition of GPS satellites. In this way, the number of satellites that can be captured differs because the range that cannot be seen in the whole sky changes depending on the slope on which the user is located.

On the other hand, by realizing the above-mentioned function, in the electronic device 1, when the GPS signal reception is turned on, the range that becomes a blind spot in the acquisition of the GPS satellite and the GPS signal reception are turned off. If the GPS satellites are captured, they are compared with the blind spots, and if these ranges are significantly different, the GPS signal reception is turned on.
As a result, when GPS signal reception is turned off, the ephemeris information accumulated when GPS signal reception is turned on cannot be used, and it is possible to prevent the time required for GPS Fix from becoming excessively long. it can. That is, the timing until the GPS is fixed can be accelerated.
Therefore, it is possible to more appropriately control the positioning performed by intermittently receiving the signal from the positioning satellite, and to perform satellite positioning that can guarantee the required positioning performance.

[motion]
Next, the operation of the electronic device 1 will be described.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of positioning control processing executed by the electronic device 1.
The positioning control process is started by performing an operation instructing the start of the positioning control process via the input unit 19.

In step S21, the positioning control unit 55 turns on the reception of the GPS signal.
In step S22, the positioning control unit 55 determines whether or not the GPS is fixed and the ephemeris information is acquired in a predetermined number or more.
When the GPS is fixed and the ephemeris information is not acquired in a predetermined number or more, NO is determined in step S22, and the process of step S22 is repeated.
On the other hand, when GPS is fixed and more than a predetermined number of ephemeris information is acquired, YES is determined in step S22, and the acquired ephemeris information, signal quality of the received GPS signal, and information on positioning accuracy are GPS. It is stored in the information storage unit 72, and the process proceeds to step S23.

In step S23, the reception condition determination unit 54 stores a range (a range that cannot be seen in the whole sky) that becomes a blind spot in the acquisition of GPS satellites from the current traveling direction and the inclination of the current position.
In step S24, the positioning control unit 55 turns off the reception of the GPS signal.

In step S25, the reception condition determination unit 54 determines whether or not the currently accumulated valid ephemeris information satisfies a predetermined condition (whether or not it is equal to or greater than the lower limit value of the ephemeris information).
If the currently accumulated valid ephemeris information does not satisfy the predetermined conditions, it is determined as NO in step S25, and the process proceeds to step S21.
On the other hand, when the currently accumulated valid ephemeris information satisfies a predetermined condition, YES is determined in step S25, and the process proceeds to step S26.

In step S26, a range (a range that cannot be seen in the whole sky) that becomes a blind spot in the acquisition of GPS satellites is calculated from the current traveling direction and the slope of the current position.
In step S27, the reception condition determination unit 54 determines whether or not the deviation between the blind spot range stored in step S23 and the blind spot newly calculated range in step S26 is equal to or greater than a preset size. Is determined.
If the deviation between the blind spot range stored in step S23 and the blind spot range newly calculated in step S26 is not greater than or equal to the preset size, NO is determined in step S27 and processing is performed. Goes to step S25.
On the other hand, if the deviation between the blind spot range stored in step S23 and the blind spot range newly calculated in step S26 is greater than or equal to the preset size, YES is determined in step S27. , The process proceeds to step S21.
Such processing is repeated until an operation for instructing the end of the positioning control processing is performed.

As described above, the electronic device 1 according to the present embodiment has a range that becomes a blind spot in the acquisition of GPS satellites when GPS signal reception is turned on, and a GPS satellite when GPS signal reception is turned off. Compare with the range that becomes a blind spot in the acquisition of, and if these ranges are significantly different, turn on the reception of GPS signals.
As a result, when GPS signal reception is turned off, the ephemeris information accumulated when GPS signal reception is turned on cannot be used, and it is possible to prevent the time required for GPS Fix from becoming excessively long. it can. That is, the timing until the GPS is fixed can be accelerated.
Therefore, it is possible to more appropriately control the positioning performed by intermittently receiving the signal from the positioning satellite, and to perform satellite positioning that can guarantee the required positioning performance.

The electronic device 1 configured as described above includes a GPS unit 16, a GPS information acquisition unit 51, a sensor information acquisition unit 52, and a reception condition determination unit 54.
The GPS unit 16 receives radio waves from the positioning satellite.
The GPS information acquisition unit 51 acquires ephemeris information by the GPS unit 16, and acquires satellite arrangement information of each of the plurality of positioning satellites for which the ephemeris information has been acquired.
The sensor information acquisition unit 52 acquires location condition information of the current location where the electronic device 1 exists.
The reception condition determination unit 54 specifies the number of positioning satellites that can be captured at the current location among the plurality of positioning satellites for which the ephemeris information has been acquired, based on the location condition information of the current location and the satellite arrangement information.
As a result, even when the GPS signal is not received, the reception condition of the GPS signal can be determined, so that an appropriate timing for receiving the GPS signal can be determined.
Therefore, it is possible to perform satellite positioning that can guarantee the required positioning performance.

The sensor information acquisition unit 52 acquires the traveling direction and the slope of the movement of the electronic device 1.
The reception condition determination unit 54 identifies a positioning satellite that can be captured at the current location among a plurality of positioning satellites that have acquired ephemeris information based on the inclination in the traveling direction and the satellite arrangement information.
Thereby, at the position where the electronic device 1 exists, it is possible to identify a satellite capable of receiving a GPS signal by reflecting the influence of the terrain and the like.

The reception condition determination unit 54 acquires the estimated positioning time by the GPS unit 16 based on the ephemeris information acquired from the positioning satellite identified as the positioning satellite that can be captured at the current location.
This makes it possible to estimate the time required for positioning after turning on the GPS signal reception when the GPS signal reception is turned off.

The GPS information acquisition unit 51 acquires accuracy information of satellite signals.
The reception condition determination unit 54 acquires the estimated positioning time by the GPS unit 16 based on the accuracy information and the ephemeris information acquired from the positioning satellite identified as the positioning satellite that can be captured at the current location.
This makes it possible to reflect the accuracy information of the satellite signal and estimate the time required for positioning after the GPS signal reception is turned on when the GPS signal reception is turned off.

The electronic device 1 includes a positioning control unit 55.
The positioning control unit 55 intermittently drives the GPS unit 16.
Further, the positioning control unit 55 controls on / off of the GPS unit 16 based on the expected positioning time.
As a result, when the expected positioning time is expected to be prolonged, the GPS unit 16 can be turned on and positioning can be performed quickly by GPS.

The positioning control unit 55 calculates the expected error accumulated while the GPS unit 16 is off based on the expected positioning time, and when the expected error is equal to or greater than a preset tolerance, the GPS unit 16 is set. Turn on.
As a result, when the GPS unit 16 is turned off, the positioning error can be predicted more accurately and the GPS positioning can be performed.

The sensor information acquisition unit 52 acquires the traveling direction and the slope of the movement of the electronic device 1.
The reception condition determination unit 54 acquires a range that becomes a blind spot in the acquisition of the positioning satellite based on the inclination in the traveling direction and the satellite arrangement information.
This makes it possible to perform positioning by GPS based on the change in the range that becomes a blind spot in the acquisition of the positioning satellite.

The GPS information acquisition unit 51 acquires the position information of the current position based on the radio waves from the positioning satellite received by the GPS unit 16.
As a result, it is possible to acquire accurate position information in which the required positioning performance is guaranteed.

Further, the electronic device 1 includes a GPS unit 16, a sensor information acquisition unit 52, and a positioning control unit 55.
The positioning control unit 55 intermittently drives the GPS unit 16.
The sensor information acquisition unit 52 acquires location condition information of the current location where the electronic device 1 exists.
The positioning control unit 55 performs on / off control of the GPS unit 16 based on the location condition information of the current location where the electronic device 1 exists.
As a result, even when the GPS signal is not received, the reception condition of the GPS signal can be determined, so that an appropriate timing for receiving the GPS signal can be determined.
Therefore, it is possible to perform satellite positioning that can guarantee the required positioning performance.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications, improvements, and the like within the range in which the object of the present invention can be achieved are included in the present invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where positioning is performed by GPS has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the present invention can be applied to various positioning systems using satellites such as GLONASS in Russia, Galileo in Europe, and BeiDou in China.
Further, as the autonomous navigation executed in the above-described embodiment, various dead reckoning techniques for pedestrians or other methods can be adopted.

In the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the current traveling direction and the slope of the current position are acquired as the location conditions, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, if a satellite capable of receiving a signal can be determined from the current position, map information or topographical information may be acquired as a location condition. The map information includes, for example, a city map, and the height of the building in which the map is located can be obtained. In addition, the topographical information includes a topographic map and the like, and the undulations and the like of the topography can be acquired.

Further, in the first embodiment, the reception condition determination unit 54 calculates the expected GPS positioning time based on the currently accumulated valid ephemeris information (more specifically, the number of GPS satellites that can be captured). However, it is not limited to this. For example, based on information on the positioning accuracy of GPS signals or information on signal quality, the estimated GPS positioning time can be calculated, or valid ephemeris information currently accumulated (more specifically, it can be identified as being able to be captured at the current location). The estimated GPS positioning time may be calculated based on one or a combination of (ephemeris information acquired from GPS satellites), information on positioning accuracy of GPS signals, and information on signal quality.

Further, it is possible to make an embodiment in which the above-mentioned first embodiment and the second embodiment are combined. That is, the functions of the reception condition determination unit 54 in the first embodiment and the second embodiment are both implemented, and the GPS signal is determined according to the results of determining the determination conditions in the first embodiment and the determination conditions in the second embodiment, respectively. It can be controlled to turn on the reception of.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the electronic device 1 to which the present invention is applied has been described by taking a sensor unit as an example, but the present invention is not particularly limited thereto.
For example, the present invention can be generally applied to electronic devices having a positioning function. Specifically, for example, the present invention can be applied to notebook personal computers, printers, television receivers, video cameras, portable navigation devices, mobile phones, smartphones, smart watches, portable game machines, and the like.

The series of processes described above can be executed by hardware or software.
In other words, the functional configuration of FIG. 3 is merely an example and is not particularly limited. That is, it suffices if the electronic device 1 is provided with a function capable of executing the above-mentioned series of processes as a whole, and what kind of functional block is used to realize this function is not particularly limited to the example of FIG.
Further, one functional block may be configured by a single piece of hardware, a single piece of software, or a combination thereof.
The functional configuration in the present embodiment is realized by a processor that executes arithmetic processing, and the processor that can be used in the present embodiment is composed of various processing devices such as a single processor, a multiprocessor, and a multicore processor. In addition to the above, the present invention includes a combination of these various processing devices and processing circuits such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) and an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array).

When a series of processes are executed by software, the programs constituting the software are installed on a computer or the like from a network or a recording medium.
The computer may be a computer embedded in dedicated hardware. Further, the computer may be a computer capable of executing various functions by installing various programs, for example, a general-purpose personal computer.

The recording medium including such a program is not only composed of the removable media 31 of FIG. 2 distributed separately from the device main body in order to provide the program to the user, but also is preliminarily incorporated in the device main body. Consists of recording media and the like provided in. The removable media 31 is composed of, for example, a magnetic disk (including a floppy disk), an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or the like. Optical disks include, for example, CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory) and DVD (Digital).
Versail Disc), Blu-ray (registered trademark) Disc (Blu-ray Disc), etc. The magneto-optical disk is composed of MD (Mini-Disk) or the like. Further, the recording medium provided to the user in a state of being preliminarily incorporated in the apparatus main body is composed of, for example, the ROM 12 of FIG. 2 in which the program is recorded, the semiconductor memory included in the storage unit 21 of FIG. ..

In the present specification, the steps for describing a program recorded on a recording medium are not necessarily processed in chronological order, but also in parallel or individually, even if they are not necessarily processed in chronological order. It also includes the processing to be executed.

Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are merely examples and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. The present invention can take various other embodiments, and further, various modifications such as omission and substitution can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention described in the present specification and the like, and are also included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

The inventions described in the claims at the time of filing the application of the present application are described below.
[Appendix 1]
An electronic device that has a receiver that receives radio waves from a positioning satellite.
A satellite arrangement information acquisition means that acquires ephemeris information by the receiving unit and acquires satellite arrangement information of each of the plurality of positioning satellites that have acquired the ephemeris information.
Location condition acquisition means for acquiring location condition information of the current location where the electronic device exists, and
Among the plurality of positioning satellites that have acquired the ephemeris information based on the location condition information of the current location and the satellite arrangement information, satellite identification means for identifying the positioning satellite that can be captured at the current location, and
An electronic device characterized by being equipped with.
[Appendix 2]
The location condition acquisition means acquires the traveling direction and the slope of the movement of the electronic device.
The satellite identifying means is characterized in that it identifies a positioning satellite that can be captured at the current location among a plurality of positioning satellites for which the ephemeris information has been acquired, based on the inclination in the traveling direction and the satellite arrangement information. The electronic device according to 1.
[Appendix 3]
A positioning time acquisition means for acquiring an estimated positioning time by the receiving unit based on ephemeris information acquired from a positioning satellite identified as a positioning satellite that can be captured at the current location by the satellite identifying means.
The electronic device according to Appendix 1 or 2, wherein the electronic device is provided with.
[Appendix 4]
Equipped with an accuracy information acquisition means to acquire accuracy information of satellite signals,
The positioning time acquisition means acquires the expected positioning time by the receiving unit based on the accuracy information and the ephemeris information acquired from the positioning satellite identified as the positioning satellite that can be captured at the current location by the satellite specifying means. The electronic device according to Appendix 3, which is a feature.
[Appendix 5]
A control means for intermittently driving the receiving unit is provided.
The electronic device according to Appendix 3 or 4, wherein the control means controls on / off of the receiving unit based on the predicted positioning time.
[Appendix 6]
The control means calculates the expected error accumulated while the receiving unit is off based on the expected positioning time, and when the expected error is equal to or greater than a preset tolerance, the receiving unit The electronic device according to Appendix 5, wherein the device is turned on.
[Appendix 7]
The location condition acquisition means acquires the traveling direction and slope of the electronic device, and obtains the traveling direction and the slope of the electronic device.
The electronic device according to Appendix 1, wherein the satellite identifying means acquires a range that becomes a blind spot in the acquisition of the positioning satellite based on the inclination in the traveling direction and the satellite arrangement information.
[Appendix 8]
A control means for intermittently driving the receiving unit is provided.
The electronic device according to Appendix 1, wherein the control means controls on / off of the receiving unit based on a positioning satellite identified as a positioning satellite that can be captured at the current location by the satellite specifying means.
[Appendix 9]
A control means for intermittently driving the receiving unit is provided.
The control means controls on / off of the receiving unit based on at least one of a positioning satellite identified as a positioning satellite that can be captured at the current location by the satellite identifying means and a range that becomes a blind spot in the acquisition of the positioning satellite. The electronic device according to Appendix 1 or 7, wherein the electronic device is characterized in that.
[Appendix 10]
The electronic device according to any one of Supplementary note 1 to 9, further comprising a position information acquisition means for acquiring the position information of the current position based on the radio wave from the positioning satellite received by the receiving unit.
[Appendix 11]
An electronic device that has a receiver that receives radio waves from a positioning satellite.
A control means for intermittently driving the receiver,
It is equipped with a location condition acquisition means for acquiring location condition information of the current location where the electronic device exists.
The control means is an electronic device that controls on / off of the receiving unit based on the location condition information of the current location where the electronic device exists.
[Appendix 12]
It is a positioning control method executed by an electronic device having a receiver that receives radio waves from a positioning satellite.
The satellite placement information acquisition step for acquiring satellite placement information for each of the multiple positioning satellites that have acquired ephemeris information, and
The location condition acquisition step to acquire the location condition information of the current location where the electronic device exists, and
A satellite identification step for identifying a positioning satellite that can be captured at the current location among a plurality of positioning satellites for which the ephemeris information has been acquired based on the location condition information of the current location and the satellite arrangement information.
A positioning control method comprising.
[Appendix 13]
For computers that control electronic devices that have receivers that receive radio waves from positioning satellites
A satellite placement information acquisition function that acquires satellite placement information for each of multiple positioning satellites that have acquired ephemeris information,
The location condition acquisition function that acquires the location condition information of the current location where the electronic device exists, and
A satellite identification function that identifies a positioning satellite that can be captured at the current location among a plurality of positioning satellites that have acquired the ephemeris information based on the location condition information of the current location and the satellite arrangement information.
A program characterized by realizing.

1 ... Electronic equipment, 11 ... CPU, 12 ... ROM, 13 ... RAM, 14 ... Bus, 15 ... Input / output interface, 16 ... GPS unit, 17 ... Sensor unit, 17a ... Geomagnetic sensor, 17b ... Gyro sensor, 17c ... Acceleration sensor, 17d ... Pressure sensor, 18 ... Imaging unit, 19 ... Input unit, 20 ... Output Unit, 21 ... Storage unit, 22 ... Communication unit, 23 ... Drive, 31 ... Removable media, 51 ... GPS information acquisition unit, 52 ... Sensor information acquisition unit, 53 ... -Dead reckoning unit, 54 ... Reception condition determination unit, 55 ... Positioning control unit, 71 ... Position information storage unit, 72 ... GPS information storage unit, 73 ... Dead reckoning information storage unit

Claims (7)

An electronic device that has a receiver that receives radio waves from a positioning satellite.
Location condition acquisition means for acquiring location condition information of the current location where the electronic device exists, and
A satellite arrangement information acquisition means that acquires ephemeris information by the receiving unit and acquires satellite arrangement information of each of the plurality of positioning satellites that have acquired the ephemeris information.
Among the plurality of positioning satellites that have acquired the ephemeris information based on the location condition information of the current location and the satellite arrangement information, satellite identification means for identifying the positioning satellite that can be captured at the current location, and
A positioning time acquisition means for acquiring an estimated positioning time by the receiving unit based on ephemeris information acquired from a positioning satellite identified as a positioning satellite that can be captured at the current location by the satellite identifying means.
A control means for intermittently driving the receiving unit is provided.
The control means controls on / off of the receiving unit based on the predicted positioning time, calculates the expected error accumulated while the receiving unit is off, and the prediction error is preset. An electronic device characterized in that the receiving unit is turned on when the permissible error is exceeded. The location condition acquisition means acquires the slope in the traveling direction in the movement of the electronic device.
The satellite identifying means is characterized in that it identifies a positioning satellite that can be captured at the current location among a plurality of positioning satellites that have acquired the ephemeris information based on the inclination in the traveling direction and the satellite arrangement information. Item 1. The electronic device according to item 1. Equipped with an accuracy information acquisition means to acquire accuracy information of satellite signals,
The positioning time acquisition means acquires the expected positioning time by the receiving unit based on the accuracy information and the ephemeris information acquired from the positioning satellite identified as the positioning satellite that can be captured at the current location by the satellite specifying means. The electronic device according to claim 1 or 2. The location condition acquisition means acquires the slope of the electronic device in the traveling direction.
The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the satellite identifying means acquires a range that becomes a blind spot in the acquisition of the positioning satellite based on the inclination in the traveling direction and the satellite arrangement information. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a position information acquisition means for acquiring the position information of the current position based on the radio wave from the positioning satellite received by the receiving unit. .. It is a positioning control method executed by an electronic device having a receiver that receives radio waves from a positioning satellite.
The location condition acquisition step to acquire the location condition information of the current location where the electronic device exists, and
A satellite arrangement information acquisition step of acquiring ephemeris information by the receiving unit and acquiring satellite arrangement information of each of the plurality of positioning satellites for which the ephemeris information has been acquired,
A satellite identification step for identifying a positioning satellite that can be captured at the current location among a plurality of positioning satellites for which the ephemeris information has been acquired based on the location condition information of the current location and the satellite arrangement information.
Based on the ephemeris information acquired from the positioning satellite identified as the positioning satellite that can be captured at the current location by the satellite identification step, the positioning time acquisition step for acquiring the estimated positioning time by the receiving unit, and the positioning time acquisition step.
A control step for intermittently driving the receiver is included.
In the control step, on / off control of the receiving unit is performed based on the predicted positioning time, a cumulative prediction error is calculated while the receiving unit is off, and the prediction error is preset. A positioning control method characterized in that the receiving unit is turned on when the permissible error is exceeded. For computers that control electronic devices that have receivers that receive radio waves from positioning satellites
The location condition acquisition function that acquires the location condition information of the current location where the electronic device exists, and
A satellite placement information acquisition function that acquires ephemeris information by the receiving unit and acquires satellite arrangement information of each of the plurality of positioning satellites that have acquired the ephemeris information.
A satellite identification function that identifies a positioning satellite that can be captured at the current location among a plurality of positioning satellites that have acquired the ephemeris information based on the location condition information of the current location and the satellite arrangement information.
A positioning time acquisition function that acquires the estimated positioning time by the receiving unit based on the ephemeris information acquired from the positioning satellite identified as the positioning satellite that can be captured at the current location by the satellite identification function, and the positioning time acquisition function.
A control function that intermittently drives the receiver is realized.
The control function performs on / off control of the receiving unit based on the predicted positioning time, calculates the expected error accumulated while the receiving unit is off, and the prediction error is preset. A program characterized in that the receiving unit is turned on when the permissible error is exceeded.

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