Patent Application
20190028997
The present invention relates to a wearable device, a control target device, a short-range wireless communication network, a communication system, a control system, a remote control method, and the like.
In recent years, wearable devices such as a wrist-type electronic device are in the spotlight. Such wearable devices highly accurately acquire information concerning the body and the behavior of a user to enable provision of valuable information needed by the user. Therefore, the wearable devices such as the wrist-type electronic device are requested to be excellent in constant wearability and requested to have constant connectivity to a computer communication network such as the Internet. In recent years, IoT (Internet of Things), which is a technique for connecting various objects present in the world to the Internet, attracts attention. The wearable devices are desired to contribute to realization of such IoT.
As related art of such wearable devices, there is, for example, a technique disclosed in PTL 1. In FIG. 67 of PTL 1, a figure is shown in which a digital watch is connected to a cellular phone and a computer (link 1320).
PTL 2 discloses related art for measuring residual battery power of a watch (a wristwatch). PTL 3 discloses related art concerning a driving method for a motor included in a watch.
Various techniques concerning a home automation system for improving convenience of users have been proposed. Use of the home automation system enables remote operation for, for example, turning on a power supply of a heating device or readying a bath in a home from a visiting destination. As related art of such a home automation system, there is, for example, a technique disclosed in PTL 4. In the relate art, a user performs remote operation of a control target device from a cellular phone carried by the user through a control center.
PTL 1: U.S. Pat. No. 8,688,406
PTL 2: JP-A-2015-222269
PTL 3: JP-A-59-109889
PTL 4: JP-A-2006-19419
In the related art disclosed in PTL 1, the digital watch is connected to the Internet through the cellular phone or the computer rather than being directly connected to the Internet. However, the digital watch cannot be independently connected to the Internet. Therefore, it is difficult to satisfy a request for constant connectivity to a computer communication network.
The related art disclosed in PTL 2 is a technique concerning a method of measuring a voltage of a battery. In a battery having a small capacity, because a voltage gently drops as time elapses, battery exhaustion can be predicted beforehand to a certain degree. However, in a battery having a large capacity, because a voltage suddenly drops as time elapses, battery exhaustion can be predicted only immediately before the battery exhaustion. Practically, in the present situation, the battery exhaustion cannot be predicted beforehand.
In the related art disclosed in PTL 4, in order to perform the remote control of the control target device, the user needs to communicatively connect the cellular phone to the control center and perform request operation for the remote control of the control target device. Therefore, automatic remote control cannot be realized. When the user does not carry a cellular phone, because the user cannot make communicative connection to the control center, the user cannot perform the request for the remote control either.
According to several aspects of the invention, it is possible to provide a wearable device, a communication system, and the like that can improve, for example, constant connectivity of the wearable device to a computer communication network and enable realization of notification processing suitable for the wearable device.
According to several aspects of the invention, it is possible to provide a wearable device, a communication system, and the like that can improve, for example, constant connectivity of the wearable device to a computer communication network and enable realization of various kinds of processing based on monitoring information of the wearable device.
According to several aspects of the invention, it is possible to provide a communication system, a short-range wireless communication network, a wearable device, and the like that can improve, for example, constant connectivity of the wearable device to the computer communication network.
According to several aspects of the invention, it is possible to provide a control system, a control target device, a wearable device, a remote control method, and the like that can realize automatic remote control of a control object using a wearable device worn by a user.
[First aspect] An aspect of the invention relates to a wearable device including: a processing section configured to process information; and a communication section configured to perform loosely coupled short-range wireless communication between the communication section and an external device. The communication section is communicatively connected to a gateway device, to which an unspecified large number of devices are connectable, by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication and communicatively connected to the computer communication network via the gateway device. The processing section performs notification processing of notification information acquired on the basis of transmission of information concerning the wearable device by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication.
In the aspect of the invention, the wearable device includes the processing section and the communication section. The communication section is communicatively connected to the gateway device by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication and communicatively connected to the computer communication network via the gateway device. The information concerning the wearable device is transmitted by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication. When the notification information is acquired by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication, the notification processing of the notification information is performed. It is possible to improve constant connectivity and the like of the wearable device by using the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication in this way. Consequently, it is possible to realize notification processing suitable for the wearable device by performing the notification processing of the acquired notification information.
[Second aspect] In the aspect of the invention, the processing section may perform notification processing for notifying of maintenance information concerning maintenance of the wearable device.
In this way, it is possible to notify of the maintenance information of the wearable device effectively utilizing the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication. It is possible to realize improvement of convenience, improvement of the quality of the wearable device, and the like.
[Third aspect] In the aspect of the invention, the processing section may perform notification processing for notifying of, as the maintenance information, announcement information concerning a maintenance service for the wearable device.
In this way, it is possible to perform announcement concerning the maintenance service for the wearable device effectively utilizing the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication.
[Fourth aspect] In the aspect of the invention, the processing section may perform notification processing for notifying of, as the notification information, operable time information representing an operable time of the wearable device.
In this way, it is possible to notify of more highly accurate operable time information of the wearable device effectively utilizing the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication.
[Fifth aspect] In the aspect of the invention, the communication section may transmit, as the information concerning the wearable device, monitoring information concerning at least one of an operation state and an environment of use of the wearable device to the gateway device through the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication.
In this way, the monitoring information concerning the operation state and the environment of use of the wearable device can be delivered to the computer communication network via the gateway device using the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication. It is possible to execute appropriate notification processing using the monitoring information.
[Sixth aspect] Another aspect of the invention relates to a wearable device including: a processing section configured to process information; and a communication section configured to perform loosely coupled short-range wireless communication between the communication section and an external device. The communication section is communicatively connected to a gateway device, to which an unspecified large number of devices are connectable, by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication and communicatively connected to the computer communication network via the gateway device. The communication section transmits monitoring information concerning at least one of an operation state and an environment of use of the wearable device to the gateway device through the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication.
In the aspect of the invention, the communication section of the wearable device is communicatively connected to the gateway device by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication and communicatively connected to the computer communication network via the gateway device. The monitoring information concerning the operation state or the environment of use of the wearable device can be delivered to the communication network via the gateway device using the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication. It is possible to realize various kinds of processing using the monitoring information.
[Seventh aspect] In the aspect of the invention, the processing section may perform monitoring processing of a device included in the wearable device, and the communication section may transmit the monitoring information acquired by the monitoring processing to the gateway device through the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication.
In this way, the monitoring information acquired by the monitoring processing of the device included in the wearable device can be delivered to the computer communication network via the gateway device using the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication. It is possible to realize various kinds of processing using the monitoring information.
[Eighth aspect] In the aspect of the invention, the processing section may perform monitoring processing concerning a plurality of monitoring items of the device and acquire at least one of statistical information concerning each monitoring item of the plurality of monitoring items and time-series log information concerning the each monitoring item, and the communication section may transmit the at least one of the statistical information and the log information to the gateway device through the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication.
In this way, the monitoring processing concerning the plurality of monitoring items of the wearable device is performed. The statistical information or the log information obtained by the monitoring processing can be delivered to the computer communication network via the gateway device using the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication. Consequently, it is possible to realize various kinds of processing using the statistical information or the log information.
[Ninth aspect] In the aspect of the invention, the wearable device may be a watch including turning hands, and the device may be a motor that drives the hands.
In this way, monitoring processing concerning the motor for driving the hands of the watch, which is the wearable device, is performed. Monitoring information obtained by the monitoring processing can be delivered to the computer communication network via the gateway device using the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication.
[Tenth aspect] In the aspect of the invention, the device may be a power generating section configured to generate electric power for operating the processing section and the communication section, the processing section may perform monitoring processing of at least one of power generation amount information, power consumption amount information, and power balance information of the power generating section, and the communication section may transmit at least one of the power generation amount information, the power consumption amount information, and the power balance information to the gateway device through the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication.
In this way, when the wearable device includes the power generating section for operating the processing section and the communication section, monitoring information concerning the power generation amount information, the power consumption amount information, or the power balance information of the power generating section can be delivered to the computer communication network via the gateway device using the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication. Consequently, it is possible to execute various kinds of processing executable by grasping information concerning a power generation amount, a power consumption amount, and a power balance.
[Eleventh aspect] In the aspect of the invention, the communication section may transmit, as the monitoring information concerning the environment of use of the wearable device, at least one of magnetic field information, temperature information, humidity information, air pressure information, magnetism information, weather information, gravity information, acceleration information, radiation information, illuminance information, and position information of the wearable device to the gateway device through the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication.
In this way, the magnetic field information, the temperature information, the humidity information, the air pressure information, the magnetism information, the weather information, the gravity information, the acceleration information, the radiation information, the illuminance information, or the position information of the wearable device can be delivered to the computer communication network via the gateway device using the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication. Consequently, it is possible to execute various kinds of processing executable by grasping these kinds of information.
[Twelfth aspect] In the aspect of the invention, the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication may be communication performed in a scan period in which the gateway device searches for a presence notification packet transmitted from the wearable device.
In this way, it is possible to realize the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication effectively utilizing the presence notification packet transmitted by the wearable device in the scan period.
[Thirteenth aspect] In the aspect of the invention, the communication section may transmit information to the gateway device using the presence notification packet or, when the gateway device transmits a request packet in response to the presence notification packet, transmit information to the gateway device using a response packet to the request packet.
In this way, information can be transmitted from the wearable device to the gateway device using the presence notification packet. Information can be transmitted from the wearable device to the gateway device using the response packet to the request packet transmitted in response to the presence notification packet.
[Fourteenth aspect] In the aspect of the invention, the communication section may receive, in the scan period, from the computer communication network through the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication via the gateway device, information acquired on the basis of information transmitted to the computer communication network via the gateway device.
In this way, in the scan period, when the wearable device transmits information to the computer communication network, the wearable device can receive, in the scan period, information acquired on the basis of the information. Consequently, it is possible to realize directional communication by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication.
[Fifteenth aspect] In the aspect of the invention, the presence notification packet and the scan period may be respectively an advertising packet and an active scan period in a Bluetooth (registered trademark).
In this way, it is possible to realize the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication using the advertising packet and the active scan period in the Bluetooth.
[Sixteenth aspect] In the aspect of the invention, the communication section may perform, in a first period, the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication between the communication section and a first gateway device included in a short-range wireless communication network and perform, in a second period different from the first period, the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication between the communication section and a second gateway device included in the short-range wireless communication network.
In this way, it is possible to realize, for example, constant connection between the wearable device and the computer communication network using the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication while sequentially switching gateway devices, which are connection destinations of the wearable device.
[Seventeenth aspect] In the aspect of the invention, the communication section may be communicatively connected to the gateway device by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication directly not via another information communication terminal.
In this way, it is possible to communicatively connect the wearable device to the computer communication network without requiring an information communication terminal. It is possible to improve the constant connectivity and the like.
[Eighteenth aspect] Still another aspect of the invention relates to a wearable device including: a processing section configured to process information; and a communication section configured to perform short-range wireless communication between the communication section and a gateway device communicatively connected to a computer communication network. The communication section is communicatively connected to the computer communication network via the gateway device by performing the short-range wireless communication with the gateway device in a scan period in which the gateway device searches for a presence notification packet transmitted from the wearable device. The processing section performs notification processing of notification information acquired on the basis of transmission of information concerning the wearable device by the short-range wireless communication.
According to the other aspect of the invention, the wearable device can be communicatively connected to the computer communication network via the gateway device by the short-range wireless communication performed in the scan period in which the gateway device searches for the presence notification packet. The information concerning the wearable device is transmitted by the short-range wireless communication in the scan period. When the notification information is acquired by the transmission of the information, the notification processing of the notification information is executed. Consequently, it is possible to improve the constant connectivity and the like of the wearable device and realize suitable notification processing.
[Nineteenth aspect] In the other aspect of the invention, the communication section may transmit information to the gateway device using the presence notification packet or, when the gateway device transmits a request packet in response to the presence notification packet, transmit information to the gateway device using a response packet to the request packet.
[Twentieth aspect] In the other aspect of the invention, the communication section may receive, in the scan period, from the computer communication network through short-range wireless communication via the gateway device, information acquired on the basis of information transmitted to the computer communication network via the gateway device.
[Twenty-first aspect] In the other aspect of the invention, the presence notification packet and the scan period may be respectively an advertising packet and an active scan period in a Bluetooth (registered trademark).
[Twenty-second aspect] In the other aspect of the invention, the communication section may perform, in a first period, the short-range wireless communication between the communication section and a first gateway device included in a short-range wireless communication network and perform, in a second period different from the first period, the short-range wireless communication between the communication section and a second gateway device included in the short-range wireless communication network.
[Twenty-third aspect] Still another aspect of the invention relates to a communication system including: a wearable device including a processing section configured to process information and a communication section configured to perform loosely coupled short-range wireless communication between the communication section and an external device; and a short-range wireless communication network including a gateway device, to which an unspecified large number of devices are connectable, and connectable to a computer communication network. The wearable device is communicatively connected to the gateway device by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication and communicatively connected to the computer communication network via the gateway device. Notification processing to a user is performed concerning notification information acquired on the basis of transmission of information concerning the wearable device by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication.
[Twenty-fourth aspect] In the other aspect of the invention, the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication may perform communication performed in a scan period in which the gateway device searches for a presence notification packet transmitted from the wearable device.
According to the other aspect of the invention, the short-range wireless communication network including the gateway device and connectable to the computer communication network is provided. The processing section and the communication section are provided in the wearable device. The wearable device is communicatively connected to the gateway device by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication and communicatively connected to the computer communication network via the gateway device. When the information concerning the wearable device is transmitted by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication and the notification information is acquired according to the transmission of the information, the notification processing of the notification information is executed. Consequently, it is possible to improve the constant connectivity and the like of the wearable device and realize suitable notification processing.
[Twenty-fifth aspect] An aspect of the invention relates to a control system including: a wearable device including a processing section configured to process information and a communication section configured to perform loosely coupled short-range wireless communication between the communication section and an external device; a short-range wireless communication network including a gateway device, to which an unspecified large number of devices are connectable, and connectable to a computer communication network; and a control object used by a user. The wearable device is communicatively connected to the gateway device by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication and communicatively connected to the computer communication network via the gateway device. The control object is automatically remotely controlled by the computer communication network.
In the aspect of the invention, the short-range wireless communication network including the gateway device and connectable to the computer communication network is provided. The wearable device worn by the user is communicatively connected to the gateway device by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication and communicatively connected to the computer communication network via the gateway device. The control object used by the user is automatically remotely controlled by the computer communication network. In this way, the wearable device of the user can be communicatively connected to the computer communication network using the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication. The control object used by the user can be remotely controlled. Therefore, it is possible to provide a control system that can realize automatic remote control of the control object using the wearable device worn by the user.
[Twenty-sixth aspect] In the control system according to the twenty-fifth aspect, authentication processing of the user may be performed, and remote control of the control object for preferentially processing the user authenticated by the authentication processing may be performed.
In this way, when the user is authenticated by the authentication processing, the remote control of the control object for preferentially processing the user is performed. It is possible to provide a service of remote control with a higher added value to the user.
[Twenty-seventh aspect] In the control system according to the twenty-fifth or twenty-sixth aspect, behavior prediction processing of the user may be performed, and the remote control of the control object may be performed on the basis of a result of the behavior prediction processing.
In this way, it is possible to perform the behavior prediction processing of the user and realize appropriate remote control of the control object corresponding to predicted behavior.
[Twenty-eighth aspect] In the control system according to the twenty-seventh aspect, the behavior prediction processing of the user may be performed on the basis of at least one of information acquired from the wearable device by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication and schedule information of the user.
In this way, it is possible to perform the behavior prediction processing of the user reflecting the information acquired from the wearable device by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication or the schedule information of the user and realize appropriate remote control of the control object corresponding to predicted behavior.
[Twenty-ninth aspect] In the control system according to the twenty-seventh or twenty-eighth aspect, the behavior prediction processing of the user may be performed on the basis of connection history information of a plurality of the gateway devices communicatively connected to the wearable device by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication.
In this way, it is possible to perform behavior processing of the user and realize the remote control of the control object effectively utilizing the connection history information of the plurality of gateway devices communicatively connected to the wearable device by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication.
[Thirtieth aspect] In the control system according to any one of the twenty-fifth to twenty-ninth aspects, the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication may be communication performed in a scan period in which the gateway device searches for a presence notification packet transmitted from the wearable device.
In this way, it is possible to realize the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication effectively utilizing the presence notification packet transmitted by the wearable device in the scan period.
[Thirty-first aspect] In the control system according to the thirtieth aspect, the wearable device may transmit information to the gateway device using the presence notification packet or, when the gateway device transmits a request packet in response to the presence notification packet, transmit information to the gateway device using a response packet to the request packet.
In this way, information can be transmitted from the wearable device to the gateway device using the presence notification packet. Information can be transmitted from the wearable device to the gateway device using the response packet to the request packet transmitted in response to the presence notification packet.
[Thirty-second aspect] In the control system according to thirtieth or thirty-first aspect, the presence notification packet and the scan period may be respectively an advertising packet and an active scan period in a Bluetooth (registered trademark).
In this way, it is possible to realize the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication using the advertising packet and the active scan period in the Bluetooth.
[Thirty-third aspect] Still another aspect of the invention relates to a control target device, which is the control object of the control system according to any one of the twenty-fifth to thirty-second aspects.
[Thirty-fourth aspect] Still another aspect of the invention relates to a wearable device including: a processing section configured to process information; and a communication section configured to perform loosely coupled short-range wireless communication between the communication section and an external device. The communication section is communicatively connected to a gateway device, to which an unspecified large number of devices are connectable, by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication and communicatively connected to the computer communication network via the gateway device. The processing section performs processing for automatically remotely controlling, with the computer communication network, a control object used by a user.
According to the other aspect of the invention, the wearable device of the user can be communicatively connected to the computer communication network using the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication. The control object used by the user can be remotely controlled. Therefore, it is possible to realize the automatic remote control of the control object using the wearable device worn by the user.
[Thirty-fifth aspect] In the wearable device according to the aspect 34, the communication section may transmit information for authentication of the user for performing remote control for preferentially processing the user to the gateway device through the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication.
In this way, it is possible to perform authentication processing of the user on the basis of the information for authentication transmitted by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication and execute remote control of the control object for preferentially treating the authenticated user.
[Thirty-sixth aspect] In the wearable device according to the thirty-fourth or thirty-fifth aspect, the communication section may transmit information for behavior prediction for performing behavior prediction processing of the user to the gateway device through the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication.
In this way, it is possible to perform behavior prediction processing of the user on the basis of the information for behavior prediction transmitted by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication and realize appropriate remote control of the control object corresponding to predicted behavior.
[Thirty-seventh aspect] In the wearable device according to the thirty-sixth aspect, the communication section may transmit, as the information for behavior prediction, at least one of position information of the wearable device, environment information measured by the wearable device, and biological information of the user measured by the wearable device to the gateway device through the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication.
In this way, it is possible to perform behavior prediction processing reflecting the position information of the wearable device, the environment information, or the biological information of the user and realize appropriate remote control of the control object corresponding to predicted behavior.
[Thirty-eighth aspect] In the wearable device according to any one of the thirty-fourth to thirty seventh aspects, the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication may be communication performed in a scan period in which the gateway device searches for a presence notification packet transmitted from the wearable device.
[Thirty-ninth aspect] In the wearable device according to the thirty-eighth aspect, the communication section may transmit information to the gateway device using the presence notification packet or, when the gateway device transmits a request packet in response to the presence notification packet, transmit information to the gateway device using a response packet to the request packet.
[Fortieth packet] In the wearable device according to the thirty-eighth or thirty-ninth aspect, the presence notification packet and the scan period may be respectively an advertising packet and an active scan period in a Bluetooth (registered trademark).
[Forth-first aspect] In the wearable device according to any one of the thirty-fourth to fortieth aspects, the communication section may perform, in a first period, the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication between the communication section and a first gateway device included in a short-range wireless communication network and perform, in a second period different from the first period, the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication between the communication section and a second gateway device included in the short-range wireless communication network.
In this way, it is possible to realize, for example, constant connection between the wearable device and the computer communication network using the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication while sequentially switching gateway devices, which are connection destinations of the wearable device.
[Forty-second aspect] In the wearable device according to any one of the thirty-fourth to forty-first aspects, the wearable device may be communicatively connected to the gateway device by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication directly not via another information communication terminal.
In this way, it is possible to communicatively connect the wearable device to the computer communication network without requiring an information communication terminal and improve the constant connectivity and the like.
[Forth-third aspect] Still another aspect of the invention relates to a wearable device including: a processing section configured to process information; and a communication section configured to perform short-range wireless communication between the communication section and a gateway device communicatively connected to a computer communication network. The communication section is communicatively connected to the computer communication network via the gateway device by performing the short-range wireless communication with the gateway device in a scan period in which the gateway device searches for a presence notification packet transmitted from the wearable device. The processing section performs processing for automatically remotely controlling, with the computer communication network, a control object used by a user.
According to the other aspect of the invention, the wearable device can be communicatively connected to the computer communication network via the gateway device by the short-range wireless communication performed in the scan period in which the gateway device searches for the presence notification packet. The wearable device of the user can be communicatively connected to the computer communication network using such short-range wireless communication in the scan period. The control object used by the user can be remotely controlled. Therefore, it is possible to realize the automatic remote control of the control object using the wearable device worn by the user.
[Forth-forth aspect] In the wearable device according to the forty-third aspect, the communication section may transmit information to the gateway device using the presence notification packet or, when the gateway device transmits a request packet in response to the presence notification packet, transmit information to the gateway device using a response packet to the request packet.
[Forth-fifth aspect] In the wearable device according to the forty-third or forty-fourth aspect, the communication section may receive, in the scan period, from the computer communication network through short-range wireless communication via the gateway device, information acquired on the basis of information transmitted to the computer communication network via the gateway device.
[Forth-sixth aspect] In the wearable device according to any one of the forty-third to forth-fifth aspects, the presence notification packet and the scan period may be respectively an advertising packet and an active scan period in a Bluetooth (registered trademark).
[Forty-seventh aspect] In the wearable device according to any one of the forty-third to forty-sixth aspects, the communication section may perform, in a first period, the short-range wireless communication between the communication section and a first gateway device included in a short-range wireless communication network and perform, in a second period different from the first period, the short-range wireless communication between the communication section and a second gateway device included in the short-range wireless communication network.
[Forty-eighth aspect] Still another aspect of the invention relates to a remote control method for remotely controlling a control object used by a user wearing a wearable device, the remote control method including: communicatively connecting a wearable device to a gateway device, to which an unspecified large number of devices are connectable, through loosely coupled short-range wireless communication, the wearable device including a processing section configured to process information and a communication section configured to perform the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication between the communication section and an external device; communicatively connecting the wearable device to the computer communication network via the gateway device; and automatically remotely controlling the control object with the computer communication network.
According to the other aspect of the invention, the wearable device of the user can be communicatively connected to the computer communication network using the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication. The control object used by the user can be remotely connected. Therefore, it is possible to realize the automatic remote control of the control object using the wearable device worn by the user.
[Forth-ninth aspect] An aspect of the invention relates to a communication system including: a wearable device including a power generating section configured to generate electric power, a processing section configured to operate with the electric power supplied from the power generating section and process information, and a communication section configured to operate with the electric power supplied from the power generating section and perform loosely coupled short-range wireless communication between the communication section and an external device; and a short-range wireless communication network including a gateway device, to which an unspecified large number of devices are connectable, and connectable to a computer communication network. The wearable device is communicatively connected to the gateway device by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication and communicatively connected to the computer communication network via the gateway device.
In the aspect of the invention, the short-range wireless communication network including the gateway device and connectable to the computer communication network is provided. The power generating section and the processing section and the communication section that operate with the electric power supplied from the power generating section are provided in the wearable device. The wearable device is communicatively connected to the gateway device by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication and communicatively connected to the computer communication network via the gateway device. In this way, the wearable device that operates with the electric power of the power generating section can be connected to the computer communication network via the gateway device using the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication. It is possible to provide a communication system that can realize constant connectivity, a reduction in power consumption, and the like by using the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication and can improve, for example, constant connectivity of the wearable device to the computer communication network.
[Fiftieth aspect] In the communication system according to the forty-ninth aspect, the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication may be communication performed in a scan period in which the gateway device searches for a presence notification packet transmitted from the wearable device.
In this way, it is possible to realize the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication effectively utilizing the presence notification packet transmitted by the wearable device in the scan period.
[Fifty-first aspect] In the communication system according to the fiftieth aspect, the wearable device may transmit information to the gateway device using the presence notification packet or, when the gateway device transmits a request packet in response to the presence notification packet, transmit information to the gateway device using a response packet to the request packet.
In this way, information can be transmitted from the wearable device to the gateway device using the presence notification packet. Information can be transmitted from the wearable device to the gateway device using the response packet to the request packet transmitted in response to the presence notification packet.
[Fifty-second aspect] In the communication system according to the fiftieth or fifty-first aspect, the wearable device may receive, in the scan period, from the computer communication network through the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication via the gateway device, information acquired on the basis of information transmitted to the computer communication network via the gateway device.
In this way, in the scan period, when the wearable device transmits information to the computer communication network, the wearable device can receive, in the scan period, information acquired on the basis of the information. Consequently, it is possible to realize directional communication by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication.
[Fifty-third aspect] In the communication system according to any one of the fiftieth to fifty-second aspects, the presence notification packet and the scan period may be respectively an advertising packet and an active scan period in a Bluetooth (registered trademark).
In this way, it is possible to realize the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication using the advertising packet and the active scan period in the Bluetooth.
[Fifty-Fourth Aspect]
In the communication system according to any one of the forty-ninth to fifty-third aspects, the wearable device may perform, in a first period, the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication between the wearable device and a first gateway device included in the short-range wireless communication network and perform, in a second period different from the first period, the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication between the wearable device and a second gateway device included in the short-range wireless communication network.
In this way, it is possible to realize, for example, constant connection between the wearable device and the computer communication network using the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication while sequentially switching gateway devices, which are connection destinations of the wearable device.
[Fifty-fifth aspect] In the communication system according to the fifty-fourth aspect, when the wearable device is communicatively connected to the second gateway device and a given deletion condition is satisfied, the first gateway device may perform deletion processing of reception information from the wearable device or transmission information to the wearable device.
In this way, it is possible to prevent the reception information and the transmission information from being uselessly stored in a storing section of the first gateway device and achieve saving of a storage capacity in use of the storing section.
[Fifty-sixth aspect] In the communication system according to any one of the forty-ninth to fifty-fifth aspect, the gateway device may perform processing for converting address information of the wearable device received from the wearable device by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication into address information for the computer communication network.
In this way, it is possible to uniquely specify the wearable device on the computer communication network using the address information for the computer communication network converted from the address information of the wearable device.
[Fifty-seventh aspect] In the communication system according to any one of the forty-ninth to fifty-sixth aspect, the wearable device may be communicatively connected to the gateway device by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication directly not via another information communication terminal.
In this way, it is possible to communicatively connect the wearable device to the computer communication network without requiring an information communication terminal and improve the constant connectivity and the like.
[Fifty-eighth aspect] In the communication system according to any one of the forty-ninth to fifty-seventh aspects, the communication system may include a second wearable device communicatively connected to the wearable device, and the second wearable device may be communicatively connected to the computer communication network by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication via the wearable device and the gateway device.
In this way, the second wearable device can be communicatively connected to the gateway device using the wearable device as a relay device. Therefore, it is easy to perform communicative connection to, for example, a gateway device at a long distance.
[Fifty-ninth aspect] In the communication system according to the fifty-eighth aspect, when a given deletion condition is satisfied, the wearable device may perform deletion processing of reception information from the second wearable device or transmission information to the second wearable device.
In this way, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the reception information and the transmission information concerning the second wearable device are uselessly stored in a storing section of the wearable device functioning as the relay device.
[Sixtieth aspect] In the communication system according to any one of the forty-ninth to fifty-ninth aspects, the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication between the wearable device and the gateway device may be set to connection or nonconnection on the basis of input information input from the user.
In this way, it is possible to temporarily disconnect constant connection according to selection of the user. It is possible to improve convenience and the like.
[Sixty-first aspect] In the communication system according to any one of the forty-ninth to sixtieth aspects, the power generating section may include a solar cell, and average power consumption of the wearable device may be set to electric power equal to or smaller than electric power generated by the power generating section under an environment of illuminance of 500 lux.
In this way, only with generated power of the power generating section under a condition assumed to be lower limit illuminance, it is possible to realize, for example, constant connection to the computer communication network by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication while operating the wearable device.
[Sixty-second aspect] In the communication system according to any one of the forty-ninth to sixtieth aspects, the power generating section may perform at least one power generation of vibration power generation, hand-wound power generation, and temperature-difference power generation.
However, the power generation of the power generating section is not limited to these kinds of power generation.
[Sixty-third aspect] In the communication system according to any one of the forty-ninth to sixty-second aspects, the information communicated by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication may include at least one of biological information of the user wearing the wearable device and time information.
In this way, it is possible to communicate the biological information of the user and the time information using the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication.
[Sixty-fourth aspect] Still another aspect of the invention relates to a short-range wireless communication network used in the communication system according to any one of the forty-ninth to sixty-third aspects.
[Sixth-fifth aspect] Still another aspect of the invention relates to a wearable device including: a power generating section configured to generate electric power; a processing section configured to operate with the electric power supplied from the power generating section and process information; and a communication section configured to operate with the electric power supplied from the power generating section and perform loosely coupled short-range wireless communication between the communication section and an external device. The communication section is communicatively connected to a gateway device, to which an unspecified large number of devices are connectable, by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication and communicatively connected to the computer communication network via the gateway device.
According to the other aspect of the invention, the wearable device that operates with the electric power of the power generating section can be communicatively connected to the computer communication network via the gateway device using the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication. It is possible to achieve improvement of constant connectivity and the like of the wearable device.
[Sixty-sixth aspect] In the wearable device according to the sixty-fifth aspect, the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication is communication performed in a scan period in which the gateway device searches for a presence notification packet transmitted from the wearable device.
[Sixty-seventh aspect] Still another aspect of the invention relates to a wearable device including: a power generating section configured to generate electric power; a processing section configured to operate with the electric power supplied from the power generating section and process information; and a communication section configured to operate with the electric power supplied from the power generating section and perform short-range wireless communication between the communication section and a gateway device communicatively connected to a computer communication network. The communication section is communicatively connected to the computer communication network via the gateway device by performing the short-range wireless communication with the gateway device in a scan period in which the gateway device searches for a presence notification packet transmitted from a wearable device.
According to the other aspect of the invention, the wearable device that operates with the electric power of the power generating section can be communicatively connected to the computer communication network via the gateway device by the short-range wireless communication performed in the scan period in which the gateway device searches for the presence notification packet. It is possible to achieve improvement of constant connectivity and the like of the wearable device.
[Sixth-eighth aspect] In the wearable device according to the sixty-seventh aspect, the communication section may transmit information to the gateway device using the presence notification packet or, when the gateway device transmits a request packet in response with the presence notification packet, transmit information to the gateway device using a response packet to the request packet.
[Sixty-ninth aspect] In the wearable device according to the sixty-seventh or sixty-eighth aspect, the communication section may receive, in the scan period, from the computer communication network through short-range wireless communication via the gateway device, information acquired on the basis of information transmitted to the computer communication network via the gateway device.
[Seventieth aspect] In the wearable device according to the sixty-seventh or sixty-ninth aspect, the presence notification packet and the scan period may be respectively an advertising packet and an active scan period in a Bluetooth (registered trademark).
[Seventy-first aspect] In the wearable device according to the sixty-seventh or seventieth aspect, the communication section may perform, in a first period, the short-range wireless communication between the communication section and a first gateway device included in a short-range wireless communication network and perform, in a second period different from the first period, the short-range wireless communication between the communication section and a second gateway device included in the short-range wireless communication network.
A preferred embodiment of the invention is explained in detail blow. Note that the embodiment explained below does not unduly limit the content of the invention described in the claims. Not all of components explained in this embodiment are essential as solutions of the invention.
An overall configuration example of a communication system (a control system) in this embodiment is shown in
The computer communication network INT is, for example, the Internet, which is a network based on the communication standard of TCP/IP. The computer communication network INT is, for example, a network on which computers can be individually identified by unique IP addresses. The computer communication network INT is, for example, a wide area network (WAN) to which the server SV is communicatively connectable. The computer communication network INT can include communication networks such as a cable network, a telephone communication network, and a wireless LAN. A communication method may be either wired or wireless.
The short-range wireless communication network BNT is a communication network including gateway devices GW1 to GWN (access points) and connectable to the computer communication network INT. The gateway devices GW1 to GWN are, for example, devices to which an unspecified large number of devices (devices carried by an unspecified large number of users) are connectable. As the short-range wireless communication network BNT, for example, a communication network of a Bluetooth (registered trademark) can be used. For example, the gateway devices GW1 to GWN can be realized by routers of the Bluetooth. The short-range wireless communication network BNT may be a communication network formed in a geographically distant wide region like a WAN or may be a communication network formed in a specific premise like a LAN. For example, the short-range wireless communication network BNT may be a communication network formed in a premise such as an amusement facility, a shopping mall, a company, or a factory.
As the short-range wireless communication network BNT, communication networks by ZigBee (registered trademark), Wi-Sun (registered trademark), IP500 (registered trademark), and the like can also be used.
The ZigBee is a wireless standard for operation with saved power, the specifications of which are defined by a ZigBee alliance. The ZigBee operates on IEEE 802.15.4. As nodes of the ZigBee, three types of a coordinator, a router, and an end device are defined. As basic operations of the ZigBee, the end device usually sleeps in power saving, wakes up with a trigger signal from a timer, sends data to the router or the coordinator, and shifts to the sleep again. The end device shifts to the sleep to achieve power saving of the end device. On the other hand, the router and the coordinator always stay on standby in a reception state and wait for data from the end device.
The Wi-SUN is a wireless communication standard for mounting terminals on, for example, gas, electricity, and water meters and efficiently collecting data using wireless communication. In the Wi-SUN, communication is performed with a radio wave in a frequency band around 900 MHz called sub-gigahertz band. Therefore, the Wi-SUN has a characteristic that a radio wave easily reaches even if an obstacle and the like are present and interference from other devices and the like is less compared with a short-range wireless communication in a 2.4 GHz band. The specifications of a physical layer of the Wi-SUN are standardized by IEEE 802.15.4g. A plurality of terminals relay data in a bucket brigade manner. The Wi-SUN is also adapted to multi-hop communication that connects remote places.
The IP500 adopts IEEE 802.15.4 in a physical layer and performs communication using the sub-gigahertz band. A mesh network is a basic network. Full mutual connection with an existing network is possible. The IP500 is also adapted to IPv6 and 6LoWPAN.
In
The watches WT1 to WT3 are wrist-type electronic devices and are called, for example, GPS built-in watch, smart watch, diver's watch, or solar watch. The watches WT1 to WT3 include hand movement mechanisms such as hands (second hands, minute hands, and hour hands). The watches WT1 to WT3 include various sensors such as position sensors (GPSs, etc.), environment sensors (sensors for temperature, humidity, air pressure, terrestrial magnetism, weather, or the like), body motion sensors (acceleration sensors, gyro sensors, etc.), or biological sensors that detect biological information.
The biological sensor device LD is a wearable device capable of detecting biological information such as a pulse, an activity amount, a blood pressure, oxygen saturation, a body temperature, or biological potential. Specifically, the biological sensor device LD is a wrist-type electronic device (a wrist-type biological sensor) and is a pulse wave meter, an activity meter, or the like of a wrist type. The head-mounted display device HMD is a display device worn on the head by a user. The head-mounted display device HMD may be a non-transmission type that completely covers the eyes of the user or may be a transmission type (an eyeglass type, etc.). The sensor such as the position sensor, the environment sensor, the body motion sensor, or the biological sensor can be provided in the head-mounted display device HMD as well.
Note that, in
In
The elevator EV is an elevator provided in a company, a facility, a private house, or the like. The smart house HS is a house in which household electric appliances and equipment are communicatively connected by intelligent wires and the like to perform optimized control. For example, in the smart house HS, household electric appliances, a solar power generator, a storage battery, an electric automobile, and the like are centrally managed by an energy management system for home use called HEMS (Home Energy Management System). The robot RB is, for example, a robot of a double arm type or a single arm type. The robot RB may be an industrial robot used in a factory or the like or may be a robot for non-industrial use (medical, welfare, security, communication, or entertainment use). The automobile CA is, for example, a car of an internal combustion engine type, a hybrid car, an electric automobile, or a fuel battery car. The automobile CA may be a two-wheeled vehicle such as a motorbike.
As explained below, the elevator EV, the smart house HS, the robot RB, and the automobile CA are remotely controlled via the computer communication network INT such as the Internet using loosely coupled short-range wireless communication of wearable devices and gateway devices.
Note that control objects of the remote control are not limited to those shown in
A configuration example of a wearable device 10 (the watches WT1 to WT3, the biological sensor device LD, and the head-mounted display device HMD), a gateway device 100 (GW1 to GWN), and a server 200 (SV) in this embodiment is shown in
The wearable device 10 includes a processing section 20 and a communication section 30. The wearable device 10 can include a power generating section 40, a storing section 50, a sensor section 54, an input section 60, and an output section 62. The gateway device 100 includes a processing section 120, communication sections 130 and 140, and a storing section 150. The server 200 includes a processing section 220, a communication section 230, and a storing section 250.
Note that the configurations of the wearable device 10, the gateway device 100, and the server 200 are not limited to configurations shown in
The processing sections 20, 120, and 220 (processors) are sections that perform processing and control of various kinds of information. Respective kinds of processing (functions) in this embodiment performed by the respective processing sections 20, 120, and 220 can be realized by processors (processors including hardware). For example, the respective kinds of processing in this embodiment can be realized by processors that operate on the basis of information such as programs and memories (the storing sections 50, 150, and 250) that store the information such as the programs. In the processors, for example, functions of the sections may be realized by individual hardware or may be realized by integrated hardware. The processors may be, for example, CPUs (Central Processing Units). However, the processors are not limited to the CPUs. Various processors such as GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) or DSPs (Digital Processing Units) can be used. The processors may be hardware circuits by ASICs.
The storing sections 50, 150, and 250 (memories) may be semiconductor memories such as SRAMs or DRAMS or may be registers. Alternatively, the storing sections 50, 150, and 250 may be magnetic storage devices such as hard disk devices (HDDs) or may be optical storage devices such as optical disk devices. For example, the memories have stored therein computer-readable commands. The commands are executed by the processors, whereby the processing (the functions) of the respective processing sections 20, 120, and 220 is realized. The commands may be command sets configuring programs or may be commands for instructing operations to the hardware circuits of the processors.
The communication sections 30 and 130 are circuits (ICs) that perform the short-range wireless communication of the short-range wireless communication network BNT shown in
The communication sections 140 and 230 perform processing of communication performed using the computer communication network INT such as the Internet. The communication sections 140 and 230 can be realized by hardware such as ASICs for communication or processors for communication, firmware for communication, or the like. For example, the communication sections 140 and 230 perform processing of communication conforming to the specifications of the Ethernet (registered trademark) as processing of physical layers and data link layers. The communication sections 140 and 230 perform processing conforming to the specifications of the TCP/IP as processing of network layers and transport layers.
In this case, the processing section 120 of the gateway device 100 performs, for example, protocol conversion between a protocol (e.g., the Bluetooth) of the short-range wireless communication network BNT and a protocol (e.g., the Ethernet or the TCP/IP) of the computer communication network INT. The processing section 120 performs, for example, processing for reconfiguring a packet of the protocol of the short-range wireless communication network BNT into a packet of the protocol of the computer communication network INT or reconfiguring a packet of the protocol of the computer communication network INT into a packet of the protocol of the short-range wireless communication network BNT. The processing section 120 performs, for example, processing for converting address information (e.g., a MAC address of the Bluetooth) of the wearable device into address information (e.g., the IPv6 of the TCP/IP) for the computer communication network INT.
The storing sections 50, 150, and 250 (the memories) are sections that store various kinds of information. The storing sections 50, 150, and 250 function as, for example, work areas of the processing sections 20, 120, and 220 and the communication sections 30, 130, 140, and 230. Various kinds of information such as programs and data for realizing various kinds of processing of the processing sections 20, 120, and 220 are stored in the storing sections 50, 150, and 250. The storing sections 50, 150, and 250 can be realized by semiconductor memories (DRAMs or VRAMs), HDDs (hard disk drives), or the like.
The power generating section 40 included in the wearable device 10 generates electric power for operating the wearable device 10. The processing section 20 operates with electric power supplied from the power generating section 40 and processes information (data and signals). The communication section 30 operates with the electric power supplied from the power generating section 40 and performs loosely coupled short-range wireless communication between the communication section 30 and the gateway device 100, which is an external device. The electric power of the power generating section 40 is supplied to the storing section 50, the sensor section 54, and the like as well. The power generation of the power generating section 40 may be realized by solar power generation (a solar cell) or may be realized by vibration power generation, hand-wound power generation, temperature difference power generation, or the like.
The electric power supplied to the wearable device 10 by the power generating section 40 is not always limited to the electric power by the power generation. For example, under a condition that a battery does not need to be replaced for one year or more, the electric power supplied to the wearable device 10 may be electric power supplied from a button battery or a similar battery incorporated in a normal watch (a wrist watch). According to the invention, substantially low power consumption can be realized compared with the related art. Therefore, there is an advantage that frequent battery replacement is unnecessary even in such a case.
The sensor section 54 can include, for example, a biological sensor, a position sensor, a motion sensor, and an environment sensor. The biological sensor is a sensor that detects biological information such as a pulse (a pules wave) an activity amount, a blood pressure, a body temperature, oxygen saturation, and biological potential. For example, the biological sensor can be realized by an optical sensor or the like including a light emitting section such as an LED and a light receiving section such as a photodiode. For example, light from the light emitting section is irradiated on the skin of the wrist and reflected light having information concerning a blood flow is made incident on the light receiving section, whereby biological information such as a pulse, oxygen saturation, and a blood pressure can be detected. Calculation of an activity amount such as a consumed calorie is also possible. The position sensor is a sensor that detects the position and the like of the wearable device 10. The position sensor can be realized by a GPS or the like. The motion sensor is a sensor that detects a movement of the wearable device 10 and a movement (a movement of the body and a behavior state such as walking or running) of the user. The motion sensor can be realized by, for example, an acceleration sensor or a gyro sensor. The environment sensor is a sensor that detects an environment situation around the wearable device 10. The environment sensor can be realized by a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an air pressure sensor, a terrestrial magnetism sensor, or the like.
The input section 60 is a section for inputting various signals and various kinds of information. The input section 60 can be realized by, for example, an operation section including operation buttons, a sound input section such as a microphone, or a touch panel-type display. The output section 62 outputs various signals and various kinds of information. The output section 62 can be realized by, for example, a display section such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic EL display, a sound output section such as a speaker, a light emitting section such as an LED, or a vibration generating section such as a vibration motor. For example, the notification processing in this embodiment can be realized by the display section, the sound output section, the light emitting section, the vibration generating section, or the like.
The communication system in this embodiment performs communication using the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication. A communication method in this embodiment is explained in detail below.
In the first comparative example shown in
For example, to acquire life log information such as biological information and activity information of the user measuredby the wearable devices, it is desirable to constantly connect the wearable devices always worn by the user to the network. However, it is difficult to realize the constant connection in the comparative example shown in
A method of directly connecting the wearable devices to the router RT by the Wi-Fi is also conceivable. However, in this method, power consumption of communication sections of the wearable devices is excessively large. Therefore, the wearable devices need to be frequently charged. Constant wearability and constant connectivity of the wearable devices are hindered.
In the comparative example shown in
In the comparative example shown in
In this embodiment for solving the problem explained above, a method of directly connecting the wearable devices to the computer communication network such as the Internet by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication is adopted. Specifically, the communication system in this embodiment includes, as shown in
The wearable device 10 (the communication section 30) is communicatively connected to the gateway device 100 by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication (in a broad sense, short-range wireless communication) and communicatively connected to the computer communication network INT via the gateway device 100. That is, the wearable device 10 and the gateway device 100 (e.g., a router of the Bluetooth or the like) are communicatively connected by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication. For example, the communication section 30 of the wearable device 10 and the communication section 130 of the gateway device 100 shown in
The display section of the wearable device 10 displays information concerning the connection to the gateway device 100, that is, whether the wearable device 10 is in a connectable state or in an unconnectable state. When the wearable device 10 is stably connected, the display section visually informs the user that the user can use the Internet at ease. Note that, if the user grasps from position information of the wearable device 10 that a connectable gateway device is absent, it is also possible to achieve a reduction in power consumption by not performing communication.
For example, in the comparative example shown in
The wearable device 10 includes the power generating section 40 such as a solar power generator. The processing section 20, the communication section 30, and the like of the wearable device 10 operate with electric power supplied from the power generating section 40. Therefore, even if the wearable device 10 is not charged by an AC power supply or the like, it is possible to operate the wearable device 10 with the electric power generated by the power generating section 40. Because it is unnecessary to charge the wearable device 10 in this way, the user does not need to take off the wearable device 10 to charge the wearable device 10. It is possible to improve constant wearability of the wearable device 10.
In this case, the wearable device 10 and the gateway device 100 are connected by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication with extremely small power consumption compared with the Wi-Fi and the like. Therefore, it is possible to operate the wearable device 10 for a long time on the basis of the electric power generated by the power generating section 40. It is possible to improve the constant wearability.
In this way, with the method in this embodiment, it is possible to greatly improve the constant connectivity and the constant wearability of the wearable device 10. Therefore, it is possible to always measure biological information and activity information (a pulse wave, a consumed calorie, a behavior history, etc.) of the user with the wearable device 10 and acquire more appropriate life log information. It is possible to provide information with a high added value to the user. For example, even when a disaster occurs, it is possible to, without being affected by a power failure and the like, inform disaster information to the user using the wearable device 10 and perform an activity for rescuing the user using position information and the like measured by the wearable device 10. Because the constant connectivity and the constant wearability of the wearable device 10 are secured, it is easy to realize notification processing of maintenance information and the like based on monitoring information and the like of the wearable device 10 explained below and remote control of a control object performed using the wearable device 10.
In the communication system according to this embodiment, because of the characteristic that the wearable device 10 can be constantly connected to the Internet without necessity of charging, in case of emergency such as a disaster, the user carrying the wearable device 10 can bidirectionally communicate with a headquarter conducted by a municipality, a police, or an army through the Internet. That is, the communication system according to this embodiment is a technique that can be utilized as an emergency response system such as a search, rescue, and evacuation guidance for sufferers even in the case of, for example, a long-term power failure in a part of a region.
The loosely coupled short-range wireless communication used in this embodiment is wireless communication with a gentle coupling degree of communication compared with normally coupled short-range wireless communication. For example, in the normally coupled short-range wireless communication, processing for establishment of communicative connection (e.g., pairing) is performed between paired two devices in bidirectional communication. When the communicative connection is once established, predetermined release processing is necessary to release the communicative connection. In such normally coupled short-range wireless communication, a protocol and the like are defined as wireless communication in a normal mode (default) in a communication standard (the Bluetooth, etc.) of a short-range wireless communication network of the normally coupled short-range wireless communication.
On the other hand, the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication is wireless communication for performing, for example, bidirectional communication between two devices with a gentle coupling degree of communication without preforming processing for establishing such communicative connection. In the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication, because the establishment of the communicative connection specified in the normally coupled short-range wireless communication is not performed, the release processing for releasing the communicative connection is unnecessary. Therefore, while switching connection target devices such as gateway devices one after another, devices such as the wearable devices can be communicatively connected to the computer communication network via the connection target devices. An example of the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication is communication performed in a preparation period before the establishment of the communicative connection. As an example of the preparation period, there is a scan period in which a search for a presence notification packet is performed. That is, the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication is, for example, communication performed in a scan period (a search period) in which the gateway device 100 searches for a presence notification packet transmitted from the wearable device 10.
For example, in
That is, usually, when a wearable device around a gateway device is found in the scan period, connection establishment of communication is performed between the gateway device and the wearable device. After the connection establishment (pairing), one-to-one bidirectional communication between the gateway device and the wearable device is started.
The loosely coupled short-range wireless communication in this embodiment is communication of gentle coupling performed in a scan period before such connection establishment (the pairing). For example, in this embodiment, as explained with reference to
In this case, when the communication between the wearable device and the gateway device is communication after the connection establishment, every time the gateway device set as the connection destination is switched, processing for releasing the connection establishment with the former gateway device and labor and time of the user are necessary. For example, it is assumed that, after connection establishment (pairing) is performed between the wearable device and a first gateway device, the user moves and the wearable device is connected to a second gateway device at a moving destination. In this case, processing for releasing the connection establishment between the wearable device and the first gateway device and operation of the user for releasing the connection establishment are necessary. Therefore, wasteful power consumption due to the releasing processing of the connection establishment occurs. A reduction in power consumption of the wearable device is interfered and convenience of the user is hindered.
In this regard, because the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication in this embodiment is the communication performed in the scan period before such connection establishment, the processing for releasing the connection establishment and the labor and time of the user are unnecessary. Therefore, it is possible to achieve a reduction in power consumption of the wearable device, improvement of convenience of the user, and the like. Because the transmission of the presence notification packet is intermittent transmission, there is also an advantage that it is possible to achieve a further reduction in power consumption, for example, according to appropriate control of a transmission interval of the presence notification packet.
Note that the wearable device 10 in this embodiment illustrated in
In
The wearable device WD receives, in the scan period, information acquired on the basis of information transmitted to the computer communication network INT via the gateway device GW. That is, in the scan period, the wearable device WD receives the information from the computer communication network INT through the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication via the gateway device GW. For example, in the scan period in which the wearable device WD transmits the transmission information to the gateway device GW, the wearable device WD receives reception information, which is information acquired on the basis of the transmission information, from the gateway device GW. The reception information is information acquired according to a result of authentication processing when the wearable device WD transmits information for the authentication processing. Alternatively, when the wearable device WD transmits measurement information of the wearable device WD and operation state information of the devices included in the wearable device WD, the reception information is information acquired on the basis of the measurement information and the operation state information. For example, the reception information is information concerning a life log obtained by the server SV processing these kinds of information, notification information, and the like. When the wearable device WD transmits information for remote control of the control object, the reception information is information acquired according to a result of the remote control.
The presence notification packet and the scan period are respectively, for example, an advertising packet and an active scan period in the Bluetooth (Bluetooth Low Energy; 4.0 or subsequent standards of the Bluetooth). The advertising packet is a packet transmitted by an advertiser for finding of a device. A scanner captures and receives the advertising packet to find the advertiser. The advertising packet is a packet transmitted by an advertising channel. In the Bluetooth, there are passive scan and active scan. In the passive scan, the scanner only receives the advertising packet. On the other hand, in the active scan, the scanner can further acquire information not fit in the advertising packet by transmitting a packet of scan_req. Not that the standard of the short-range wireless communication in this embodiment is not limited to the Bluetooth standard. Various standards such as the ZigBee standard and the Wi-SUN standard explained above or standards obtained by developing these standards can be assumed.
As explained with reference to
The gateway device GW performs processing for converting address information of the wearable device WD received from the wearable device WD by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication into address information for the computer communication network. The processing section 120 shown in
As shown in
As shown in
For example,
For example, the wearable device WD1 stores, in a storing section (the storing section 50 in
Note that, as shown in
The power generating section 40 shown in
For example, illuminance at 10:00 AM in a fine day is measured as approximately 65,000 lux, illuminance by the sunlight one hour after the sunrise in a cloudy day is measured as approximately 2,000 lux, illuminance in a pachinko parlor is measured as approximately 1,000 lux, illuminance in a department store is measured as approximately 500 to 700 lux, and illuminance in an office where fluorescent lamps are use is measured as approximately 400 to 500 lux. From these measurement results, it can be assumed that lower limit illuminance around the wearable device is approximately 500 lux. Electric power generated by the power generating section under the environment of illuminance of 500 lux is represented as PWmin and average power consumption of the wearable device is represented as PWay. Then, if PWmin and PWav are set as PWavPWmin, the wearable device can be operated only by generated power of the power generating section 40 under the environment of 500 lux, which is assumed to be the lower limit illuminance. Therefore, it is possible to operate the wearable device without charging the wearable device for a long period of, for example, one year or more. It is possible to improve the constant wearability of the wearable device. As a result, it is possible to always measure biological information and activity information of the user and acquire life log information of the user.
Note that the power generating section 40 may be realized by performing at least one power generation of vibration power generation, hand-wound power generation, and temperature difference power generation. As the vibration power generation, there are a piezoelectric scheme, an electromagnetic induction scheme, and an electrostatic scheme. The piezoelectric scheme is a scheme for collecting, as electric power, a potential difference that occurs when a material (a piezoelectric element) is deformed by vibration. The electromagnetic induction scheme is a scheme for using a rotary generator or the like. Taking a wrist-type electronic device such as a watch as an example, a built-in rotary weight is rotated by a movement of an arm of the user, the rotary generator is rotated at ultrahigh speed using the rotation accelerated by a gear, and generated electric power is charged in a capacitor. In a generator of the electrostatic scheme, a structure in which two planar electrodes are opposed to each other is used and a positional relation between the opposed electrodes deviates because of vibration, whereby an electromotive force is generated. In the hand-wound power generation, a generator that generates electric power by rotating a rotary member such as a crown of a watch or a handle is used. For example, a coil wound with a lead wire is disposed between magnets and rotated to perform power generation. The temperature difference power generation is a scheme for generating electric power using a temperature difference between high temperature and low temperature. Specifically, electric power is generated using thermoelectric elements (Seebeck elements). For example, electric power is generated using a temperature difference between the body temperature of the user and the temperature of a housing (e.g., a surface side) of the wearable device.
In the Seebeck temperature different power generation, generated power is larger as a heat transfer area in which the Seebeck elements are disposed is larger. Therefore, it is desirable to dispose as large a number of Seebeck elements as possible over the entire area where the wearable device and the user (the skin, etc.) are in contact. For example, when the wearable device is a watch or the like, it is desirable to dispose the Seebeck elements on both of a surface on the user side of the housing and a surface on the user side of a band. A heat source on a high temperature side is not always limited to the body temperature of the user. With a wearable device having structure that can be worn over a heat source like a coldproof article such as a disposable warmer or heater built-in clothes that generate heat, it is possible to obtain a larger temperature difference than when body temperature is used. A power generation amount increases.
Information communicated by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication in this embodiment can include at least one of biological information of the user wearing the wearable device and time information. For example, biological information of the user is acquired using the sensor section 54 shown in
Details of the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication are explained.
First, both of the wearable device WD and the gateway device GW are in a standby state. Transmission and reception are not performed between the wearable device WD and the gateway device GW in the standby state. In
When receiving the advertising packet PKAD, the gateway device GW transitions to a scanning state. In passing scan, the gateway device GW, which is a scanner (an observer), only receives the advertising packet PKAD. On the other hand, in active scan, after receiving the advertising packet PKAD, the scanner transmits the request packet PKRQ (scan_req) and acquires further information from the advertiser.
The gateway device GW determines a connection destination on the basis of the information acquired by the scan. The gateway device GW transitions to an initiating state and transmits the request packet PKRQ (connection_req) for a connection request to the wearable device WD, which is the connection destination. Consequently, the gateway device GW and the wearable device WD transition to a connection state. The gateway GW functions as a master. The wearable device WD functions as a slave. Connection establishment is performed between the master and the slave and pairing is realized. By performing the pairing in this way, one-to-one bidirectional communication is performed between the master and the slave. In the Bluetooth, reconnection, which is reconnection after the pairing, is also defined.
As shown in
Therefore, in this embodiment, communicative connection between the wearable device and the gateway device is realized by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication. The loosely coupled short-range wireless communication is communication performed in a scan period in which pairing is not performed. In
In this case, the wearable device WD can transmit information to the gateway device GW using the advertising packet PKAD (a presence notification packet) indicated by A1 in
The gateway device GW, which has received the information for authentication and the like from the wearable device WD, delivers a request for acquiring various kinds of information such as user information present on the server to the server via the Internet (in a broad sense, the computer communication network) as indicated by A3 and A4 in
The server returns the various kinds of information such as the user information specified in this way to the gateway device GW as a response via the Internet as indicated by A5 and A6 in
In this way, in this embodiment, by using the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication shown in
In the comparative example in which the beacon is used shown in
On the other hand, with the method of using the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication in this embodiment, as shown in
Note that a bidirectional communication method between the wearable device WD and the gateway device GW is not limited to the method explained above. Various modified implementations are possible. For example, when a data amount of transmission information of the wearable device WD is large, for example, the gateway device GW transmits a plurality of times of the request packets PKRQ. The wearable device WD transmits a plurality of times of the response packets PKRS (see
A packet format of the Bluetooth is shown in
The access address is a random value allocated for each connection between two devices and is an identifier for distinguishing in which connection the packet is used. For example, communication of advertising is performed using three channels of the Bluetooth. An access address of the communication is set to a fixed value. Note that the advertising packet is delivered for each advertising event at a fixed cycle. A cycle of advertising can be set, for example, between 20 msec and 10.25 sec.
The PDU is data transmitted and received by an upper layer. The PDU includes a header and a payload. For example, packet types (scan_req, scan_res, connection_req, etc.) can be set by the header of the PDU.
Data by the upper layer can be set in the payload of the PDU. For example, the payload of the advertising packet includes a public device address. The public device address may be used for setting of a device address of a wearable device.
In this embodiment, as shown in
In this embodiment, the wearable device WD sequentially switches gateway devices set as connection destinations according to the position and the like of the wearable device WD and connects the gateway device. For example, in
As shown in
When the user moves, the gateway device GW2 is not within the range of the communication distance, and the gateway device GW3 is within the range of the communication distance as shown in
In this way, in this embodiment, as shown in
Note that, as shown in
Similarly, as shown in
The deletion condition can be determined on the basis of, for example, the elapse of time. For example, when a state changes from
Note that, in
If the deletion processing of the reception information and the transmission information is performed in this way, it is possible to prevent a situation in which, for example, useless information is stored in a storing section of a gateway device and a storage capacity in use of the storing section is pressed. By deleing reception information and transmission information concerning an unconnected wearable device, it is possible to achieve improvement of security of information.
In this embodiment, as shown in
In this case, as shown in
For example, in
In
A deletion condition in this case may be determined, for example, according to the elapse of time. For example, in
Note that, as shown in
In this embodiment, the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication between the wearable device and the gateway device may be set to connection or nonconnection on the basis of input information from the user. For example, a selection screen shown in
For example, in this embodiment, as shown in
Note that, as a method of setting the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication to connection or nonconnection, various methods can be adapted. For example, without display of the selection screen shown in
A configuration example of the power generating section 40 is shown in
By providing the power generating section 40 shown in
The power generating section 40 shown in
For example, in a wearable device such as a wrist-type electronic device (a watch such as a smart watch, a pulse meter of a wrist type, or an activity meter) in the past, the device alone cannot be connected to the Internet for a long period without being charged. On the other hand, in this embodiment, because the wearable device can be connected to the Internet by the loose coupling, power consumption can be reduced. Therefore, with only the generated power by the power generating section 40, it is possible to connect the wearable device to the Internet for a long period without charging the wearable device. The user does not have to carry both of the wearable device and the information communication terminal. It is possible to achieve improvement of convenience of the user.
Various application examples in which the communication system in this embodiment is used is explained. In this embodiment, notification processing and monitoring processing in which the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication is used are realized. For example, notification processing of notification information acquired on the basis of transmission of information concerning a wearable device by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication is performed. Monitoring information concerning an operation state of the wearable device and an environment of use is transmitted by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication.
Specifically, as explained with reference to
For example, in
In
The monitoring information concerning the operation state of the wearable device is, for example, monitoring information concerning operations (operations of a circuit, a sensor, and an element) of devices (the circuit, the sensor, the element, etc.) included in the wearable device and monitoring information concerning a physical quantity such as an electric current, a voltage, or magnetism generated in the wearable device. The monitoring information concerning the environment of use of the wearable device is monitoring information concerning an external environment and an internal environment of the wearable device. For example, the monitoring information concerning the environment of use is information including at least one of magnetic field information, temperature information, humidity information, air pressure information, magnetism information, weather information, gravity information, acceleration information, radiation information, illuminance information, and position information of the wearable device. The communication section 30 of the wearable device transmits these kinds of information to the gateway device through the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication.
Specifically, the processing section 20 of the wearable device performs monitoring processing of devices included in the wearable device. The processing section 20 performs, for example, monitoring processing of operation states of the devices. The devices are devices such as the power generating section 40 and the sensor section 54 shown in
For example, when the wearable device is a watch (a wristwatch) including turning hands, a device set as a target of the monitoring processing is a motor that drives the hands. For example, the watch includes the motor, a motor driving circuit that drives the motor, and a hand movement mechanism. The hand movement mechanism includes a gear train configured from a plurality of gears rotated by the motor and hands (a second hand, a minute hand, and an hour hand) rotated by the gear train. A load on the rotation of the motor fluctuates according to temperature, a change over time, a state of lubrication, an external magnetic field, or the like. The motor driving circuit changes the number of pulse stages (the length of a pulse width and a duty in a PWM) of a pulse signal for driving the motor such that driving is optimal with respect to a state of the load. The motor driving circuit outputs an auxiliary pulse signal when the motor does not rotate with a first pulse signal. In this case, monitoring information of an operation state of the motor is the pulse width of the pulse signal, presence or absence of output of the auxiliary pulse signal, information concerning the external magnetic field, and the like. The communication section 30 transmits the monitoring information acquired by the monitoring processing of the motor to the gateway device through the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication.
When a device set as a monitoring target is the power generating section 40 that generates electric power for operating the processing section 20 and the communication section 30, the processing section 20 performs monitoring processing of at least one of power generation amount information, power consumption amount information, and power balance information of the power generating section 40. The communication section 30 transmits at least one of the power generation amount information, the power consumption amount information, and the power balance information to the gateway device through the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication. For example, the processing section 20 detects a state of power generation of the solar panel 42 shown in
As shown in
The maintenance information and the operable time information are transmitted from the server SV to the gateway device GW and transmitted to the wearable device WD by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication. Notification processing of the maintenance information and the operable time information is performed in the wearable device WD.
That is, the processing section 20 performs notification processing for notifying of, as the notification information, the maintenance information concerning the maintenance of the wearable device. Specifically, the processing section 20 performs notification information for notifying of, as the maintenance information, announcement information concerning a maintenance service of the wearable device. For example, the processing section 20 performs notification processing of announcement information for announcing that the wearable device needs to receive the maintenance service. Alternatively, the processing section 20 performs notification processing for notifying of, as the notification information, operable time information representing an operable time of the wearable device. The operable time information can include information concerning a time in which the wearable device can operate, for example, from time designated by the user. The operable time information is calculated on the basis of, for example, a residual charge amount (residual battery power) of the wearable device. For example, by transmitting a residual charge amount of the secondary battery 46 and a power generation amount of the solar panel 42 shown in
In
In
Note that
The processing section 20 performs monitoring processing concerning a plurality of monitoring items of devices of the wearable device and acquires at least one of statistical information concerning each monitoring item of the plurality of monitoring items and log information in time series concerning each monitoring item. The communication section 30 transmits at least one of the statistical information and the log information to the gateway device through the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication.
For example, in
In
A method of using the statistical information shown in
The user properly uses these two types of methods as appropriate according to a power generation state of the power generating section and a residual charge amount of charging of a charged secondary battery. For example, when the residual charge amount is smaller than a predetermined value, the user automatically switches the wearable device to the method with a less communication amount and achieves power saving.
An example in which the method in this embodiment is applied to a watch, which is one kind of the wearable device, is explained.
For example, in a smartphone or a cellular phone, residual battery power can be displayed in detail with a high display ability thereof. However, in the watch, there is also a method of announcing with a second hand or the like that a battery will run out in several hours. However, in the present situation, even simple information concerning whether the residual battery power can last for one more week cannot be notified to the user.
It is important to grasp operation states of devices included in the watch and an environment of use of the user.
For example, in a machine mechanism such as a hand movement mechanism of the watch, a mechanical load fluctuates because of temperature, a change over time, a state of lubrication, an external magnetic field, or the like. For example, when the temperature drops, the load increases. When the load increases, the width of a driving pulse of a motor that drives a gear train increase, a consumed current increases, and a battery life decreases. When the product is used for many years, the load increases because of aged deterioration. Further, the load fluctuates because oil is deteriorated. The load also increases because of the external magnetic field, which is an external factor. When the load increases, the consumed current increases, the battery life decreases, and, in the worst case, the watch stops operation. Therefore, measures for reducing the load of the machine mechanism are necessary.
It is also important to grasp an environment of use of the user. For example, if a frequency of exposure of the watch to the external magnetic field is high, the same phenomenon as the phenomenon that occurs when the load is heavy occurs.
By learning the environment of use of the user, it is possible to grasp a situation of the watch that needs to be repaired. For example, when the watch is brought in for repairing because of a failure, a defect is not reproduced in many cases. By reducing such cases, inconvenience of the user bringing in the product many times can be eliminated. A nonsense claim that a product in a non-defective product range is considered a defective product can be treated by learning the environment of use and deviation of a design indicator. For example, in the case of an environment of use in which the user wears a magnetic bracelet on an arm together with the watch, even if only the watch is brought in for repairing, a situation cannot be grasped. Grasp of such a situation has to be determined by measuring the residual magnetization in the watch brought in for repairing. However, if a situation of external magnetization used in the watch can be grasped, it is possible to give more appropriate advice or the like.
At present, when design and evaluation of the product are performed, a standard is created assuming a scene of use of the user. The quality of the product is guaranteed for a long period of years while performing various adjustments. However, the assumption of the scene of use of the user is not always proper. When the product is brought in for repairing of a defect, because a defective product, which is the product in question, is repaired, it is possible to grasp a situation. However, concerning a defective product not brought in, there is no means for learning a situation. Concerning a product treated as a non-defective product, under the present situation, it cannot be grasped whether the product is an operating product within the assumption of the standard.
Therefore, in this embodiment, a bidirectional wireless communication system is mounted on the watch. Firmware for performing processing for accumulating monitoring result data, which is small data, is incorporated in the watch. The small data is periodically or non-periodically uploaded to a server of a manufacturer or the like. A mechanism for treating the small data as big data is constructed in the server. A gap between an environment of use of the user and assumption of the manufacturer is measured on the basis of the big data. It is determined whether the watch is normal, abnormal, or a confirmation required item. If the watch is abnormal, maintenance and inspection is performed or immediate measures are taken. If the watch is the confirmation required item, an experiment or the like is performed for confirmation to take measures. This leads to development of a better product.
That is, in this embodiment, by enabling upload of information concerning various states (an operation state and a state of an environment) of the watch, it is possible to realize maintenance and conservation of the watch and further realize improvement of a technique for development of abetter product by utilizing the information. Preventive conservation can be achieved by collecting information concerning the influence of an environment of use. For example, when a frequency of exposure of the watch to the external magnetic field is high, the same phenomenon as the phenomenon that occurs when the load is heavy occurs. Therefore, it is desirable that information concerning such an external magnetic field can be collected. When the watch includes a power generating section such as a solar panel, it is possible to appropriately predict occurrence of battery exhaustion by grasping a power generation amount, a power consumption amount, and a power balance.
For example, data (small data) for one day to several days only has to be accumulated in a storing section of the watch. Long-term data (big data) is stored in a storing section (a cloud) of the server. The system is operated to analyze the stored data at a frequency of, for example, approximately one month and feed back an analysis result.
The wearable device in this embodiment is constantly connectable to the Internet. Therefore, it is possible to acquire a log of a past history of the wearable device. It is possible to announce more accurate maintenance information, residual battery power information, and the like with display, sound notification, or the like.
In
An oscillation circuit 64 causes an oscillator XTAL to oscillate to generate a reference signal of 32 KHz or the like. A divider circuit 66 divides the reference signal and supplies a clock signal of, for example, 1 Hz to the processing section 20. The processing section 20 operates on the basis of firmware (a program) or the like stored in the storing section 50 and controls the motor driving circuit 70. The motor driving circuit 70 supplies a driving pulse signal to the motor 72 (a step motor) under the control by the processing section 20 to operate the hand movement mechanism 80 and drive to rotate a second hand 81, a minute hand 82, and an hour hand 83 shown in
As shown in
As shown in
In the first period, the transistors TA1 and TA4 of the bridge circuit are turned on by driving pulse signals DR1 and DR4, whereby an electric current flowing from a node N1 to a node N2 flows to the coil 73. In the second period, the transistors TA2 and TA3 of the bridge circuit are turned on by driving pulse signals DR2 and DR3, whereby an electric current flowing from the node N2 to the node N1 flows to the coil 73. The electric current flows to the coil 73, whereby the rotor 75 rotates. When a load is heavy because of calendar feed or the like, the rotor 75 does not completely rotate to be in nonrotation. In this case, rotation and nonrotation of the rotor 75 can be detected by detecting the residual magnetism of the coil 73 with the magnetism detection circuit configured by the resistors RA1 and RA2, the transistors TA5 and TA6, and the detection circuit 71. Specifically, after rotation driving by a driving pulse, rotation and nonrotation can be detected by detecting, with the detection circuit 71 configured by a chopper amplification circuit, voltages induced at both ends of the coil 73. Note that details of the motor driving circuit 70 are disclosed in PTL 3 described above.
For example, after rotation driving of the rotor 75 is performed in a driving pulse P1, rotation or nonrotation of the rotor 75 is detected in SP2. SP2 is a sampling period of the driving pulse P1. In SP2, for example, the transistors TA5 and TA6 of the magnetism detection circuit shown in
In the motor driving of the watch, for a reduction in power consumption, the number of pulse stages of the driving pulse P1 are adaptively controlled. The number of pulse stages is equivalent to a pulse width of the driving pulse P1 and a duty in a comb teeth pulse of PWM. For example, as the number of pulse stages is larger, the pulse width is longer and the duty is larger. The rotor 75 can be rotated resisting a larger load. In this embodiment, processing for updating the number of pulse stages (the pulse width and the duty) in each predetermined period (e.g., two minutes) is performed. For example, it is assumed that the number of pulse stages of the driving pulse P1 can be set in a range of 1 to 16 and the number of pulse stages is set to 12. In this case, when the predetermined period (two minutes) elapses, the number of pulse stages of the driving pulse P1 is reduced by, for example, one and set to 11. When the rotor 75 does not rotate, the auxiliary pulse P2 is output to rotate the rotor 75 and reset the number of pulse stages to 12. On the other hand, when the number of pulses is 11 and the rotor 75 rotates, the number of pulse stages is further reduced by one and set to 10. For example, the number of pulse stages is maintained during the predetermined period. Because the number of pulse stages decreases, a motor driving time decreases. Power consumption by the motor driving can be reduced. For example, a load on, for example, the rotation of the rotor 75 fluctuates because of temperature, a change over time, a state of lubrication, or an external magnetic field, or the like. However, if the number of pulse stages is adaptively controlled in this way, it is possible to drive the motor 72 at the number of pulse stages optimal for the fluctuating load. It is possible to realize a reduction in power consumption.
In this embodiment, such monitoring processing of the driving of the motor 72 is performed to acquire statistical information concerning the monitoring items.
First, it is determined whether one second has elapsed. When one second has elapsed, a start instruction for hardware processing of pulse generation is performed (steps S1 and S2). For example, the processing section 20 performs a start instruction for hardware processing by the motor driving circuit 70 or the like. The processing section 20 determines whether the hardware processing has ended (step S3).
When the hardware processing has ended, the processing section 20 determines whether an external magnetic field is generated. When an external magnetic field is generated, the processing section 20 increments a value of an external magnetic field generation counter by one (steps S4 and S5). Specifically, when generation of an external magnetic field is detected in SP0 and SP1 of
Subsequently, the processing section 20 determines whether nonrotation of the rotor 75 is detected. When nonrotation of the rotor 75 is detected, the processing section 20 increments a value of the nonrotation counter by one (steps S6 and S7). Specifically, when nonrotation of the rotor 75 is detected in SP2 of
Subsequently, the processing section 20 determines the number of pulse stages and increments a value of a pulse counter corresponding to the number of pulse stages by one (steps S8 to S18). For example, when the number of pulse stages is 12, the processing section 20 increments a value of a pulse counter at a twelfth stage by one. When the number of pulse stages decreases by one from 12 to be 11, the processing section 20 increments a value of a pulse counter at an eleventh stage by one.
By performing the processing shown in
For example, a frequency of generation of an external magnetic field can be grasped, for example, on the basis of the counter value of the external magnetic field generation counter. A frequency of generation of the auxiliary pulse P2 can be grasped on the basis of the count value of the nonrotation counter. A frequency distribution and the like of the number of pulse stages can be obtained on the basis of the count values of the pulse counters of the numbers of pulse stages. Consequently, it is possible to grasp a situation of a load of the hand movement mechanism 80 and grasp a situation of a load that fluctuates because of, for example, temperature, a change over time, and a lubrication state.
For example, when the number of pulse stages is always high or when the auxiliary pulse P2 is continuously generated, it is possible to determine that a strong external magnetic field due to a magnetic bracelet or the like is present or determine that a lubrication state is deteriorated. In this case, for example, the notification processing shown in
For example, it is possible to determine on the basis of the monitoring items of the power generation state and the charging state whether a power balance between solar power generation and power consumption of the watch is within an assumed specified range. It is possible to grasp an environment of use of the user on the basis of the monitoring items of the temperature, the humidity, the air pressure, the magnetism (direction), and the acceleration. For example, a use temperature in an environment of the user can be confirmed according to the monitoring item of the temperature. Water proof performance and a state of dew concentration can be confirmed according to the monitoring item of the humidity. The north latitude and the east longitude of the position of the user are seen on the basis of the monitoring item of the GPS position. It is possible to predict weather (illuminance of the sunlight, etc.) in an environment of use. It is possible to grasp a stock state indicating whether the watch is placed in a store or a warehouse or put in a drawer of a desk of the user. As the monitoring items in the watch, besides, various items such as detection of a deviation amount of an oscillation frequency of quartz, a time reception success ratio in a radio wave timepiece, an implementation frequency of automatic hand position detection and hand position correction, and an inner magnetization amount by a magnetic sensor can be assumed.
As explained above, according to this embodiment, by uploading monitoring information concerning an environment of operation and an environment of use of the wearable device such as the watch to the server through the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication, it is possible to perform failure diagnosis and deterioration diagnosis of the wearable device. By feeding back result data of the failure diagnosis and the deterioration diagnosis to the user with the notification processing or feeding back the result data to a repairing company, it is possible to prevent a failure beforehand or accurately determine a history in the past during repairing. The result data can also be used as information for producing a product having much better quality during development of the next product. For example, it is possible to improve mechanical and electrical quality of the product including, for example, a motor to a gear train and improve the quality of software processing.
In the wearable device such as the watch, consumption of a battery greatly changes according to a state of use of the wearable device. Therefore, accurate timing of battery exhaustion cannot be grasped simply with a time from battery replacement. In this regard, in this embodiment, by storing a state of use of the wearable device in a maintenance management server (a database) by the constant connection by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication and severally reading out information concerning the state of use, it is possible to realize appropriate maintenance processing for notifying of battery exhaustion.
In this embodiment, remote control of a control object in which the loosely coupled short-range wiring communication is used is realized. Specifically, as shown in
As shown in
Processing for remotely controlling a control object is, for example, processing in which the processing section 20 instructs or permits the remote control of the control object. Alternatively, the processing for remotely controlling the control object is, for example, processing for transmitting information for performing the remote control. The information for performing the remote control is, for example, instruction information and permission information for the remote control and information for authentication and information for behavior prediction of the user for the remote control.
As the control object, for example, as shown in
For example, when the control object is the elevator EV, when the user, who is a user of the elevator EV, comes close to a landing of the elevator EV, the elevator EV is remotely controlled to automatically come to the landing. When the user approaches an intersection, a device set in a road or the intersection is remotely controlled to send intersection information and a message for calling attention. Alternatively, a device mounted on the automobile CA near the intersection is remotely controlled to notify a driver of approach of the user, who is a pedestrian. When the control object is a home of the user (the smart house HS) or the automobile CA (a car of the user), when the user approaches the home or the automobile CA, a key is remotely controlled to be automatically locked. When it is determined that the user is about to go back home, devices in the home are remotely controlled to prepare for meeting before the user arrives at home. For example, a switch of the heating device is turned on and hot water is filled in a bathtub. When the user encounters a disaster, the disaster related device is automatically controlled to automatically notify of the position of the user and demand a rescue.
That is, constant connection of the wearable device in this embodiment to the computer communication network is secured by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication. Therefore, even if there is a position at a distance where a radio wave does not directly reach the control object, it is possible to remotely control the control object through the computer communication network such as the Internet. By using user information stored in the server or the like of the Internet, it is possible to perform preferential processing and behavior prediction control of the user explained below. It is possible to realize unprecedented remote control.
In
The server 200 includes the processing section 220, the communication section 230, and the storing section 250.
The processing section 220 of the server 200 includes an authentication processing section 222, a behavior-prediction processing section 224, and a service-provision processing section 226. The authentication processing section 222 performs authentication processing for authenticating the user. The behavior-prediction processing section 224 performs behavior prediction processing for predicting a behavior of the user. The service-provision processing section 226 performs various kinds of processing for providing a service of remote control of the control target device 300 to the user.
The storing section 250 (a database) of the server 200 includes a user-information storing section 252 and a service-information storing section 254. The user-information storing section 252 stores user information. The user information includes, for example, personal data (a name, a date of birth, a telephone number, etc.) of the user, a user ID and a password concerning the service of the remote control, or specific information (a service ID, etc.) of the service of the remote control provided to the user. The service-information storing section 254 stores information concerning the service of the remote control. For example, the service-information storing section 254 stores various kinds of information concerning the service of the remote control that can be provided to the user.
The control target device 300 includes a control section 320, a communication section 330, a storing section 350, an operation section 360, and a machine mechanism 370.
The control section 320 performs various kinds of control processing of the control target device 300. The control section 320 can be realized by hardware such as an ASIC for control and a processor, various programs, and the like. The communication section 330 performs processing of communication via the computer communication network INT such as the Internet. For example, the communication section 330 performs processing of communication conforming to the specifications of the Ethernet or the TCP/IP. The control target device 300 can be communicatively connected to the computer communication network INT and the server 200 by the communication of the communication section 330. The communication section 330 can be realized by an ASIC for communication, a processor for communication, firmware for communication, or the like.
The storing section 350 stores various kinds of information. The storing section 350 functions as a work area of the control section 320 and the communication section 330. The storing section 350 can be realized by a semiconductor memory (a DRAM or a VRAM), a HDD, or the like. The operation section 360 is a device for performing various kinds of operation of the control target device 300. The machine mechanism 370 is a portion configuring a machine of the control target device 300. The machine mechanism 370 is, for example, a car of an elevator, an arm of a robot, or an engine ora steering mechanism of a car.
In the control system in this embodiment, authentication processing of the user is performed. Remote control of the control object for preferentially processing the user authenticated by the authentication processing is performed.
Specifically, as shown in
The remote control for preferentially processing the user is remote control for preferentially treating the authenticated user compared with other users. For example, as the preferential processing (differentiating processing), processing of VIP treatment is performed on the user. For example, it is assumed that, in a congested restaurant where people are waiting in a long line, a user set as a target of the preferential processing of the VIP treatment is visiting the restaurant. In this case, the remote control of the preferential processing for leading the user into the restaurant through another route is performed. For example, a notification device set in the restaurant is remotely controlled to perform processing for notifying a restaurant manager that the VIP user is visiting the restaurant. Alternatively, a guidance device set in the restaurant is remotely controlled to perform guidance display for moving the VIP user through a route different from other users. That is, in a facility such as a store, a restaurant, or an amusement facility, when a user is a VIP user or the like, devices of the facility is remotely controlled to differentiate the user from other users.
When the control object is a robot and a user set as a target of the preferential processing comes, the robot is remotely controlled to approach the user and provide various services to the user. When the control object is a smart house and a user set as a target of the preferential processing comes, various devices set in the smart house are remotely controlled to provide various services to the user.
In the control system in this embodiment, behavior prediction processing of the user is performed. Remote control of the control object is performed on the basis of a result of the behavior prediction processing.
Specifically, as shown in
For example, in
Similarly, in
If the behavior prediction processing of the user is performed in this way, compared with when the remote control is performed without performing the behavior prediction processing, a temporal margin is generated for the remote control. It is possible to realize more appropriate remote control reflecting a behavior of the user.
In the control system in this embodiment, the behavior prediction processing of the user is performed on the basis of at least one of information acquired from the wearable device by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication and schedule information of the user. For example, in
Specifically, the communication section 30 of the wearable device transmits, as the information for behavior prediction, at least one of position information of the wearable device, environment information measured by the wearable device, and biological information of the user measured by the wearable device to the gateway device through the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication. The behavior prediction processing of the user is performed on the basis of the position information, the environment information, or the biological information and the scheduled information. The remote control of the control object COB is executed.
For example, position information of the user can be acquired on the basis of a GPS provided in the wearable device. In the schedule information, a schedule concerning when and where the user is present is described. Therefore, by using both of the position information and the schedule information, it is possible to realize more highly accurate behavior prediction processing and realize more appropriate remote control. Further, if the behavior prediction processing is performed taking into account, for example, environment information such as temperature, humidity, air pressure, or weather in the position of the wearable device and biological information of the user and the remote control of the control object is performed, it is possible to realize appropriate remote control corresponding to a situation and a state of the user. For example, by using the environment information, it is possible to predict a behavior of the user corresponding to a state of an environment (e.g., weather). By using the biological information such as a pulse of the user, it is possible to determine whether the user is in a hurry.
In the control system in this embodiment, the behavior prediction processing of the user may be performed on the basis of connection history information of a plurality of gateway devices communicatively connected to the wearable device by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication. For example, an example of the connection history information is shown in
For example, the server can acquire information concerning setting positions of the gateway devices GWA, GWB GWC, and GWD. Therefore, it is possible to predict a position and a moving route of the user by using the setting positions and the connection history information shown in
In this embodiment, when the user wearing the wearable device such as the watch is leading a life, the wearable device is constantly connected to the Internet by the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication. Electric power is generated by solar power generation or the like to operate the wearable device with low power to prevent the wearable device from being taken off from an arm or the like to charge the wearable device. Because the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication consumes little electric power, it is easy to operate the wearable device with low power. Even if the user wearing the wearable device moves to various places, because the wearable device and the gateway device are connected by the loosely coupled wireless communication in which pairing is not performed, complicated processing such as release of pairing is unnecessary. On the other hand, comparison of the schedule information of the user registered in the server or the like and the present time, comparison of a position in the past and the present position, and the like are performed. For a behavior analysis of each person, artificial intelligence and deep learning are performed and behavior prediction of the user is performed. Consequently, it is possible to comprehensively determine information indicating how many minutes earlier the user tends to enter a destination, indicating that the user is in a hurry because of the speed of a pulse, indicating that the user has time to spare because the user is moving slowly. It is possible to realize the remote control of the control object. The user has an advantage that, simply by wearing the wearable device, the user can be automatically provided with a highly valuable service corresponding to a behavior of the user even by a remote device to which a radio wave does not directly reach.
In
The control section 420 performs various kinds of control processing of the elevator. The control section 420 can be realized by hardware such as an ASIC for control or a processor, various programs, and the like. The control section 420 includes an elevation/lowering control section 422 that performs elevation/lowering control processing of the car 470.
The communication section 430 performs processing of communication conforming to the specifications of the Ethernet or the TCP/IP and communicatively connects the elevator to the computer communication network INT. The storing section 450 is configured by a semiconductor memory or the like and stores an operation program of the elevator and various data. The operation section 460 is a section for the user to perform operation of the elevator. The operation section 460 includes landing buttons provided in a landing and destination buttons provided in the car 470. The sensor 462 is a sensor that detects a fire, earthquake, power failure state and the like. The car-position detecting section 464 detects the position of the car 470 and outputs a detection signal to the control section 420. The car-position detecting section 464 detects the position of the car 470 and outputs a detection signal to the control section 420. The driving control device 468 controls a winding motor and a door motor of the car 470. The car 470 is a portion on which people ride. The car 470 is elevated and lowered by the winding motor. The display device 480 displays occurrence of a fire, earthquake, or power failure state to the user. The alarm 482 notifies the occurrence of the fire, earthquake, or power failure state with sound or the like.
When performing the remote control explained with reference to
In
The control section 520 is a section that performs various kinds of control processing of the robot. The control section 520 can be realized by hardware such as an ASIC for control or a processor, various programs, and the like. The control section 520 includes a driving control section 522 that performs driving control processing of the robot mechanism 570. The communication section 530 performs processing of communication conforming to the specifications of the Ethernet or the TCP/IP and communicatively connects the robot to the computer communication network INT. The storing section 550 is configured by a semiconductor memory or the like and stores a robot control program and various data.
The target-value output section 560 output a target value of feedback control of the robot on the basis of sensor information and the like output from the force sensor 580. Feedback control of the robot is realized on the basis of the target value. The target-value output section 560 can include a track generating section and an inverse-kinematics processing section. The force sensor 580 is a sensor for performing force control such as impedance control of the robot. The force sensor 580 is attached to a wrist portion or the like of an arm 574 of the robot. The force sensor 580 outputs a detected force or moment as sensor information. The robot mechanism 570 includes a driving section 572 and the arm 574. The driving section 572 is a driving mechanism for moving joints of the arm 574 of the robot and moving the robot. The driving section 572 is configured by a motor or the like. By performing driving control of the driving section 572 with the driving control section 522 of the control section 520, it is possible to move the arm 574 (double arms or a single arm) of the robot and move the robot.
When performing the remote control in this embodiment, the control section 520 receives instruction information or permission information of the remote control, designation information of service content, and the like from the server or the like via the computer communication network INT and the communication section 530. Alternatively, the control section 520 may receive these kinds of information from the wearable device WD directly or via the computer communication network INT and the communication section 530. The driving control section 522 of the control section 520 performs driving control of, for example, the driving section 572 of the robot mechanism 570 to perform the remote control in this embodiment. For example, when a user set as a target of preferential processing comes, the driving control section 522 performs the driving control such that the robot approaches the user and performs various preferential services. For example, the driving control section 522 controls the robot to move to the user, move the arm 574 to provide the various preferential services, and output, with a not-shown sound output section, various kinds of sound for the preferential services. In this case, a program module for executing remote control processing such as preferential processing is incorporated in the robot control program stored in the storing section 550. The driving control section 522 executes the remote control processing using the program module.
Note that this embodiment is explained in detail above. However, those skilled in the art could easily understand that many modifications not substantially departing from the new matters and the effects of the invention are possible. Therefore, it is assumed that all such modifications are included in the scope of the invention. For example, the terms (the advertising packet, the Internet, the active scan, the wearable device, the loosely coupled short-range wireless communication, etc.) described together with the broader-sense or synonymous different terms (the presence notification packet, the computer communication network, the scan, the electronic device, the short-range wireless communication, etc.) at least once in the specification or the drawings can be replaced with the different terms in any parts of the specification or the drawings. All combinations of this embodiment and the modifications are included in the scope of the invention. The configurations, the operations, and the like of the wearable device, the communication system, the control system, the gateway device, and the server are not limited to those explained in the embodiment. Various modified implementations are possible.
Further, the invention has the following advantages because the wearable device is used. That is, the wearable device is worn on the body and is not left behind. With a vibration function or the like, the user can directly sense necessary information in the body, for example, even while taking a shower. Even if a physical problem occurs while the user is taking a bath, the user can automatically request and provide information. Further, safe, healthy, and comfortable life can be obtained. Because the wearable device is hands-free, the motion of the user is not limited during driving of an automobile. The user can unknowingly use the wearable device without stopping concurrently ongoing other work.
In the communication in the invention, secure communication applied with measures against impersonation is necessary. During the communication, it is desirable to perform individual authentication by an ID number or biological sensing.
WT, WT1 to WT3 watch, LD biological sensor device, HMD head-mounted display device, SP information communication terminal, GW, GW1 to GWN gateway device, BNT short-range wireless communication network, INT computer communication network, SV server, EV elevator, HS smart house, RB robot, CA car, WD, WD1, WD2 wearable device, wearable device, 20 processing section, 30 communication section, 40 power generating section, 42 solar panel, 44 charging control section, 46 secondary battery, 50 storing section, 54 sensor section, 60 input section, 61 operation section, 62 output section, 64 oscillation circuit, 66 divider circuit, 70 motor driving circuit, 71 detection circuit, 72 motor, 73 coil, 74 stator, 75 rotor, 80 hand movement mechanism, 81 second hand, 82 minute hand, 83 hour hand, 84 gear train, 88 hand-position detecting section, 100 gateway device, 120 processing section, 130, 140 communication section, 150 storing section, 200 server, 220 processing section, 230 communication section, 250 storing section
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-015937 | Jan 2016 | JP | national |
| 2016-015938 | Jan 2016 | JP | national |
| 2016-015841 | Jan 2018 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2017/002154 | 1/23/2017 | WO | 00 |
