US20210158683A1 - Method and electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

A method implemented by a computer, the method includes: detecting a position of an electronic device capable of communicating with a portable device; setting a range of a position at which the electronic device provides a notification pertaining to the portable device based on a position of the electronic device that has communicated with the portable device; and providing the notification based on the range set in the setting and the position of the electronic device detected in the detecting of a position.

Description

• This is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/774,928 filed Oct. 23, 2015, which is the U.S. National Stage of International Application No. PCT/JP2013/081415 filed Nov. 21, 2013, which claims priority from Japanese Application No. 2013-047855 filed in Japan on Mar. 11, 2013 and Japanese Application No. 2013-047856 filed in Japan on Mar. 11, 2013. The disclosure of each of the prior applications is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
• The present invention relates to a method and an electronic device.
BACKGROUND ART
• There has been conventionally suggested technologies for preventing an article from being misplaced or being taken for someone else's article by mistake. For example,Patent Document 1 suggests a method of managing overage or shortage of clubs by attaching IC (Integrated Circuit) tags to golf clubs and using detection results of an IC tag detection unit located at a point passed by after the end of each hole. Moreover, for example, Patent Document 2 suggests a technique relating to a mark used to prevent a mistake of shoes.
PRIOR ART DOCUMENTSPatent Documents
• Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-223551
• Patent Document 2: Japanese Registered Utility Model No. 3017835
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONProblems to be Solved by the Invention
• However, the method ofPatent Document 1 limits the location capable of managing overage or shortage of clubs, and is not always user friendly because a player cannot know the place where a club was misplaced when the club was misplaced in the middle of the hole.
• The technique disclosed in Patent Document 2 condemns a user to attach the mark to user's shoes, and thereby is not user friendly.
• The present invention has been made in the view of above problems, and aims to provide a method and an electronic device capable of offering improved user convenience in preventing a user from misplacing an article or taking someone else's article by mistake.
Means for Solving the Problems
• The electronic device of the present invention includes: a communication unit that communicates with a first device through intra-body communication conducted via a user or through proximity communication; a detection unit that detects when communication between the communication unit and the first device is to be established; and a notification unit that, when the detection unit detects that the communication between the communication unit and the first device is to be established, provides a notification pertaining to the first device based on a communication state between the communication unit and the first device.
• In this case, the notification unit may provide the notification in accordance with the communication state between the communication unit and the first device. In the electronic device of the present invention, the communication state between the communication unit and the first device may be determined based on a reception state of identification information of the first device.
• Additionally, the electronic device of the present invention may include an action detection unit that detects an action of the user, wherein the detection unit may detect when the communication between the communication unit and the first device is to be established based on an action of the user detected by the action detection unit. Additionally, in the electronic device of the present invention, the detection unit may detect when the communication between the communication unit and the first device is to be established based on a contact state between a device capable of communicating with the communication unit and the user.
• In addition, the electronic device of the present invention may include: a position detecting unit that detects positional information of the user, wherein the detection unit may detect when the communication between the communication unit and the first device is to be established based on the positional information of the user. Furthermore, in the electronic device of the present invention, the notification unit may notify a position where the communication between the communication unit and the first device was disconnected.
• Additionally, one of the first device and the electronic device may be installed in an article used by the user, and another of the first device and the electronic device may be held by the user. Additionally, the electronic device may be a device wearable by the user.
• Additionally, the electronic device of the present invention may include a registration unit that registers the first device in the electronic device. In this case, the registration unit may perform the registration while the user has the first device in user's hand.
• The electronic device of the present invention includes: a communication unit that communicates with a first device and a second device different from the first device through intra-body communication conducted via a first user or through proximity communication; a detection unit that detects when communication between the communication unit and the first device and communication between the communication unit and the second device are to be established; and a notification unit that, when the detection unit detects that the communication between the communication unit and the first device and the communication between the communication unit and the second device are to be established, notifies the first user based on a communication state between the communication unit and the first device and a communication state between the communication unit and the second device.
• In this case, the detection unit may detect when he communication between the communication unit and the first device and the communication between the communication unit and the second device are to be established based on at least one of positional information of the first user and moving information of the first user. Moreover, the detection unit may detect when communication between one of the first device and the second device and the communication unit is to be established based on whether the first user used another of the first device and the second device. Moreover, the detection unit may detect when communication between one of the first device and the second device and the communication unit is to be established based on whether the first user has moved a predetermined distance away from a position where communication between the communication unit and another of the first device and the second device was disconnected.
• Moreover, in the electronic device of the present invention, the notification unit may provide the notification in accordance with a determination result of whether at least one of the first device and the second device is held by a second user different from the first user. Additionally, the electronic device of the present invention may include a prohibiting unit that prohibits notification by the notification unit when the first user does not move.
• Additionally, in the electronic device of the present invention, when the detection unit detects when the communication between the communication unit and the first device and the communication between the communication unit and the second device are to be established based on at least one of the positional information of the first user and the moving information of the first user, the positional information of the first user and the moving information of the first user may be detected by a single sensor.
Effects of the Invention
• The present invention provides a method and an electronic device capable of offering improved user convenience in preventing the user from misplacing an article or taking someone else's article by mistake.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
• FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration of an electronic device system in accordance with a first embodiment;
• FIG. 2A illustrates an article installed with an article-side device of the first embodiment, andFIG. 2B andFIG. 2C illustrate a situation where the electronic device system is used;
• FIG. 3A is a flowchart of an exemplary process executed by a mobile device in a pairing process of the first embodiment, andFIG. 3B is a flowchart of an exemplary process executed by the article-side device;
• FIG. 4 illustrates a pairing information table;
• FIG. 5A is a flowchart of an exemplary process executed by the mobile device in a determination process of the first embodiment, andFIG. 5B is a flowchart of an exemplary process executed by the article-side device;
• FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the process ofFIG. 5A;
• FIG. 7 illustrates a configuration of an electronic device system in accordance with a second embodiment;
• FIG. 8A illustrates an article installed with an article-side device of the second embodiment, andFIG. 8B andFIG. 8C illustrate a situation where the electronic device system is used;
• FIG. 9A is a flowchart of an exemplary process executed by a mobile device in a determination process of the second embodiment, andFIG. 9B is a flowchart of an exemplary process executed by the article-side device;
• FIG. 10 illustrates a configuration of an electronic device system in accordance with a third embodiment;
• FIG. 11A illustrates an article installed with an article-side device of the third embodiment, andFIG. 11B andFIG. 11C illustrate a situation where the electronic device system is used;
• FIG. 12A is a flowchart of an exemplary process executed by a mobile device of the third embodiment, andFIG. 12B is a flowchart of an exemplary process executed by the article-side device;
• FIG. 13 illustrates a configuration of an electronic device system in accordance with a fourth embodiment;
• FIG. 14 illustrates a situation where the electronic device system of the fourth embodiment is used;
• FIG. 15 illustrates a golf club and an installation position of a club device;
• FIG. 16 is a flowchart of an exemplary process executed by a control unit of a mobile terminal in accordance with the fourth embodiment;
• FIG. 17 is a flowchart of an exemplary notification process executed by the control unit of the mobile terminal in accordance with the fourth embodiment;
• FIG. 18A throughFIG. 18F are diagrams for explaining the processes ofFIG. 16 andFIG. 17;
• FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating a variation of the process executed by the control unit of the mobile terminal of the fourth embodiment; and
• FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a variation of the notification process executed by the control unit of the mobile terminal of the fourth embodiment.
MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTIONFirst Embodiment
• Hereinafter, a detailed description will be given of a first embodiment based onFIG. 1 throughFIG. 6.FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of anelectronic device system500A in accordance with the first embodiment. Theelectronic device system500A includes amobile device50A and an article-side device60A as illustrated inFIG. 1.
• (Article-Side Device60A)
• The article-side device60A is installed in, for example, articles such as shoes and an umbrella owned by a user. In the present embodiment, as illustrated inFIG. 2A, the article-side device60A is located in the inside of or on the surface of ahandle71 of anumbrella70A owned by the user.
• The article-side device60A includes, as illustrated inFIG. 1, astorage unit61, acommunication unit62, and acontrol unit63.
• Thestorage unit61 is a non-volatile semiconductor memory such as a flash memory, and stores information used to identify the article-side device60A. In the present embodiment, thestorage unit61 stores the ID number of the article-side device60A.
• Thecommunication unit62 communicates with other devices through proximity communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), Felica (registered trademark), or RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), or through intra-body communication conducted via the user. In the present embodiment, thecommunication unit62 includes anelectrode unit621 and anintra-body communication unit622 that performs intra-body communication with use of theelectrode unit621, theelectrode unit621 being located in a position that comes in contact with the user (e.g., in a part of thehandle71 illustrated inFIG. 2A) in the article installed with the article-side device60A. Theintra-body communication unit622 communicates with anintra-body communication unit512 of themobile device50A described later, and transmits the ID number of the article-side device60A stored in thestorage unit61 to themobile device50A. The intra-body communication is performed by an electric current method that transmits information by passing a minute electric current through a human body and modulating the electric current, an electric field method that transmits information by modulating an electric field induced on the surface of a human body, or the like. The present embodiment may employ any of the above methods. The intra-body communication is possible not only when the user does not wear anything on user's hands (i.e., when theelectrode unit621 makes contact with user's hand) but also when the user wears gloves (i.e., when theelectrode unit621 faces user's hand).
• When the article-side device60A is installed in a shoe, theelectrode unit621 may be located in a position that makes contact with the foot of the user in the shoe such as the inner side surface of the shoe or a sockliner. In this case, the intra-body communication is possible not only when the user does not wear anything on the foot (i.e., when theelectrode unit621 makes contact with the foot) but also when the user wears socks (i.e., when theelectrode unit621 faces the foot).
• Thecontrol unit63 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a ROM (Read Only Memory), and overall controls the article-side device60A. A process executed by thecontrol unit63 will be described in detail later.
• (Mobile Device50A)
• Themobile device50A is an information device that is used while being carried by the user. Themobile device50A may be a mobile phone, a smartphone, a PHS (Personal Handy-phone System), or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). In the present embodiment, assume that themobile device50A is a smartphone. Themobile device50A has a telephone function, a communication function for connecting to the Internet or the like, and a data processing function for executing programs. Necessary components of themobile device50A may be provided to an article such as a watch, glasses, or an acoustic aid wearable by the user to allow them to function as the mobile device.
• As illustrated inFIG. 1, themobile device50A includes acommunication unit51, astorage unit52, acontrol unit53, amicrophone54, animage capture unit55, anacceleration sensor56, aposition detecting unit57, acalendar unit58, and anotification unit59.
• Thecommunication unit51 communicates with other devices through proximity communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), Felica (registered trademark), or RFID, or through intra-body communication conducted via a human body. In the present embodiment, thecommunication unit51 includes anelectrode unit511 and theintra-body communication unit512 that performs intra-body communication with use of theelectrode unit511, theelectrode unit511 being located in a part of themobile device50A (e.g., an outer surface making contact with user's hand). Theintra-body communication unit512 communicates with the article-side device60A through intra-body communication while the user makes contact with the article, and receives the ID number of the article-side device60A stored in thestorage unit61 of the aforementioned article-side device60A from the article-side device60A. The intra-body communication is possible not only when the user makes direct contact with themobile device50A but also when the user wears gloves (i.e., when theelectrode unit511 faces user's hand) or when themobile device50A is put in a pocket of a shirt worn by the user.
• Thestorage unit52 is a non-volatile semiconductor memory such as a flash memory or a hard disk drive, and stores the ID number received from the article-side device60A.
• Thecontrol unit53 includes a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM, and overall controls themobile device50A. Thecontrol unit53 executes a pairing process that pairs the article-side device60A installed in an article owned by the user and themobile device50A, and a determination process that determines whether the article picked up or put on by the user is user's article. The details of each process executed by thecontrol unit53 will be described later.
• Themicrophone54 collects sounds around themobile device50A. The acoustic data of sounds collected by themicrophone54 is input to thecontrol unit53.
• Theimage capture unit55 captures an image (a still image, a moving image). The image captured by theimage capture unit55 is input to thecontrol unit53.
• Theacceleration sensor56 detects the acceleration of themobile device50A, and outputs the detection result to thecontrol unit53.
• Theposition detecting unit57 includes, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor, and detects and outputs positional information of the user to thecontrol unit53.
• Thecalendar unit58 obtains and outputs time information such as year, month, day, and time to thecontrol unit53.
• Thenotification unit59 notifies the user of results of the pairing process and the determination process executed by thecontrol unit53 based on the control of thecontrol unit53, and includes adisplay unit591, aloudspeaker592, and avibration unit593.
• Thedisplay unit591 is, for example, a device using a liquid crystal display element, and displays the results of the pairing process and the determination process based on the control of thecontrol unit53. Theloudspeaker592 notifies the user of the results of the pairing process and the determination process with a sound based on the control of thecontrol unit53. Thevibration unit593 notifies the user of the results of the pairing process and the determination process by vibration based on the control of thecontrol unit53.
• (Pairing Process)
• A description will next be given of the pairing process between the article-side device60A and themobile device50A with reference to flowcharts ofFIG. 3A andFIG. 3B. The pairing process is executed when the user registers user's article, such as an umbrella or shoes, that the user does not want to mistake or easily mistakes for someone else's article in themobile device50A.
• FIG. 3A is a flowchart of an exemplary process executed by thecontrol unit53 of themobile device50A, andFIG. 3B is a flowchart of an exemplary process executed by thecontrol unit63 of the article-side device60A. In the present embodiment, the process ofFIG. 3A is started when the user carrying themobile device50A set to an “initial setting mode” picks up or puts on an article (an umbrella, shoes) to be paired (seeFIG. 2B), and when the intra-body communication between themobile device50A and the article-side device60A is thereby established.
• In the process ofFIG. 3A, at step S81, thecontrol unit53 of themobile device50A requests the article-side device60A to transmit the ID number through intra-body communication.
• On the other hand, at step S95 ofFIG. 3B, thecontrol unit63 of the article-side device60A waits till it receives the transmission request of the ID number from themobile device50A. When receiving the transmission request of the ID number, thecontrol unit63 proceeds to step S97.
• At step S97, thecontrol unit63 transmits the ID number of the article-side device60A stored in thestorage unit61 to themobile device50A (through intra-body communication), and then returns to step S95.
• On the other hand, inFIG. 3A, thecontrol unit53 determines whether it receives the ID number from the article-side device60A at step S83 after it requests the article-side device60A to transmit the ID number. When the determination here is NO, thecontrol unit53 proceeds to step S85, and determines whether a predetermined time (e.g., 10 seconds) has elapsed. When the predetermined time has not elapsed, thecontrol unit53 returns to step S83.
• When the predetermined time has elapsed without the reception of the ID number, i.e., when the determination at step S83 is NO and the determination at step S85 is YES, thecontrol unit53 proceeds to step S87. At step S87, thecontrol unit53 notifies that the ID number cannot be received, and proceeds to step S93. For example, thecontrol unit53 outputs a sound such as “The ID number of the article-side device60A cannot be received.” from theloudspeaker592, or displays the same message on thedisplay unit591 to provide the notification. Alternatively, thecontrol unit53 may vibrate themobile device50A with thevibration unit593 to provide the notification.
• On the other hand, when the ID number is received before the predetermined time elapses, i.e., when the determination at step S83 becomes YES before the determination at step S85 becomes YES, thecontrol unit53 proceeds to step S89. At step S89, thecontrol unit53 stores the received ID number in thestorage unit52. This process updates a pairing information table illustrated inFIG. 4. The pairing information table includes a field of ID number, and the field of ID number stores the ID number of the article-side device60A received at step S83. The pairing information table illustrated inFIG. 4 stores only one ID number, but in the present embodiment, the pairing information table can store the ID numbers of the article-side devices60A installed in an umbrella, shoes, a bag, and the like, i.e., two or more ID numbers.
• At subsequent step S91, thecontrol unit53 notifies that the pairing is performed normally, and proceeds to step S93. For example, thecontrol unit53 outputs a sound such as “The pairing is normally finished.” from theloudspeaker592, or displays the same message on thedisplay unit591 to provide the notification. Thecontrol unit53 may vibrate themobile device50A with thevibration unit593 in a different way from the way of vibration used at step S87 to provide the notification.
• At step S93, thecontrol unit53 determines whether it receives the instruction for ending the initial setting mode. When the determination here is NO, thecontrol unit53 returns to step S81. On the other hand, when receiving the instruction for ending the initial setting mode, thecontrol unit53 ends the process ofFIG. 3A.
• The aforementioned pairing process allows the user to easily register the information of the article-side device60A installed in the article that the user does not want to mistake for someone else's article (an umbrella in the present embodiment) in thestorage unit52 of themobile device50A. That is to say, themobile device50A is easily paired with the article-side device60A. When themobile device50A has an electronic payment function, the registration to thestorage unit52 of themobile device50A may be performed by using the touch to the article-side device60A as a trigger after the purchase of the article-side device60A with the electronic payment function. Alternatively, thecommunication unit62 may be put into a state capable of performing communication at the time when the article-side device60A is purchased (a communication function is disabled before selling), and the registration may be performed when the user touches the article-side device60A at a predefined location (e.g., use's home) based on the output from theposition detecting unit57 of themobile device50A.
• (Determination Process)
• A description will next be given of the determination process that determines whether the article selected by the user from the articles of the same kind is user's article with reference to flowcharts illustrated inFIG. 5A andFIG. 5B. In the present embodiment, the process ofFIG. 5A is started when the user carrying themobile device50A set to a determination mode picks up or puts on an article installed with the paired article-side device60A, and when the intra-body communication between themobile device50A and the article-side device60A is thereby established. Instead of setting themobile device50A to the determination mode, the process ofFIG. 5A may be started when the user has moved a predetermined distance away (goes out) from the predetermined location (e.g., user's home) and the intra-body communication between themobile device50A and the article-side device60A is established.
• The following describes a case, as an example, where it rains, and where the user carries themobile device50A set to the determination mode and brings theumbrella70A installed with the article-side device60A paired with themobile device50A to go to a drinking party.
• In the process ofFIG. 5A, at step S341, thecontrol unit53 of themobile device50A determines whether the communication with the article-side device60A is disconnected. The determination at step S341 is repeated while the user is moving to the place of the drinking party, because the user has theumbrella70A in user's hand and thus the intra-body communication between themobile device50A and the article-side device60A has been established. When the user arrives at the place of the drinking party, puts theumbrella70A into anumbrella stand92 illustrated inFIG. 2C, and releases the hand from thehandle71 of theumbrella70A, the intra-body communication between themobile device50A and the article-side device60A is disconnected. In this case, the determination at step S341 becomes YES, and the process moves to step S342. When the article-side device60A is installed in a shoe, the determination at step S341 becomes YES when the user takes off the shoe.
• At step S342, thecontrol unit53 obtains positional information of the user (themobile device50A) from theposition detecting unit57, obtains date and time information from thecalendar unit58, and stores the obtained information in thestorage unit52 in association with the ID number of the article-side device60A with which the communication was disconnected. In the present embodiment, thecontrol unit53 stores the ID number “A12345” of the article-side device60A paired with themobile device50A in the pairing information table in association with the position (the latitude, the longitude) and the date and time at which the communication with the article-side device60A was disconnected (seeFIG. 6).
• Thecontrol unit53 then detects when the communication between themobile device50A and the article-side device60A is to be established through the determination process from steps S343 to S345. Here, assume that the user finishes the drinking party, and picks up theumbrella70A installed with the article-side device60A from umbrellas (theumbrella70A with the article-side device60A, anumbrella70B without the article-side device60A) placed in theumbrella stand92 as illustrated inFIG. 2C.
• Thecontrol unit53 determines whether it detects a predetermined action of the user (e.g., an action of picking up an umbrella, an action of putting on shoes, or the like) at step S343. Thecontrol unit53 identifies the action of the user based on the acoustic data of sounds collected by themicrophone54 and the acceleration of themobile device50A detected by theacceleration sensor56, and determines whether the identified action is a predetermined action. The method described in KAZUSHIGE OUCHI, MIWAKO DOI, Living Activity Recognition using an Accelerometer and a Microphone, Interaction 2011 can be used to identify the action based on the acoustic data and the acceleration. In the present embodiment, assume that thecontrol unit53 detects user's action of picking up an umbrella. Here, since the user takes an action of picking up theumbrella70A, the determination at step S343 becomes YES. Thecontrol unit53 thus determines that it has detected that the communication between themobile device50A and the article-side device60A is to be established, and proceeds to step S346. Thecontrol unit53 may identify the action of the user by using an image captured by theimage capture unit55 with well-known image analysis technology.
• At step S346, thecontrol unit53 determines whether the intra-body communication with the article-side device60A is established. As described above, when the user picks up theumbrella70A with the article-side device60A, the intra-body communication with the article-side device60A is established, and the determination at step S346 is thus YES. In this case, thecontrol unit53 proceeds to step S349.
• At step S349, thecontrol unit53 requests the article-side device60A to transmit the ID number.
• On the other hand, at step S361 ofFIG. 5B, thecontrol unit63 of the article-side device60A waits until it receives the transmission request of the ID number from themobile device50A. When the transmission request of the ID number is received from themobile device50A, the determination at step S361 becomes YES, and the process proceeds to step S363.
• At step S363, thecontrol unit63 transmits the ID number of own stored in thestorage unit61 to themobile device50A, and returns to step S361.
• Back toFIG. 5A, thecontrol unit53 of themobile device50A receives the ID number from the article-side device60A at step S350. At subsequent step S351, thecontrol unit53 determines whether the ID number received at step S350 is the ID number of the paired article-side device60A. More specifically, thecontrol unit53 determines whether the ID number received at step S350 exists in the pairing information table ofFIG. 6. In other words, at step S351, it is determined whether the communication with the paired article-side device60A is established based on the received ID number.
• The negative determination at step S351 means that the user picked up someone else's umbrella installed with the article-side device60A from theumbrella stand92. In this case, thecontrol unit53 proceeds to step S348, and notifies the user that the user does not have user's umbrella (that the user has someone else's umbrella). At this time, thecontrol unit53 may display that the umbrella picked up by the user is not user's umbrella on thedisplay unit591, may display that the user takes someone else's umbrella by mistake, may output an alert sound from theloudspeaker592, or may vibrate themobile device50A with thevibration unit593.
• On the other hand, the positive determination at step S351 means that the user picked up user's umbrella from theumbrella stand92. In this case, thecontrol unit53 moves to step S352, and notifies the user that the umbrella picked up by the user is user's umbrella (user's article). At this time, thecontrol unit53 may display that the umbrella picked up by the user is user's umbrella on thedisplay unit591, may output a sound different from the sound output at step S348 from theloudspeaker592, or may vibrate themobile device50A in a different way from a way of vibration at step S348. The notification may not be provided to the user when the user picked up user's umbrella. After step S352, thecontrol unit53 returns to step S341.
• When the determination at step S346 is NO, i.e., when the intra-body communication with the article-side device60A is not established, thecontrol unit53 proceeds to step S347, and determines whether a predetermined time (e.g., 10 seconds) has elapsed. When the determination at step S347 is NO (when the predetermined time has not elapsed), thecontrol unit53 returns to step S346. On the other hand, when the determination at step S347 is YES (when the predetermined time has elapsed), the process moves to step S348. When the intra-body communication with the article-side device60A is not established and the predetermined time has elapsed (S347: YES) although user's action of picking up an umbrella was detected (S343: YES), the user picked up an umbrella without the article-side device60A (someone else'sumbrella70B). Thus, when the process moves to step S348, thecontrol unit53 notifies the user that the user does not have user's umbrella (the user has someone else's umbrella), and then returns to step S346.
• When the determination at step S343 is NO, i.e., when thecontrol unit53 does not detect the predetermined action (the action of picking up an umbrella), thecontrol unit53 proceeds to step S344.
• At step S344, thecontrol unit53 determines whether the user makes contact with the article-side device60A (including the device installed in someone else's article), i.e., whether the intra-body communication with the article-side device60A is established. When the determination is YES, thecontrol unit53 proceeds to step S349, and executes the processes and determinations after step S349 as described above. On the other hand, when the determination at step S344 is NO (when the intra-body communication with the article-side device60A is not established), thecontrol unit53 proceeds to step S345.
• At step S345, thecontrol unit53 determines whether the user is near the position at which the communication with the article-side device60A was disconnected. It can be determined whether the user is near the position at which the communication with the article-side device60A was disconnected based on information of the communication disconnected location stored in the pairing information table (FIG. 6) and the positional information of the user obtained from theposition detecting unit57. When the determination at step S345 is NO, the process returns to step S343. When the determination is YES, thecontrol unit53 proceeds to step S353.
• At aforementioned step S345, thecontrol unit53 may determine whether a predetermined time (e.g., one hour) has elapsed from the time when the communication with the article-side device60A was disconnected in addition. This determination prevents the processes after step S353 from being executed when the user passes by theumbrella stand92 to go to the bathroom in the middle of the drinking party. It can be determined whether the predetermined time has elapsed from the time when the communication with the article-side device60A was disconnected based on the information of the communication disconnected time and date stored in the pairing information table illustrated inFIG. 6 and time information obtained from thecalendar unit58.
• When the determination at step S345 is YES and the process proceeds to step S353, thecontrol unit53 determines whether the intra-body communication with the article-side device60A is established. When the determination is NO, thecontrol unit53 proceeds to step S354, and determines whether a predetermined time (e.g., 10 seconds) has elapsed. When the determination at step S354 is YES (when the predetermined time has elapsed), the process proceeds to step S355. When the intra-body communication with the article-side device60A is not established and the predetermined time has elapsed (S354: YES) although it is determined that the user is near the position at which the communication with the article-side device60A was disconnected (S345: YES), the user forgets picking up the umbrella. Thus, when the process moves to step S355, thecontrol unit53 notifies the user that the user does not have user's umbrella, i.e., that the user misplaces the umbrella.
• On the other hand, when the intra-body communication with the article-side device60A is established before the predetermined time has elapsed, i.e., when the determination at step S353 becomes YES before the determination at step S354 becomes YES, thecontrol unit53 executes the processes and determinations after step S349 as described above.
• The process ofFIG. 5A is repeated till the user ends the determination mode.
• As described in detail above, according to the first embodiment, themobile device50A held by the user includes: thecommunication unit51 that communicates with the article-side device60A installed in an article (an umbrella) used by the user through intra-body communication conducted via the user; thecontrol unit53 that detects when the communication between thecommunication unit51 and the article-side device60A is to be established; and thenotification unit59 that, when thecontrol unit53 has detected that the communication between thecommunication unit51 and the article-side device60A is to be established, notifies whether the user has an article installed with the article-side device60A paired with themobile device50A based on the communication state between thecommunication unit51 and the article-side device60A, i.e., based on whether the communication between thecommunication unit51 and the article-side device60A has been established. That is to say, themobile device50A notifies whether the user has the article installed with the article-side device60A paired with themobile device50A at a proper timing when the communication between thecommunication unit51 and the article-side device60A is to be established. Thus, the user can know that the user misplaces user's article or takes someone else's article by mistake at a proper timing without specially managing or working on the prevention of the misplacement or the mistake.
• In the first embodiment, the communication state between thecommunication unit51 and the article-side device60A is determined by whether themobile device50A receives the ID number of the article-side device60A. Thus, thecontrol unit53 can determine that an article with the article-side device60A or an article without the article-side device60A having the ID number that is not paired is not user's article.
• In the first embodiment, thecontrol unit53 detects the action of the user based on outputs from themicrophone54 and theacceleration sensor56, and detects when the communication between thecommunication unit51 and the article-side device60A is to be established based on the action of the user. Thus, thecontrol unit53 determines whether the user has the article with the paired article-side device60A based on the communication state between thecommunication unit51 and the article-side device60A when the predetermined action (the action of picking up an umbrella) has been detected, enabling to notify that the user takes someone else's article by mistake even when an article with the article-side device60A and an article without the article-side device60A are mixed.
• In the first embodiment, thecontrol unit53 detects when the communication between thecommunication unit51 and the article-side device60A is to be established based on the contact state between the article-side device60A (including the article-side device60A installed in someone else's article) capable of communicating with thecommunication unit51 and the user. Thus, thecontrol unit53 can execute a process of determining whether the article that the user has is user's article at a proper timing when the user touches the article-side device60A. In this case, thecontrol unit53 can determine whether the article that the user has is user's article at a timing when the article-side device60A comes in contact with the user even when the predetermined action (the action of picking up an umbrella) cannot be detected, thereby reliably preventing the user from taking someone else's article by mistake.
• In the first embodiment, themobile device50A includes theposition detecting unit57 that detects positional information of the user, and thecontrol unit53 detects when the communication between thecommunication unit51 and the article-side device60A is to be established based on the positional information of the user. Thus, thecontrol unit53 can notify the user of the misplacement of user's article because it can determine that the user misplaces an article (theumbrella70A) with the article-side device60A when the user is at the position where the communication with the article-side device60A was disconnected (near the umbrella stand92) but the communication between thecommunication unit51 and the article-side device60A is not established.
• In the above first embodiment, the article-side device60A may be pre-installed in an article, (an article installed with the article-side device60A is sold), or the user may install the paired article-side device60A in user's article. Themobile device50A may not be a multifunctional terminal such as a smartphone, and may be a dedicated terminal having only functions necessary for preventing the mistake of an article. In this case, the user may purchase themobile device50A and the article-side device60A paired with each other, and may install the article-side device60A in user's article and carry themobile device50A.
• In the above first embodiment, the data in the pairing information table may be deleted by the user as needed. This configuration allows the determination process to be omitted with respect to the ID number of the article-side device60A installed in an article not being used or a discarded article, enabling to reduce the time spent on the determination process. The pairing information table may have a field for the name of an article. This configuration allows the user to know the relationship between each ID number and each article installed with the article-side device60A having the corresponding ID number.
Second Embodiment
• A description will next be given of a second embodiment based onFIG. 7 throughFIG. 9B. Anelectronic device system500B of the second embodiment is used when the user rents a snowboard in a ski area.
• Theelectronic device system500B of the second embodiment includes, as illustrated inFIG. 7, amobile device50B and an article-side device60B.
• (Mobile Device50B)
• Themobile device50B includes acommunication unit521 used to communicate with the article-side device60B through proximity communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or Felica (registered trademark) in addition to the same components as themobile device50A of the first embodiment. Thecommunication unit521 includes anantenna unit522 and acommunication control unit523 used to communicate with the article-side device60B through proximity communication.
• (Article-Side Device60B)
• The article-side device60B includes acommunication unit64 used to communicate with themobile device50B through proximity communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or Felica (registered trademark) in addition to the same components as the article-side device60A of the first embodiment. Thecommunication unit64 includes anantenna unit641 and acommunication control unit642 used to communicate with themobile device50B through proximity communication. In the present embodiment, theelectrode units621 used for intra-body communication are located in positions coming in contact with user's hand when the user holds asnowboard80A as illustrated inFIG. 8A. In the present embodiment, the intra-body communication is possible not only when the user does not wear anything on user's hands (i.e., when theelectrode unit621 makes contact with user's hand) but also when the user wears gloves (i.e., when theelectrode unit621 faces user's hand).
• (Pairing Process)
• In the second embodiment, assume that the article-side device60B installed in a snowboard rented by the user in a ski area is to be paired with themobile device50B. In the pairing process of the second embodiment, themobile device50B and the article-side device60B may be paired with each other through intra-body communication or through proximity communication as with in the first embodiment. Other processes are the same as those of the pairing process (FIG. 3A,FIG. 3B) of the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.
• (Determination Process)
• FIG. 9A andFIG. 9B are flowcharts illustrating the determination process of the second embodiment. Hereinafter, a detailed description will be given of the determination process with use of a case where the user looks for the snowboard rented by the user from many snowboards as an example. The process ofFIG. 9A is started when the user carries themobile device50B set to the determination mode, and the proximity communication between themobile device50B and the article-side device60B paired with themobile device50B is established (when the user starts using thesnowboard80A). Instead of setting themobile device50B to the determination mode, the process ofFIG. 9A may be started when the user carrying themobile device50B has moved a predetermined distance away from a predetermined place (e.g., a rental shop) and the proximity communication between themobile device50B and the article-side device60B paired with themobile device50B is established.
• In the process ofFIG. 9A, at step S101, thecontrol unit53 determines whether the proximity communication with the paired article-side device60B is disconnected. This process determines whether the user stops using the snowboard installed with the article-side device60B. For example, assume that the user takes off the snowboard in front of a restaurant to eat lunch, and moves to the restaurant after placing the snowboard against a rack as illustrated inFIG. 8B. In this case, the proximity communication with the article-side device60B is disconnected, and thus the determination at step S101 becomes YES. Thecontrol unit53 proceeds to step S103.
• At step S103, thecontrol unit53 obtains the positional information of the user (themobile device50B) from theposition detecting unit57, obtains date and time information from thecalendar unit58, and stores the obtained information in thestorage unit52 in association with the ID number of the article-side device60B paired with themobile device50B (seeFIG. 6).
• At subsequent step S105, thecontrol unit53 waits until it detects when the proximity communication between themobile device50B and the article-side device60B is to be established. In the present embodiment, thecontrol unit53 determines that it has detected that the proximity communication between themobile device50B and the article-side device60B is to be established when the user has come out from the restaurant. Thecontrol unit53 can determine whether the user has come out from the restaurant based on the positional information of the restaurant preliminarily stored in thestorage unit52 and the positional information of the user obtained from theposition detecting unit57. Here, assume that the user finished the meal in the restaurant and has come out from the restaurant. In this case, the determination at step S105 becomes YES, and the process moves to step S107.
• At step S107, thecontrol unit53 displays the position where the communication with the article-side device60B was disconnected on thedisplay unit591. For example, thecontrol unit53 may display a map on thedisplay unit591, and display the position where the communication was disconnected on the map. This allows the user to know the position where the user placed the snowboard, and to easily find user's snowboard.
• At subsequent step S109, thecontrol unit53 notifies the communication state of the proximity communication with the article-side device60B. For example, when the proximity communication is conducted through Bluetooth (registered trademark), thecontrol unit53 displays “out of communication range with the article-side device60B” or “within communication range with the article-side device60B” on thedisplay unit591, allowing the user to know whether the user is getting closer to user's snowboard. Alternatively, when the proximity communication is conducted through RFID, for example, thecontrol unit53 may output a sound corresponding to the level of the communication intensity with the article-side device60B from theloudspeaker592. This allows the user to know whether the user is getting closer to user's snowboard by the sound output from theloudspeaker592, and to easily find the snowboard.
• At subsequent step S111, thecontrol unit53 determines whether it has detected that the intra-body communication with the article-side device60B is to be established. In this case, for example, thecontrol unit53 determines that it has detected that the intra-body communication between themobile device50B and the article-side device60B is to be established when user's action recognized based on the acoustic data of sounds collected by themicrophone54 and the acceleration of themobile device50B detected by theacceleration sensor56 is an action of picking up a snowboard. Here, assume that the user picks up thesnowboard80B as illustrated inFIG. 8C from snowboards (thesnowboard80A with the article-side device60B and asnowboard80B without the article-side device60B) placed against a rack illustrated inFIG. 8B. In this case, the determination at step S111 becomes YES, and the process proceeds to step S113.
• At step S113, thecontrol unit53 determines whether the intra-body communication with the article-side device60B is established. When the determination here is NO, the process moves to step S115, and thecontrol unit53 determines whether a predetermined time (e.g., 10 seconds) has elapsed. When the determination here is YES, the process proceeds to step S117. As illustrated inFIG. 8C, when the user picked up thesnowboard80B without the article-side device60B, the predetermined time elapses without the establishment of the intra-body communication with the article-side device60B, and thecontrol unit53 thus proceeds to step S117.
• At step S117, thecontrol unit53 notifies the user that the user takes someone else's snowboard by mistake, and goes back to step S113. At this time, thecontrol unit53 may display that the snowboard picked up by the user is someone else's snowboard on thedisplay unit591, may output a warning alarm from theloudspeaker592, or may vibrate themobile device50B with thevibration unit593. This allows the user to know that the snowboard picked up by the user is not user's snowboard. Hereinafter, assume that the user who has recognized that the snowboard picked up by the user is not user's snowboard returns thesnowboard80B to the rack, and picks up thesnowboard80A with the article-side device60B.
• When the user picks up thesnowboard80A with the article-side device60B and the determination at step S113 becomes YES, thecontrol unit53 moves to step S119. At step S119, thecontrol unit53 requests the article-side device60B to transmit the ID number.
• On the other hand, at step S131 ofFIG. 9B, thecontrol unit63 of the article-side device60B waits till it receives the transmission request of the ID number from themobile device50B. Thus, when thecontrol unit63 receives the transmission request of the ID number from themobile device50B, the determination at step S131 becomes YES, and the process proceeds to step S133. At step S133, thecontrol unit63 transmits the ID number of own stored in thestorage unit61 to themobile device50B, and then returns to step S131.
• Back toFIG. 9A, thecontrol unit53 of themobile device50B receives the ID number from the article-side device60B at step S121. At subsequent step S123, thecontrol unit53 determines whether the ID number received at step S121 is the ID number of the paired article-side device60B (whether the received ID number is stored in the pairing information table). That is to say, thecontrol unit53 determines whether the intra-body communication with the paired article-side device60B has been established.
• The negative determination at step S123 means that the user picked up someone else's snowboard with the article-side device60B. In this case, thecontrol unit53 moves to step S117, and notifies the user that the user takes someone else's snowboard by mistake.
• On the other hand, the positive determination at step S123 means that the user picked up user's snowboard. In this case, thecontrol unit53 moves to step S125, and notifies the user that the snowboard picked up by the user is user's snowboard (that the user does not take someone else's snowboard by mistake). At this time, thecontrol unit53 may display that the snowboard picked up by the user is user's snowboard on thedisplay unit591, or may output a sound different from the sound output at step S117 from theloudspeaker592. Alternatively, thecontrol unit53 may vibrate themobile device50B in a different way from a way of vibration at step S117. After step S125, thecontrol unit53 returns to step S101.
• The process ofFIG. 9A is repeated as described above till the user ends the determination mode.
• As described in detail above, according to the second embodiment, themobile device50B held by the user includes: thecommunication unit51 that communicates with the article-side device60B through intra-body communication conducted via the user; thecommunication unit521 that communicates with the article-side device60B through proximity communication; thecontrol unit53 that detects when communication between thecommunication unit51 and thecommunication unit521 and the article-side device60B installed in the snowboard is to be established; and thenotification unit59 that, when thecontrol unit53 has detected that the communication between thecommunication unit51 and thecommunication unit521 and the article-side device60B is to be established, notifies whether a snowboard selected by the user is a snowboard installed with the paired article-side device60B based on the communication state between thecommunication unit51 and the article-side device60B. Thus, whether the snowboard selected by the user is the snowboard installed with the paired article-side device60B is notified at a proper timing when the communication between thecommunication unit51 and thecommunication unit521 and the article-side device60B installed in the snowboard is to be established. Therefore, when selecting the snowboard rented by the user from many snowboards, the user can be prevented from taking someone else's snowboard by mistake.
• In the second embodiment, thedisplay unit591, theloudspeaker592, and thevibration unit593 notify the user of the positional relation (far, close) between the paired article-side device60B and the user (themobile device50B) by changing the display form, the sound, or the way of vibration in accordance with the communication state (communication intensity) between thecommunication unit521 and the article-side device60B. Thus, the user can know whether the user is getting closer to user's snowboard, and reduce the time taken for the user to find the snowboard.
• Additionally, thedisplay unit591 notifies the position where the communication between thecommunication unit521 and the article-side device60B was disconnected. Thus, the user can know a rough position where the user placed the snowboard, and can reduce the time taken to find user's snowboard.
• In the above second embodiment, the article-side device60B is installed in a rental snowboard, but this does not intend to suggest any limitation. The user may install the article-side device60B in the snowboard owned by the user. Not limited to the snowboard, skis, a ski suit, skates, or a bowling ball may be installed with the article-side device60B. Additionally, themobile device50B may not be a device having multiple functions such as a smartphone, and may be a dedicated terminal having only functions necessary for preventing the mistake. In this case, for example, a staff of a rental shop may pair themobile device50B with the article-side device60B in advance, and rent themobile device50B paired with the article-side device60B together when lending a snowboard installed with the article-side device60B.
Third Embodiment
• A description will next be given of a third embodiment based onFIG. 10 throughFIG. 12B. Anelectronic device system500C of the third embodiment is used to prevent the mistake of a glass at a buffet party or the like.
• FIG. 10 is a block diagram of theelectronic device system500C in accordance with the third embodiment. As illustrated inFIG. 10, theelectronic device system500C includes amobile device50C and an article-side device60C.
• (Mobile Device50C)
• Themobile device50C is an information device used while being carried by the user. In the description hereinafter, assume that themobile device50C is a dedicated terminal for preventing the mistake of an article, and all party participants carry it, but waitpersons (waiters, waitresses) do not carry it.
• Themobile device50C includes, as illustrated inFIG. 10, thecommunication unit51, thestorage unit52, thecontrol unit53, themicrophone54, and theacceleration sensor56.
• Thecommunication unit51 communicates with other devices through proximity communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), Felica (registered trademark), or RFID, or through intra-body communication conducted via a human body. In the present embodiment, thecommunication unit51 includes theelectrode unit511 and theintra-body communication unit512 that conducts intra-body communication with use of theelectrode unit511, theelectrode unit511 being located in a part of the housing of themobile device50C and making contact with the user. Theintra-body communication unit512 communicates with the article-side device60C through intra-body communication while the user has a glass installed with the article-side device60C in user's hand, and transmits the ID number of themobile device50C stored in thestorage unit52 described later to the article-side device60C. The intra-body communication is possible not only when the user makes direct contact with themobile device50C but also when the user wears gloves (i.e., when theelectrode unit511 faces user's hand), or when themobile device50C is put in a pocket of the clothes worn by the user.
• Thestorage unit52 is a non-volatile semiconductor memory such as a flash memory, and stores the information used to identify themobile device50C. In the present embodiment, thestorage unit52 stores the ID number of themobile device50C.
• Thecontrol unit53 includes a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM, and overall controls themobile device50C. The details of the process executed by thecontrol unit53 will be described later.
• Themicrophone54 collects sounds around themobile device50C. The acoustic data of sounds collected by themicrophone54 is input to thecontrol unit53.
• Theacceleration sensor56 detects the acceleration of themobile device50C, and outputs the detection result to thecontrol unit53.
• (Article-Side Device60C)
• The article-side device60C is installed in aglass90 used at a party as illustrated inFIG. 11A. In the present embodiment, all theglasses90 used at the party are installed with the article-side device60C. As illustrated inFIG. 10 andFIG. 11A, the article-side device60C includes thestorage unit61, thecommunication unit62, thecontrol unit63, anacceleration sensor65, and adisplay unit66.
• Thestorage unit61 is a non-volatile semiconductor memory such as a flash memory, and stores information used to identify themobile device50C (the ID number) received from themobile device50C.
• Thecommunication unit62 communicates with other devices through proximity communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), Felica (registered trademark), or RFID, or through intra-body communication conducted via the user. In the present embodiment, thecommunication unit62 includes theelectrode unit621 and theintra-body communication unit622 that conducts intra-body communication with use of theelectrode unit621, theelectrode unit621 being located in a part of the glass90 (an outer surface making contact with the user (seeFIG. 11A)). Theintra-body communication unit622 communicates with theintra-body communication unit512 of themobile device50C, and receives the ID number of themobile device50C from themobile device50C. The intra-body communication is possible not only when the user does not wear anything on user's hand (i.e., when theelectrode unit621 makes contact with user's hand) but also when the user wears gloves (i.e., when theelectrode unit621 faces user's hand).
• Thecontrol unit63 includes a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM, and overall controls the article-side device60C. The details of the process executed by thecontrol unit63 will be described later.
• Theacceleration sensor65 detects the acceleration of the article-side device60B, and outputs the detection result to thecontrol unit63. In the present embodiment, thecontrol unit63 and theacceleration sensor65 are housed in an electroniccomponent housing unit91 located in the bottom of theglass90 illustrated inFIG. 11A.
• Thedisplay unit66 notifies the user of the results of the pairing process and the determination process described later, and includes, in the present embodiment, a blue LED and a red LED. Thedisplay unit66 turns on the blue LED or turns on the red LED under the control of thecontrol unit63.
• A description will next be given of the process executed by thecontrol unit53 of themobile device50C and the process executed by thecontrol unit63 of the article-side device60C with use of flowcharts ofFIG. 12A andFIG. 12B. In the present embodiment, the process ofFIG. 12A is started when the user who is a party participant turns on the power of themobile device50C, and the process ofFIG. 12B is started when a waitperson or the like turns on the power of the article-side device60C.
• In the process ofFIG. 12A, at step S401, thecontrol unit53 of themobile device50C waits till it detects when the intra-body communication with the article-side device60C is to be established. In the present embodiment, thecontrol unit53 recognizes the action of the user based on the acoustic data of sounds collected by themicrophone54 and the acceleration of themobile device50C detected by theacceleration sensor56. When the recognized action is an action of picking up a glass, thecontrol unit53 determines that it has detected that the communication between themobile device50C and the article-side device60C is to be established. For example, when the user carrying themobile device50C has entered the party and picks up a new glass, thecontrol unit53 proceeds to step S403.
• At step S403, thecontrol unit53 waits till the intra-body communication with the article-side device60C is established. When the intra-body communication with the article-side device60C is established, thecontrol unit53 proceeds to step S405. At step S405, thecontrol unit53 transmits the ID number of themobile device50C stored in thestorage unit52 to the article-side device60C, and returns to step S401.
• On the other hand, at step S421 ofFIG. 12B, thecontrol unit63 of the article-side device60C waits till the glass is picked up based on the output of theacceleration sensor65. Thecontrol unit63 determines that the glass is picked up when the acceleration of the glass detected by theacceleration sensor65 is equal to or greater than a threshold value. When the user picks up the glass, thecontrol unit63 proceeds to step S423.
• At step S423, thecontrol unit63 determines whether the intra-body communication with themobile device50C is established. When the determination here is NO, the process moves to step S425, and thecontrol unit53 determines whether a predetermined time (e.g., 10 seconds) has elapsed. When the predetermined time has not elapsed, thecontrol unit53 returns to step S423. Since the party participant carries themobile device50C, when the party participant picks up theglass90, the intra-body communication with themobile device50C is supposed to be established within the predetermined time period. That is to say, when the determination at step S423 becomes YES before the determination at step S425 becomes YES, the person who picked up the glass is a party participant. When the determination at step S423 becomes YES and the process moves to step S427, thecontrol unit63 receives the ID number of themobile device50C from themobile device50C.
• At subsequent step S429, thecontrol unit63 determines whether an ID number is already stored in the pairing information table stored in thestorage unit61. When the determination here is NO, thecontrol unit63 proceeds to step S431. The reason why the determination at step S429 is NO is because the user is a first person who picks up theglass90.
• At step S431, thecontrol unit63 stores the ID number of themobile device50C with which the intra-body communication has been established in the pairing information table of thestorage unit61. This process pairs themobile device50C with the article-side device60C installed in theglass90 that was picked up by the user. In the present embodiment, the pairing information table stores only one ID number of themobile device50C.
• At subsequent step S433, thecontrol unit63 notifies the user that the pairing is performed normally. For example, the blue LED of thedisplay unit66 is turned on once. This allows the user to confirm that themobile device50C carried by the user has been paired with the glass.
• A description will next be given of a case where the user puts a glass filled with beverage on a table at the middle of the party and after a while, picks up a glass on the table again. In this case, in the process ofFIG. 12A, the determinations at steps S401 and S403 become YES. Thecontrol unit53 of themobile device50C then transmits the ID number at step S405, and returns to step S401.
• On the other hand, thecontrol unit63 of the article-side device60B executes processes of steps S421 to S427 in the process ofFIG. 12B, and performs the determination at step S429. Here, when theglass90 was once used by someone else, the ID number of someone else is already stored in the pairing information table of the article-side device60C thereof. Thus, in such a case, the determination at step S429 ofFIG. 12B becomes YES, and thecontrol unit63 proceeds to step S435.
• At step S435, thecontrol unit63 determines whether the ID number received at step S427 is the ID number of the pairedmobile device50C. That is to say, thecontrol unit63 determines whether the ID number received at step S427 is the same as the ID number stored in the pairing information table.
• For example, when the glass picked up by the user is the glass that was used by another participant, the ID number received at step S427 is not the same as the ID number stored in the pairing information table. Thus, in such a case, the determination at step S435 becomes NO, and thecontrol unit63 notifies that the glass picked up by the user is not user's glass at step S439. For example, thecontrol unit63 turns on the red LED of thedisplay unit66 twice. This allows the user to know that the glass picked up by the user is not the glass that was used by the user, and prevents the user from erroneously using the glass that was used by another participant.
• On the other hand, when the glass picked up by the user is the glass that was used by the user, the ID number received at step S427 is the same as the ID number stored in the pairing information table. Thus, in such a case, the determination at step S435 becomes YES, and thecontrol unit63 notifies that the glass picked up by the user is user's glass at step S437. For example, thecontrol unit63 turns on the blue LED of thedisplay unit66 twice. This allows the user to confirm that the user picked up the correct glass. After step S437, the process returns to step S421.
• Assume that the user then gets a drink down and the waitperson picks up the glass put on a table to clear off (step S421/YES). Since the waitperson does not carry themobile device50C, when the waitperson picks up the glass, the intra-body communication with themobile device50C is not established even when the predetermined time has elapsed. Thus, the determination at step S423 becomes NO, and the determination at step S425 becomes YES. Thecontrol unit63 thus proceeds to step S441.
• At step S441, thecontrol unit63 initializes the pairing information table stored in thestorage unit61. That is to say, thecontrol unit63 deletes the ID number stored in the pairing information table to empty the pairing information table. This allows the pairing information table to store a new ID number when the glass that was cleared off by a waitperson and washed is used. Thecontrol unit63 may notify the waitperson that the pairing information table is emptied by turning on the blue LED of thedisplay unit66 for a predetermined period at step S441.
• As described above, the article-side device60C repeats the process ofFIG. 12B till it is turned off.
• As described in detail above, according to the third embodiment, the article-side device60C installed in theglass90 includes: thecommunication unit62 that communicates with themobile device50C through intra-body communication conducted via the user; thecontrol unit63 that detects when the communication between thecommunication unit62 and themobile device50C is to be established; and thedisplay unit66 that, when thecontrol unit53 has detected that the communication between thecommunication unit62 and themobile device50C is to be established, notifies whether the article-side device60C installed in the glass picked up by the user is the article-side device60C paired with themobile device50C based on the communication state between thecommunication unit62 and themobile device50C. As described above, whether the glass held (picked up) by the user is the glass paired with themobile device50C is notified at a proper timing when the communication between thecommunication unit62 and the article-side device60C installed in theglass90 is to be established. Thus, when the user selects the glass that was used by the user from many glasses, the user is prevented from taking a glass that was used by someone else by mistake.
• In the above third embodiment, themobile device50C is a dedicated terminal for preventing the user from taking someone else's article by mistake, but this does not intend to suggest any limitation. For example, themobile device50C may be a smartphone as with in the first and second embodiments.
• The above third embodiment describes a case where the article-side device60C is installed in a glass, but does not intend to suggest any limitation. For example, the article-side device60C may be installed in eating utensils such as chopsticks, spoons, forks, or dishes. In addition, regarding other articles, theelectronic device system500C of the third embodiment may be used when the user needs to select an article once used by the user from many articles.
Fourth Embodiment
• Hereinafter, a detailed description will be given of a fourth embodiment based onFIG. 13 toFIG. 18F.FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of anelectronic device system500D in accordance with the fourth embodiment.FIG. 14 illustrates a situation where theelectronic device system500D is used.
• Theelectronic device system500D is used when the user plays sport. The present embodiment describes a case where the user uses theelectronic device system500D when the user plays golf as illustrated inFIG. 14.
• Theelectronic device system500D includes, as illustrated inFIG. 13 andFIG. 14,club devices10A,10B installed ingolf clubs1A,1B,mobile terminals20A,20B, ashoe device30 installed inshoes3, and abag device40 installed in acaddie bag4.
• (Club Devices10A,10B)
• Theclub devices10A,10B are installed in golf clubs. Hereinafter, theclub devices10A,10B have the same configuration, and thus are described as a club device10 as long as they do not need to be discriminated between them.
• The golf club includes drivers, irons, and a putter (P). The drivers include 1W, 3W, and 5W, and the irons include 3I to 9I, PW (pitching wedge), AW (approach wedge), and SW (sand wedge). In this embodiment, each golf club is installed with the club device10.FIG. 13 illustrates agolf club1A and agolf club1B as examples of the golf club. Theclub device10A is the club device10 installed in thegolf club1A, and theclub device10B is the club device10 installed in thegolf club1B, for convenience sake. Hereinafter, the description will be given with use of thegolf club1A and thegolf club1B, but they are described as agolf club1 as long as they do not need to be discriminated between them.
• The club device10 includes, as illustrated inFIG. 13, astorage unit11, acommunication unit13, and acontrol unit15.
• Thestorage unit11 is a non-volatile semiconductor memory such as a flash memory, and stores the owner of, number information (1W, 3W, 5W, 3 to 9I, PW, AW, SW, P) of, a manufacturer of, a name of product of, and a model number of thegolf club1.
• Thecommunication unit13 communicates with themobile terminals20A,20B through proximity communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), Felica (registered trademark), or RFID, or through intra-body communication conducted via the user. In the present embodiment, thecommunication unit13 includes anintra-body communication unit132 that communicates with theintra-body communication units212 of themobile terminals20A,20B through intra-body communication with use of anelectrode131 located in the grip of or near the clubhead of thegolf club1 as illustrated inFIG. 15. Theintra-body communication unit132 transmits the owner of and the number information of thegolf club1 stored in thestorage unit11 to themobile terminals20A,20B. The intra-body communication may be conducted by an electric current method that transmits information by passing a minute electric current through a human body and modulating the electric current, an electric field method that transmits information by modulating an electric field induced on the surface of a human body, or the like. The fourth embodiment may use any of the electric current method and the electric field method. The intra-body communication is possible not only when the user does not wear anything on user's hands (i.e., when theelectrode131 makes contact with user's hand) but also when the user wears gloves (i.e., when theelectrode131 faces user's hand).
• Thecontrol unit15 includes a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM, and overall controls the club device10. In this embodiment, thecontrol unit15 controls the data transmission to themobile terminals20A,20B. Thecontrol unit15 and thestorage unit11 may be located in any position of thegolf club1. In this embodiment, they are located in the grip of thegolf club1.
• (Mobile Terminals20A,20B)
• Themobile terminals20A,20B are information devices used while being carried by the user. Themobile terminals20A,20B may be a mobile phone, a smartphone, a PHS, a PDA, or the like. In the present embodiment, themobile terminals20A,20B are smartphones. Themobile terminals20A,20B have a telephone function, a communication function for connecting to the Internet or the like, and a data processing function for executing programs. The necessary components of themobile terminals20A,20B (e.g., aposition detecting unit23 and a wireless communication unit22) may be installed in an article such as a watch, glasses, an acoustic aid, a cap, or theshoes3 wearable by the user, or an article such as a remote control for remote controlling a cart carried by the user to use them as a mobile terminal. In the present embodiment, assume that a user A uses themobile terminal20A, and a user B uses themobile terminal20B. Themobile terminal20A and themobile terminal20B have the same configuration, and thus are described as a mobile terminal20 as long as they do not need to be discriminated between them.
• The mobile terminal20 includes acommunication unit21, thewireless communication unit22, theposition detecting unit23, amicrophone24, aloudspeaker25, acalendar unit26, astorage unit27, adisplay unit28, and acontrol unit29.
• Thecommunication unit21 communicates with the club device10 and theshoe device30 through proximity communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), Felica (registered trademark), and RFID, or through intra-body communication conducted via the user. In the present embodiment, thecommunication unit21 includes anintra-body communication unit212 that communicates with theintra-body communication unit132 of the club device10 and theintra-body communication unit332 of theshoe device30 through intra-body communication with use of anelectrode211 attached to the user or installed in the mobile terminal20. Theintra-body communication unit212 communicates with the club device10 through intra-body communication while the user is holding thegolf club1, and receives the information on the owner of and the number information of thegolf club1 from the club device10. Theintra-body communication unit212 communicates with theshoe device30 installed in theshoes3 worn by the user through intra-body communication, and receives the acoustic data of sounds collected by themicrophone31 of theshoe device30 from theshoe device30. The intra-body communication is possible not only when the user makes direct contact with the mobile terminal20 but also when the user makes contact with the mobile terminal20 through a shirt or trousers. Instead of intra-body communication, proximity communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), RFID, or TransferJet (registered trademark) may be employed.
• Thewireless communication unit22 communicates with other mobile terminals and thebag device40. Thewireless communication unit22 receives information on whether thegolf club1 owned by the user of the mobile terminal20 is held by another user from another mobile terminal (the details will be described later).
• Theposition detecting unit23 includes, for example, a GPS sensor, and detects the position of the mobile terminal20 (e.g., the latitude and the longitude). In the present embodiment, since the user holds the mobile terminal20, theposition detecting unit23 detects the position of the user.
• Themicrophone24 is a sensor that obtains sounds around the mobile terminal20. Themicrophone24 is located below thedisplay unit28 on a principal surface of the mobile terminal20 (the surface on which thedisplay unit28 is provided) for example, and is located near the mouth of the user when the user uses the mobile terminal20.
• Theloudspeaker25 outputs a sound, and for example, is located above thedisplay unit28 on the principal surface of the mobile terminal20, and is located near the ear of the user when the user uses the telephone function of the mobile terminal20.
• Thecalendar unit26 obtains and outputs time information such as year, month, day, and time to thecontrol unit29. Thecalendar unit26 has a clocking function.
• Thestorage unit27 is, for example, a non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory, or a hard disk drive, and stores the information on thegolf club1 received from the club device10 (the owner and the number information), and the location where the communication with the club device10 was disconnected. In addition, the position, the time, and the number information of thegolf club1 when the user hit a ball may be stored.
• Thedisplay unit28 is, for example, a device using a liquid crystal display element, and displays various information based on the control of thecontrol unit29.
• Thecontrol unit29 includes a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM, and overall controls the mobile terminal20. In the present embodiment, thecontrol unit29 controls the various recording in thestorage unit27, and controls to notify the user of the misplacement when the user misplaced thegolf club1 in a course. The process executed by thecontrol unit29 will be described later.
• (Shoe Device30)
• Theshoe device30 is installed in the shoes (golf shoes)3. Theshoe device30 includes amicrophone31, acommunication unit33, astorage unit35, and acontrol unit37. Each component may be located in one of a left shoe and a right shoe, or may be located in both of them.
• Themicrophone31 is located in a toe, and collects and outputs sounds around theshoes3 to thecontrol unit37. Themicrophone31 is preferably a microphone having a good directional characteristic, and may be, for example, a microphone installed with a pre-amplifier. The output of themicrophone31 is amplified by the amplifier, and recorded in thestorage unit35 as acoustic data under the control of the control unit37 (e.g., see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-267744). When the user is right-handed, a ball is placed near the left foot, and thus themicrophone31 may be installed in a left shoe. When the user is left-handed, a ball is placed near the right foot, and thus themicrophone31 may be installed in a right shoe.
• Thecommunication unit33 communicates with the mobile terminal20 through proximity communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), Felica (registered trademark), or RFID, or through intra-body communication conducted via a human body. In the present embodiment, thecommunication unit33 includes anintra-body communication unit332 that conducts intra-body communication with use of anelectrode331 located in theshoes3. Theintra-body communication unit332 transmits the acoustic data of sounds collected by themicrophone31 and stored in thestorage unit35 to the mobile terminal20 under the control of thecontrol unit37. Theelectrode331 for intra-body communication is located in a position making contact with the foot of the user (the inside of the shoes3). The intra-body communication is possible not only when the user does not wear anything on user's feet (i.e., theelectrode331 makes contact with user's foot) but also when the user wears socks (i.e., when theelectrode331 faces user's foot).
• (Bag Device40)
• Thebag device40 is installed in thecaddie bag4. Thecaddie bag4 houses thegolf clubs1. Thebag device40 includes, as illustrated inFIG. 13, aposition detecting unit41, awireless communication unit43, and acontrol unit45.
• Theposition detecting unit41 includes, for example, a GPS sensor, and detects the position of the caddie bag4 (e.g., the latitude and the longitude).
• Thewireless communication unit43 communicates with the mobile terminal20 over a radio. Thewireless communication unit43 transmits the position of thecaddie bag4 detected by theposition detecting unit41 to the mobile terminal20. This allows thecontrol unit29 of the mobile terminal20 to obtain the positional relation between thecaddie bag4 and the user.
• Thecontrol unit45 includes a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM, and overall controls thebag device40.
• A description will be given of the operation of theelectronic device system500D configured as described above with use of flowcharts ofFIG. 16 andFIG. 17. In the present embodiment, the process ofFIG. 16 is started when the user arrives at the starting hole, i.e., when the user starts playing golf. Whether the user arrives at the starting hole can be determined based on the positional information of the user obtained from theposition detecting unit23 and information on the layout of a golf course. The information on the layout of the golf course may be stored in thestorage unit27 in advance, or may be obtained from a server or the like through thewireless communication unit22.
• In the process ofFIG. 16, at step S51, thecontrol unit29 determines whether the user is holding two ormore golf clubs1. More specifically, thecontrol unit29 determines whether the communication between the mobile terminal20 and two or more club devices10 is established. Here, assume that the user A picks up only a number seven iron from thecaddie bag4 to hit tee shot (the first shot). In this case, the communication with only one club device10 is established, and thus the determination at step S51 is NO. Thecontrol unit29 repeats the determination at step S51 till the communication with two or more club devices10 is established. After that, when the user A picks up thegolf club1A (assumed to be a sand wedge (SW)) and thegolf club1B (assumed to be a pitching wedge (PW)) from thecaddie bag4 to hit the second shot, the communication with theclub devices10A,10B is established. That is to say, as the communication with two or more club devices10 is established, the determination at step S51 becomes YES, and thecontrol unit29 proceeds to step S53.
• At step S53, thecontrol unit29 obtains information used to identify thegolf club1 held by the user from the club device10, and stores it in thestorage unit27. In the present embodiment, thecontrol unit29 obtains the owner of and the number information of thegolf club1 from the club device10, and stores them in thestorage unit27. Since the user A is holding thegolf club1A (SW) and thegolf club1B (PW), thecontrol unit29 stores information on twogolf clubs1A,1B in a club information table illustrated inFIG. 18A. The club information table includes fields of owner, number, and communication disconnected position. The field of owner stores the owner of thegolf club1, and the field of number stores the number information of thegolf club1. The field of communication disconnected position stores the position at which the communication with the club device10 installed in thegolf club1 was disconnected (the details will be described later). Thecontrol unit29 may store information on the manufacturer of, the name of product of, and the model number of thegolf club1 in thestorage unit27 in addition to the owner of and the number information of thegolf club1.
• At subsequent step S55, thecontrol unit29 waits till the user selects onegolf club1 from the two ormore golf clubs1. For example, when the user A selects thegolf club1A from thegolf club1A and thegolf club1B to hit the second shot, and places the remaininggolf club1B at a position near the user A that does not disturb the shot, the determination at step S55 becomes YES, and thecontrol unit29 proceeds to step S57.
• At step S57, thecontrol unit29 stores the position (such as the latitude and the longitude) at which the communication with the club device10 installed in the golf club (thegolf club1B: PW) that was not selected at step S55 from the two ormore golf clubs1 was disconnected in the storage unit27 (seeFIG. 18B). Thecontrol unit29 then proceeds to step S59. At this time, the time when the communication with the club device10 was disconnected may be additionally stored.
• The processes at step S59 and step S61 are processes for determining whether it has been detected when the communication between the mobile terminal20 and the club devices10 installed in the two ormore golf clubs1 held by the user at step S51 is to be established. At step S59, thecontrol unit29 determines whether the user hit a ball, i.e., whether the user used thegolf club1 selected at step S55. For example, thecontrol unit29 determines whether a sound collected by themicrophone31 of theshoe device30 is a ball hitting sound based on the frequency of the collected sound to determine whether the user hit a ball. When the determination here is NO, thecontrol unit29 repeats the determination at step S59 till the user hits a ball. When the user A hits a ball with thegolf club1A selected at step S55, the determination at step S59 becomes YES, and the process moves to step S61.
• At step S61, thecontrol unit29 determines whether the user has moved a predetermined distance (e.g., 5 m) away from the position where the communication with the club device10 installed in thegolf club1 that was not selected at step S55 was disconnected. In the present embodiment, thecontrol unit29 determines whether the user has moved a predetermined distance away from the position where the communication with the club device10 was disconnected based on the output from theposition detecting unit23 and the information stored at step S57. When the determination here is NO, i.e., when the user does not move, thecontrol unit29 does not perform (prohibits) the notification process of step S63, and repeats the determination at step S61 till the user moves a predetermined distance away from the position where the communication was disconnected. This is because the user may stay the position where the user hit a ball for some reason (for example, the user failed to hit a ball, or is waiting for the shot by another player). Thus, the user may not misplace thegolf club1, but may not collect it with intent. When the user who finished hitting a ball has moved a predetermined distance from the position where the communication was disconnected, the determination at step S61 becomes YES, and thecontrol unit29 starts the notification process (FIG. 17) of step S63.
• (Notification Process)
• FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating concrete procedures of step S63. In the process of step S63 (the notification process), thecontrol unit29 obtains the information on thegolf club1 being currently held by the user (the owner and the number information) at step S631. Thecontrol unit29 stores the obtained information of the golf club1 (the owner and the number information) in a club information table for determination illustrated inFIG. 18C.
• Thecontrol unit29 then determines whether the number of thegolf clubs1 being currently held by the user (obtained at step S631) is the same as the number of thegolf clubs1 that the user used to hold (obtained at step S53 ofFIG. 16) at step S633. In other words, step S633 determines whether the number of thegolf clubs1 held by the user is the same before and after the shot. More specifically, thecontrol unit29 determines whether the number of records in the club information table (seeFIG. 18A) is the same as the number of records in the club information table for determination (seeFIG. 18C). When the determination here is YES, thecontrol unit29 proceeds to step S635.
• At step S635, thecontrol unit29 determines whether the information on thegolf club1 stored at step S53 ofFIG. 16 (the information in the club information table) is the same as the information on thegolf club1 stored at step S631 (the information in the club information table for determination). When the determination here is NO, thecontrol unit29 proceeds to step S637.
• When the information on thegolf club1 is not the same even when the number of thegolf clubs1 is the same before and after the shot, the user misplaces user's golf club and holds someone else's golf club. For example, assume that the user A is holding twogolf clubs1 after the shot. InFIG. 18D, the owner of the pitching wedge (PW) of the information on twogolf clubs1 stored in the club information table for determination is “the user B”, and is not the same as that in the club information table. In this case, thecontrol unit29 notifies the user that the user is holding thegolf club1 of another player at step S637. For example, thecontrol unit29 outputs a sound such as “You may have a golf club of another player.” from theloudspeaker25, or displays the same message on thedisplay unit28 for notification. This allows the user to notice that the user is erroneously holding thegolf club1 of another player. In addition, in golf, a penalty stroke is added when a player uses a golf club of another player. Thus, avoided is a situation where the user erroneously uses a golf club of another player and a penalty stroke is thereby added to user's score.
• At subsequent step S639, thecontrol unit29 transmits the information on thegolf club1 erroneously held by the user to the mobile terminal20 of the player who is the owner (another player: the user B in the present embodiment). This allows the user B to know that thegolf club1 of the user B is held by the user A.
• At subsequent step S641, thecontrol unit29 determines whether another player is holding thegolf club1 misplaced by the user, i.e., whether themisplaced golf club1 is collected by another player. For example, thecontrol unit29 of themobile terminal20A of the user A communicates with the mobile terminal20B of the user B who is playing golf together with the user A through thewireless communication unit22, and inquires of the mobile terminal20B about whether the user B is holding thegolf club1B of the user A. Themobile terminal20B determines whether the communication with theclub device10B installed in thegolf club1B of the user A has been established to determine whether the user B is holding thegolf club1B of the user A, and transmits the determination result to themobile terminal20A. Themobile terminal20A receives the determination result from themobile terminal20B to perform the determination at step S641. When the determination here is YES, the user does not misplace thegolf club1 in a golf course, and thus the process returns to step S631. At this time, the user may be notified that thegolf club1 is collected by another player. On the other hand, when the determination here is NO, i.e., when themisplaced golf club1 is not collected by another player, thecontrol unit29 proceeds to step S643.
• At step S643, thecontrol unit29 notifies the user. For example, thecontrol unit29 outputs a sound such as “You may misplace a golf club.” from theloudspeaker25, or displays the same message on thedisplay unit28 to alert the user. Instead of theloudspeaker25, a vibrator not illustrated may be used to vibrate the mobile terminal20 to alert the user. This allows the user to notice that the user misplaces thegolf club1. Additionally, thecontrol unit29 may display the position where the communication with the club device10 was disconnected on thedisplay unit28. This allows the user to know which position the user misplaced thegolf club1 in the course, and to reduce the time taken to collect themisplaced golf club1. After step S643, the process returns to step S631.
• When the determination at step S633 is NO, i.e., when the number of thegolf clubs1 is not the same before and after the shot, thecontrol unit29 proceeds to step S645.
• At step S645, thecontrol unit29 determines whether the number of thegolf clubs1 after the shot (the number of thegolf clubs1 obtained at step S631) is greater than the number of thegolf clubs1 before the shot (the number of thegolf clubs1 obtained at step S53 ofFIG. 16). The positive determination here means that the user is holding a golf club of another player (e.g., the user B) in addition to user's golf clubs. For example, inFIG. 18E, thegolf club1 of the user B is registered in the club information table for determination in addition to thegolf clubs1A,1B (SW, PW) held by the user A before the shot, and thus the number of records in the club information table for determination is greater than the number of records in the club information table. In this case, thecontrol unit29 proceeds to step S647 and notifies the user that the user is holding a golf club of another player. When the user is holding user'sgolf clubs1 correctly although the number of thegolf clubs1 after the shot is greater than the number of thegolf clubs1 before the shot, i.e., when the club information table for determination contains all the records in the club information table (seeFIG. 18E), the process may move to step S649 without notifying the user.
• At subsequent step S649, thecontrol unit29 transmits the information on thegolf club1 erroneously held by the user to the player who is the owner thereof (another player: the user B in the present embodiment) to the mobile terminal20, and returns to step S631.
• On the other hand, when the determination at step S645 is NO, i.e., when the number of thegolf clubs1 after the shot is less than the number of thegolf clubs1 before the shot (seeFIG. 18F), it can be determined that the user misplaced thegolf club1, and thus thecontrol unit29 proceeds to step S651.
• At step S651, thecontrol unit29 determines whether another player is holding thegolf club1 misplaced by the user, i.e., whether themisplaced golf club1 is collected by another player as with at step S641 described previously.
• When the determination at step S651 is NO, thecontrol unit29 proceeds to step S653, and notifies the user as with at step S643 described previously. When the process at step S653 is ended, thecontrol unit29 returns to step S631.
• On the other hand, when the determination at step S651 is YES, thecontrol unit29 skips step S653 and returns to step S631. At this time, the user may be notified that another player is holding user'sgolf club1.
• In consideration of the moving time of the user, and the time taken to communicate with another player, the process may return to step S631 after a predetermined time (e.g., several tens of seconds) elapses after steps S643, S649, S651, S653.
• As described above, the above process is repeated till the information on thegolf club1 held by the user (the information obtained at step S631) becomes the same as the information on thegolf club1 before the shot (the information obtained at step S53 ofFIG. 16). When the user receives user'sgolf club1 from another player, or returns the erroneously heldgolf club1 to another player, and when the information on thegolf club1 held by the user becomes the same as the information on thegolf club1 before the shot (the information obtained at step S53 ofFIG. 16), the determination at step S635 becomes YES, the process ofFIG. 17 ends, and the process moves to step S65 ofFIG. 16.
• Back toFIG. 16, at step S65, thecontrol unit29 determines whether the user places thegolf clubs1 in thecaddie bag4. More specifically, thecontrol unit29 determines whether the communication with the club device10 installed in each of thegolf clubs1 is ended. At this time, thecontrol unit29 preferably checks that the position of thecaddie bag4 obtained from theposition detecting unit41 of thebag device40 is approximately the same as the position of the user obtained from theposition detecting unit23.
• The negative determination at step S65 means that the user is moving toward thecaddie bag4, or moving through the course to hit the next shot. In this case, thecontrol unit29 moves to step S67, and determines whether the user is moving toward thecaddie bag4. In the present embodiment, thecontrol unit29 determines whether the position of the user obtained from theposition detecting unit23 is getting closer to the position of thecaddie bag4 obtained from theposition detecting unit41 of thebag device40. Thecontrol unit29 may determine whether the user is moving toward thecaddie bag4 based on the intensity of wireless communication between the mobile terminal20 and thebag device40. In this case, theposition detecting unit41 of thebag device40 may be omitted.
• When the determination at step S67 is NO, i.e., when the user is not moving toward thecaddie bag4, it is determined that the user is moving through a hole for the next shot, and the process returns to step S55.
• On the other hand, when the determination at step S67 is YES, i.e., when the user is moving toward thecaddie bag4, the process returns to step S65.
• When the determination at step S65 is YES, i.e., when the user places thegolf clubs1 in thecaddie bag4 and the communication with the club devices10 is ended, thecontrol unit29 returns to step S51.
• As described above, the process ofFIG. 16 is repeated till the user finishes the game, i.e., when the user finishes the finishing hole and returns to a club house.
• As described in detail above, according to the fourth embodiment, themobile terminal20A includes: thecommunication unit21 that communicates with theclub device10A installed in thegolf club1A and theclub device10B installed in thegolf club1B through intra-body communication conducted via the user A; thecontrol unit29 that detects when the communication between thecommunication unit21 and theclub device10A and the communication between thecommunication unit21 and theclub device10B are to be established; and theloudspeaker25 and thedisplay unit28 that, when thecontrol unit29 has detected that the communication between thecommunication unit21 and theclub device10A and the communication between thecommunication unit21 and theclub device10B are to be established, notifies the user A whether thegolf clubs1A,1B are misplaced based on the communication state between thecommunication unit21 and theclub device10A and the communication state between thecommunication unit21 and theclub device10B. Thus, the user A can be notified at a proper timing when the user A is to hold thegolf clubs1A,1B. Therefore, the user A is prevented from misplacing one of thegolf clubs1A,1B in a golf course.
• In the fourth embodiment, thecontrol unit29 detects when the communication between thecommunication unit21 and theclub device10A and the communication between thecommunication unit21 and theclub device10B are to be established based on whether the user has moved a predetermined distance away from the position where the communication with the club device10 was disconnected. This enables to determine the misplacement of thegolf club1 at a timing when the misplacement of thegolf club1 easily occurs, and to notify the user. Additionally, the notification process is not performed when the user does not move away from the position where the communication with the club device10 was disconnected for some reason (e.g., the user failed to hit a ball, or waits for the shot of another player). Thus, the user is prevented from being disturbed or from disturbing another player by the sound or the vibration for the notification.
• In the fourth embodiment, when the user A has used one of thegolf club1A installed with theclub device10A and thegolf club1B installed with theclub device10B, thecontrol unit29 detects when the communication with theclub device10A or10B installed in thegolf club1A or1B that was not used is to be established. Thus, thecontrol unit29 does not determine whether the user A misplaces thegolf clubs1A,1B when the user A releases the hand from thegolf club1A or1B to hit a ball, and thus enables to prevent the user A from being disturbed by the sound or the vibration for the notification. The misplacement of the golf club easily occurs after the shot, and thus the user can be notified at a timing when the misplacement of thegolf club1 easily occurs.
• In the fourth embodiment, thecontrol unit29 notifies the user in accordance with the determination result of whether at least one of thegolf club1A and thegolf club1B is being held by the user B different from the user A. This allows the user to know whether themisplaced golf club1 is collected by another player.
• (Variation)
• In the above fourth embodiment, thecontrol unit29 obtains the information on thegolf club1 from the club device10, and notifies the user based on the obtained information, but the method of notifying the user is not limited to this. For example, thecontrol unit29 may determine whether thegolf club1 is misplaced based on the number of the club devices10 that communicate with the intra-body communication unit212 (i.e., the number of thegolf clubs1 being held by the user) to notify the user.FIG. 19 andFIG. 20 are flowcharts of the process of thecontrol unit29 in the variation.
• In the process ofFIG. 19, at step S11, thecontrol unit29 of the mobile terminal20 determines whether the user is holding two ormore golf clubs1 as with at step S51 described previously.
• When the determination at step S11 is YES, and the process moves to step S15, thecontrol unit29 stores the number of the club devices10 with which the communication has been established, i.e., the number of thegolf clubs1 that the user picked up from thecaddie bag4 in thestorage unit27. When the user A picks up thegolf club1A and thegolf club1B, the communication with theclub devices10A,10B is established, and thus thecontrol unit29 stores “2 clubs” in thestorage unit27.
• Thecontrol unit29 then repeats the determination at step S17 till the user selects onegolf club1 from two ormore golf clubs1. More specifically, thecontrol unit29 repeats the determination at step S17 till the number of the club devices10 with which the communication has been established becomes one. Here, when the user A selects thegolf club1A from thegolf club1A and thegolf club1B to hit the second shot, and places the remaininggolf club1B at the position near the user A that does not disturb the shot, the determination at step S17 becomes YES, and thecontrol unit29 proceeds to step S19.
• Subsequent step S19 and step S21 are processes for detecting when the communication between the mobile terminal20 and the club devices10 is to be established. At step S19, thecontrol unit29 determines whether the user hit a ball, i.e., whether the user has used thegolf club1 selected at step S17. When the determination here is NO, thecontrol unit29 repeats the determination at step S19 till the user hits a ball. When the user A hits a ball with the selectedgolf club1A, the determination at step S19 becomes YES, and the process proceeds to step S21.
• At step S21, thecontrol unit29 determines whether the user A has moved. In the variation, thecontrol unit29 determines whether the user A has moved a predetermined distance (e.g., 5 m) based on the output from theposition detecting unit23. The movement of the user may be detected by providing at least one of an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor to the mobile terminal20. When the determination here is NO, i.e., when the user does not move, thecontrol unit29 does not execute (prohibits) the following notification process. When the user A finished the shot and has moved 5 m or greater while holding thegolf club1A but not holding thegolf club1B, i.e., while misplacing thegolf club1B, the determination at step S21 becomes YES, and the process proceeds to step S23.
• At subsequent step S23, thecontrol unit29 starts the notification process illustrated in the flowchart ofFIG. 20.
• (Notification Process)
• In the notification process illustrated inFIG. 20, at step S231, thecontrol unit29 determines whether the number of thegolf clubs1 stored at step S15 ofFIG. 19 described previously is the same as the number of thegolf clubs1 held by the user after the shot. More specifically, thecontrol unit29 determines whether the number of the club devices10 with which the intra-body communication has been established is the same as the number of thegolf clubs1 stored at step S15. Since the user A is holding only thegolf club1A, the number of the club devices10 with which the intra-body communication has been established is one. In this case, it differs from “2 clubs” that is the number of thegolf clubs1 stored at step S15, and thus the determination at step S231 becomes NO, and thecontrol unit29 proceeds to step S233.
• At step S233, thecontrol unit29 determines whether the number of golf clubs being currently held by the user A is greater than the number of thegolf clubs1 stored at step S15 ofFIG. 19. When the determination here is YES, the user (the user A) is likely to hold thegolf club1 of another player (e.g., the user B), and thus thecontrol unit29 moves to step S235 and notifies the user. For example, thecontrol unit29 outputs a sound such as “Please check the number of golf clubs.” or “You may have a golf club of another player.” from theloudspeaker25, or displays the same message on thedisplay unit28 to notify the user. This allows the user to notice that the user is holding a golf club of another player.
• After the notification to the user at step S235, thecontrol unit29 returns to step S231. Thecontrol unit29 repeats the processes and determinations at step S231, step S233, and step S235 till the user A gives a golf club to another player, i.e., till the number of thegolf clubs1 being held by the user A becomes the same as the number of the golf clubs1 (2 clubs) stored in thestorage unit27 at step S15. When the user A gives thegolf club1 to the user B, and the golf clubs being held by the user A thereby become thegolf club1A and thegolf club1B, the determination at step S231 becomes YES, and thecontrol unit29 ends the process ofFIG. 20 and proceeds to step S29 ofFIG. 19. After the process of step S235, in consideration of the moving time of the user, the process may return to step S231 after a predetermined time (e.g., several tens of seconds) elapses.
• On the other hand, when the number of golf clubs being currently held by the user A is less than the number of thegolf clubs1 stored at step S15 ofFIG. 19, the determination at step S233 is NO, and thecontrol unit29 proceeds to step S237.
• At step S237, thecontrol unit29 determines whether another player is holding thegolf club1 misplaced by the user. More specifically, thecontrol unit29 communicates with the mobile terminal20B of the user B who is playing golf together with the user A through thewireless communication unit22, and inquires of the mobile terminal20B about whether the user B is holding thegolf club1 of the user A. Themobile terminal20B determines whether the intra-body communication with the club device10 installed in thegolf club1 of the user A has been established to determine whether the user B is holding thegolf club1 of the user A, and transmits the determination result to themobile terminal20A. The information of the owner stored in thestorage unit11 of the club device10 may be used to determine whether thegolf club1 being held by the user B is thegolf club1 of the user A.
• When the determination at step S237 is NO, i.e., when thegolf club1 misplaced by the user is not held by another player, thecontrol unit29 proceeds to step S239. Here, assume that the user B does not collect thegolf club1B misplaced by the user A.
• At step S239, thecontrol unit29 notifies the user. For example, thecontrol unit29 outputs a sound such as “You may misplace a golf club.” from theloudspeaker25, or displays the same message on thedisplay unit28 to alert the user.
• After step S239, thecontrol unit29 returns to step S231. When the user A goes back to pick up thegolf club1B as a result of the notification at step S239, and holds thegolf club1A and thegolf club1B, the number of the golf clubs1 (2 clubs) stored in thestorage unit27 at step S15 ofFIG. 19 becomes the same as the number of thegolf clubs1 being currently held by the user (2 clubs). Thus, the determination at step S231 becomes YES, and thecontrol unit29 ends the process ofFIG. 20, and moves to step S29 ofFIG. 19.
• When the determination at step S237 is YES, i.e., when another player is holding thegolf club1 misplaced by the user, thecontrol unit29 determines that there is nomisplaced golf club1, and moves to step S231. At this time, the user may be notified that another player is holding user'sgolf club1.
• Thecontrol unit29 repeats the processes and determinations at step S231 to step S239 till the user receives thegolf club1 from another player and holds thegolf clubs1 of the number stored at step S15. For example, when the user B collected thegolf club1B misplaced by the user A, the determination at step S231 becomes YES when the user A receives thegolf club1B from the user B and holds thegolf club1A and thegolf club1B. Then, thecontrol unit29 ends the process ofFIG. 20, and proceeds to step S29 ofFIG. 19.
• At step S29, thecontrol unit29 determines whether the user places thegolf clubs1 in thecaddie bag4 as with at step S65 described previously.
• When the determination at step S29 is NO, thecontrol unit29 moves to step S31 and determines whether the user is moving toward thecaddie bag4 as with at step S67 described previously. When the determination at step S31 is NO, the process returns to step S17. When the determination is YES, the process returns to step S29. Thecontrol unit29 may perform the determination at step S29 after a predetermined time (e.g., several tens of seconds) elapses after the notification process in consideration of the moving time of the user.
• On the other hand, when the determination at step S29 is YES, thecontrol unit29 returns to step S11. As described above, the process ofFIG. 19 is repeated till the user finishes playing all holes.
• As described above, the variation can be also used to notify the user of the misplacement of thegolf club1 as with the above fourth embodiment.
• In the variation, thecontrol unit29 does not determine whether the user misplaces thegolf club1 or does not notify the user when the user is not moving. Thus, the user is prevented from being disturbed by the sound or the vibration for the notification when the user does not move because the user failed to hit a ball.
• In the above fourth embodiment and the variation thereof, the positional information of the user and the moving information of the user are detected by the singleposition detecting unit23. Thus, the configuration of the mobile terminal20 can be simplified.
• In the above embodiments and the variation, when the user moves by a cart while holding thegolf clubs1, step S55 ofFIG. 16 and the determination at step S17 ofFIG. 19 are repeated. In this case, thecontrol unit29 may terminate the processes ofFIG. 16 andFIG. 19. More specifically, for example, when the user A and thecaddie bag4 are moving together while the intra-body communication with theclub devices10A,10B installed in thegolf clubs1A,1B is established, thecontrol unit29 terminates the processes ofFIG. 16 andFIG. 19. Then, when the user is a predetermined distance away from thecaddie bag4, the process may be resumed from step S51 or S11. It is possible to determine whether the user A and thecaddie bag4 are moving together based on the output of theposition detecting unit41 of thebag device40 and theposition detecting unit23 of themobile terminal20A.
• In the above fourth embodiment, thecontrol unit29 determines whether the user hit a golf ball with use of the acoustic data of sounds collected by themicrophone31 of theshoe device30, but may perform the determination with use of the acoustic data of sounds collected by themicrophone24 of the mobile terminal20. In this case, theshoe device30 can be omitted from theelectronic device system500D. Alternatively, a microphone may be provided in the clubhead of thegolf club1 to determine whether the user hit a ball with use of the acoustic data of sounds collected by the microphone, for example. Alternatively, a pressure sensor may be provided in the clubhead of thegolf club1, and it may be determined whether the user hit a ball based on the output from the pressure sensor (for example, based on whether the output of the pressure sensor exceeds a threshold value).
• In the above fourth embodiment, the information on the layout of a golf course may be stored in thestorage unit27 to be compared with the output of theposition detecting unit23 to notify the user which hole and where the user is. When thestorage unit27 stores the position where the communication with the club device10 installed in thegolf club1 was disconnected (seeFIG. 18B), the positional relation between the current position of the user and themisplaced golf club1 may be notified.
• In the above fourth embodiment, thecontrol unit29 may receive the output of theposition detecting unit41 of thebag device40 from thebag device40, and may notify the user where thecaddie bag4 is in a hole based on the information on the layout of a golf course stored in thestorage unit27.
• The above fourth embodiment uses a mobile terminal (a smartphone) having a telephone function and the size of one hand as an example, but may be applied to a mobile terminal such as a tablet-type computer.
• The above fourth embodiment describes golf as an example, but the present invention may be applied to sports other than golf.
• While the exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated in detail, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and other embodiments, variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims (4)

What is claimed is:

1. A method implemented by a processor of a first electronic device, the method comprising:

when a communication between the first electronic device and a second electronic device is established, obtaining information about the second electronic device from the second electronic device; and

providing the obtained information about the second electronic device to a third electronic device.

2. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the providing of the obtained information about the second electronic device includes providing positional information of the second electronic device to the third electronic device.

3. The method according toclaim 2, wherein the providing of the positional information of the second electronic device includes providing, to the third electronic device, positional information when a communication between the first electronic device and the second electronic device is established.

4. The method according toclaim 1, further comprising:

when a communication between the first electronic device and the second electronic device that is not paired with the first electronic device is established, obtaining the information about the second electronic device from the second electronic device; and

providing the obtained information about the second electronic device to the third electronic device.

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