Electronic device, method for controlling electronic device, program, communication system, and communication device

Abstract

To suppress wasteful power consumption for starting communication.SOLUTION: An electronic device capable of communicating with an external communication device by a communication method in which communication is started when a detection-side device receives a notification signal transmitted from a notification-side device, the electronic device including a communication unit and a control unit, the control unit being configured to set the electronic device to operate as the detection-side device and cause the communication unit to perform a detection operation of waiting for the notification signal, when the communication unit receives a notification signal satisfying a predetermined condition from the communication device operating as the notification side device in the detection operation, the electronic device is switched to operate as the notification side device, and the notification signal is transmitted from the communication unit to the communication device switched to operate as the detection side device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic device, a control method for an electronic device, a program, a communication system, and a communication device. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, as a short-range wireless communication method, a communication method in which communication is initiated when a detection side device receives a notification signal transmitted from a notification side device is known (for example, Patent Document 1). An example of such a communication method is Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy (BLE). When an electronic device operating as a notification side device initiates wireless communication with an external communication device using such a communication method, it is first necessary to transmit a notification signal from the electronic device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-220907 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the power required to transmit the notification signal is usually greater than the power required to receive it. Furthermore, if the transmission of the notification signal ends in failure, such as when there is no detecting device within the communication range, the notification signal must be transmitted again, consuming even more power. Therefore, if the electronic device operating as the notification device is a battery-powered device, the greater the power consumed to transmit the notification signal, the shorter the operating time becomes.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to reduce unnecessary power consumption when starting communication. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the electronic device according to the present invention comprises: An electronic device capable of communicating with an external communication device by a communication method in which communication is initiated when a detection side device receives a notification signal transmitted from a notification side device, The Communications Department and a control unit, The control unit setting the electronic device to operate as the detecting device, and having the communication unit perform a detecting operation of waiting for the notification signal; When the communication unit receives the notification signal that satisfies a predetermined condition from the communication device operating as the notification side device during the detection operation, it switches the electronic device to operate as the notification side device and causes the communication unit to transmit the notification signal to the communication device that has been switched to operate as the detection side device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress unnecessary power consumption for starting communication. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the electronic timepiece. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the smartphone. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing the operation when the electronic timepiece and smartphone are connected for communication. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing the operations of the electronic timepiece and the smartphone when a communication connection fails. [Figure 6] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an adjustment operation of the period of the connection trial operation. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for communication connection processing executed by the electronic timepiece. [Figure 8]10 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure of a communication connection process executed by a smartphone. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in Figure 1, a communication system 1 of this embodiment comprises an electronic watch 10 (electronic device) and a smartphone 20 (communications device). The electronic watch 10 is a wristwatch worn on the user's wrist. The smartphone 20 is carried and used by the same user as the electronic watch 10.

[0010] The electronic watch 10 is capable of communicating with the smartphone 20 via short-range wireless communication to exchange data. In this embodiment, BLE is used as the short-range wireless communication. The electronic watch 10 and smartphone 20 operate in conjunction with each other by communicating and sending and receiving data via BLE. For example, the electronic watch 10 receives time information from the smartphone 20 at predetermined times throughout the day (e.g., four times every six hours) and corrects the internal time. In addition, by configuring the electronic watch 10 (such as setting the alarm time or world time) on a linking app installed on the smartphone 20, the settings can be reflected in the connected electronic watch 10.

[0011] 2, the electronic watch 10 includes a CPU 11 (Central Processing Unit) (control unit of the electronic device, first control unit, control means), a RAM 12 (Random Access Memory), a storage unit 13, a display unit 14, an operation unit 15, a timing unit 16, a short-range wireless communication unit 17 (communication unit of the electronic device, first communication unit), and a power supply unit 18. The various units of the electronic watch 10 are connected via a data transmission path such as a bus.

[0012] The CPU 11 is a processor that functions as a control unit that controls the operation of the electronic timepiece 10 by reading and executing the program 131 stored in the memory unit 13 and performing various arithmetic processing. The electronic timepiece 10 may have multiple processors (e.g., multiple CPUs), and the multiple processes performed by the CPU 11 of this embodiment may be executed by these multiple processors. In this case, the control unit is made up of the multiple processors. In this case, the multiple processors may be involved in a common process, or the multiple processors may independently execute different processes in parallel. The RAM 12 provides working memory space for the CPU 11 and stores temporary data.

[0013] The storage unit 13 is a non-transitory recording medium readable by the CPU 11 as a computer, and stores a program 131 and various data. The storage unit 13 has a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory. The program 131 is stored in the storage unit 13 in the form of a computer-readable program code. The data stored in the storage unit 13 includes communication setting data 132 in which settings related to communication connection, such as identification information of the communication connection destination and the connection time, are registered.

[0014] Display unit 14 displays information such as the time, date, and day of the week in analog and / or digital format in accordance with control signals sent from CPU 11. When an analog format is used, display unit 14 includes rotating hands such as hour, minute, and second hands, a mechanism for rotating the hands, and a drive circuit for the mechanism. When a digital format is used, display unit 14 includes a display panel such as a liquid crystal panel capable of displaying in a segment format or a dot matrix format, and a drive circuit for the display panel.

[0015] The operation unit 15 has operation means such as operation buttons and a crown, and outputs operation signals corresponding to operations on the operation means to the CPU 11. The operation unit 15 may also have other operation means such as a touch panel provided over the display screen of the display unit 14.

[0016] The timekeeping unit 16 includes an oscillation circuit, a frequency dividing circuit, a timekeeping circuit, etc. The frequency dividing circuit divides the clock signal generated by the oscillation circuit, and the timekeeping circuit counts the divided signal, thereby calculating and storing the current date and time.

[0017] The short-range wireless communication unit 17 is a communication module having an antenna, a modulation / demodulation circuit, a signal processing circuit, etc., and performs short-range wireless communication with the smartphone 20 using BLE.

[0018] The power supply unit 18 has a battery 181 and outputs power supplied from the battery 181 at a predetermined operating voltage to each component of the electronic timepiece 10. The battery 181 may be a primary battery such as a button battery, or a rechargeable secondary battery such as a lithium-ion battery.

[0019] 3, the smartphone 20 includes a CPU 21 (second control unit, control unit of the communication device), a RAM 22, a storage unit 23, a display unit 24, an operation unit 25, a telephone communication unit 26, a short-range wireless communication unit 27 (communication unit of the communication device, second communication unit), and a power supply unit 28. The units of the smartphone 20 are connected via a data transmission path such as a bus.

[0020] The CPU 21 is a processor that functions as a control unit that controls the operation of the smartphone 20 by reading and executing the program 231 stored in the storage unit 23 and performing various arithmetic processing. The smartphone 20 may have multiple processors (e.g., multiple CPUs), and the multiple processes performed by the CPU 21 of this embodiment may be executed by the multiple processors. In this case, the control unit is configured by the multiple processors. In this case, the multiple processors may be involved in a common process, or the multiple processors may independently execute different processes in parallel. The RAM 22 provides a working memory space for the CPU 21 and stores temporary data.

[0021] The storage unit 23 is a non-transitory recording medium readable by the CPU 21 as a computer, and stores a program 231 and various data. The storage unit 23 has a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory. The program 231 is stored in the storage unit 23 in the form of a computer-readable program code. The program 231 includes the above-mentioned linked app. Data stored in the storage unit 23 includes communication setting data 232 in which settings related to communication connection, such as identification information of the communication connection destination and connection time, are registered.

[0022] The display unit 24 includes a display panel such as a liquid crystal panel capable of displaying in a dot matrix format and a drive circuit for the display panel. The display unit 24 displays menus, linked application screens, and the like in accordance with control signals transmitted from the CPU 21.

[0023] The operation unit 25 has operation means such as a touch panel and operation buttons that are provided over the display panel of the display unit 24, and outputs operation signals to the CPU 21 corresponding to operations on the operation means.

[0024] The telephone communication unit 26 is a communication module having an antenna, a modulation / demodulation circuit, a signal processing circuit, etc., and communicates with mobile phone base stations, etc., and transmits and receives voice data for telephone communication and packet data related to Internet connection.

[0025] The short-range wireless communication unit 27 is a communication module that includes an antenna, a modulation / demodulation circuit, a signal processing circuit, etc., and performs short-range wireless communication with the electronic timepiece 10 using BLE.

[0026] The power supply unit 28 has a battery 281, and outputs power supplied from the battery 281 at a predetermined operating voltage to each unit of the smartphone 20. As the battery 281, a rechargeable secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery is used.

[0027] Next, the operation of the communication system 1 will be described. The electronic watch 10 performs data communication with the smartphone 20 via BLE at predetermined connection times each day (in this embodiment, by default, four times every six hours), acquires time data for time adjustment from the smartphone 20, and adjusts the date and time stored in the timing unit 16. Because the smartphone 20 acquires and stores accurate time information from mobile phone base stations and the like, the above operation ensures that the accurate time is also reflected in the electronic watch 10. In addition to this scheduled communication, it is also possible to start communication with the smartphone 20 via BLE in response to a predetermined operation by the user on the operation unit 15. Such manual communication is performed, for example, when it is desired to immediately update the electronic watch 10 with various settings made on a linked app on the smartphone 20.

[0028] To enable this type of linked operation, a "pairing" process is performed in advance to mutually register the electronic watch 10 and the smartphone 20 as devices to connect to via BLE. This pairing registers the identification information of the smartphone 20 in the communication setting data 132 of the electronic watch 10, and the identification information of the electronic watch 10 in the communication setting data 232 of the smartphone 20.

[0029] In BLE, one of two devices connected for communication operates as a central (detecting device, parent device), and the other operates as a peripheral (announcement device, child device). Both the electronic watch 10 and the smartphone 20 can operate as either a central or a peripheral. Hereinafter, setting (or switching) a device to operate as a central or a peripheral will be referred to as "setting (or switching) the role of a device to a central or a peripheral." The CPU 11 of the electronic watch 10 can switch the role of the electronic watch 10 between central and peripheral. The CPU 21 of the smartphone 20 can also switch the role of the smartphone 20 between central and peripheral. When BLE communication begins, the peripheral first transmits an advertising signal. The advertising signal is a signal that notifies the central of the presence of the device and includes the peripheral's identification information. Meanwhile, the central performs a scanning operation (detection operation) to wait for an advertising signal at a predetermined timing or in response to a user operation. When the central receives an advertising signal from a paired peripheral during the scanning operation, it returns a connection request signal to the peripheral, and in response, one-to-one mutual communication is established between the central and the peripheral.

[0030] The central can perform pairing and communication connections with multiple peripherals. When the electronic watch 10 of this embodiment performs a communication connection with the smartphone 20 via BLE, the smartphone 20 ultimately operates as the central, and the electronic watch 10 operates as the peripheral. This is because the smartphone 20 is a multi-function device and may be capable of simultaneous communication connections with multiple peripheral devices, so it is preferable for it to operate as a central, while the electronic watch 10 does not perform communication connections with devices other than the smartphone 20.

[0031] However, if the electronic watch 10 operates as a peripheral when a BLE communication connection is initiated, the following problem occurs. Typically, the power required to transmit an advertising signal is greater than the power required to receive the advertising signal. Furthermore, if the advertising signal transmission ends in failure, such as when the central is not located within the communication range, the advertising signal transmission operation must be repeated, consuming additional power. For this reason, in a compact electronic watch 10 with a small battery 181 capacity, the power consumption required to transmit the advertising signal cannot be ignored, which can lead to problems such as a shortened operating time.

[0032] Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to reduce unnecessary power consumption in the electronic timepiece 10, a communication connection between the electronic timepiece 10 and the smartphone 20 is initiated in the sequence shown in Fig. 4. At a predetermined connection time t, the CPU 21 of the smartphone 20 sets the role of the smartphone 20 to peripheral and causes the short-range wireless communication unit 27 to transmit an advertising signal (step S1).

[0033] Meanwhile, at connection time t, the CPU 11 of the electronic watch 10 sets the role of the electronic watch 10 to central and causes the short-range wireless communication unit 17 to perform a scan operation to wait for an advertising signal (step S2). The CPU 11 causes the short-range wireless communication unit 17 to perform a scan operation for a predetermined scan time (detection time). If the short-range wireless communication unit 17 receives an advertising signal that satisfies predetermined conditions from the smartphone 20 operating as the central during the scan operation, the CPU 11 determines that reception of the advertising signal has been successful and switches the role of the electronic watch 10 to peripheral. In this embodiment, the predetermined conditions are met when the radio wave strength of the advertising signal is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference strength. For example, RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) is used as the radio wave strength. The radio wave strength of the advertising signal becomes stronger the closer the electronic watch 10 and the smartphone 20 are to each other. The reference strength is set to the radio wave strength when the electronic watch 10 and the smartphone 20 are located a predetermined short distance apart. As a result, when the CPU 11 receives an advertising signal from the smartphone 20 within a predetermined short distance range, the CPU 11 determines that the advertising signal satisfies the predetermined condition and determines that reception of the advertising signal has been successful. Note that the predetermined condition related to the advertising signal is not limited to the above. For example, the predetermined condition may be satisfied simply when it is determined that the advertising signal is from the smartphone 20, without taking into account the radio wave strength.

[0034] After successfully receiving the advertising signal and switching the role to peripheral, the CPU 11 causes the short-range wireless communication unit 17 to transmit the advertising signal (step S3). Meanwhile, after transmitting the advertising signal a predetermined number of times over a predetermined time in step S1, the CPU 21 of the smartphone 20 switches the role of the smartphone 20 to central and causes it to perform a scanning operation. When the smartphone 20 receives the advertising signal transmitted from the electronic watch 10, the CPU 21 of the smartphone 20 causes the short-range wireless communication unit 27 to transmit a predetermined connection request signal to the electronic watch 10 (step S4). When the electronic watch 10 receives this connection request signal, mutual communication via BLE is established between the electronic watch 10 and the smartphone 20 (step S5). Thereafter, time information, linked app setting information, and the like are transmitted from the smartphone 20 to the electronic watch 10 and reflected in the electronic watch 10. Below, the series of operations performed by the electronic watch 10 from the scanning operation to the establishment of mutual communication is referred to as the "connection attempt operation M." In the BLE profile, time information is transmitted from a central to a peripheral. Therefore, by switching the role of the smartphone 20 to a central and the role of the electronic watch 10 to a peripheral and establishing mutual communication, it becomes possible to transmit time information from the smartphone 20 to the electronic watch 10, and ultimately to adjust the time on the electronic watch 10 using the time information from the smartphone 20.

[0035] 4, the time held by the electronic timepiece 10 may differ from the accurate time held by the smartphone 20. For this reason, the timing of transmitting the advertising signal by the smartphone 20 in step S1 may be adjusted to take into account the possible time error. For example, if the magnitude of the possible error is time te, the smartphone 20 may start transmitting the advertising signal at a timing that is at least time te earlier than the connection time t, and may repeatedly transmit the advertising signal until at least time te has elapsed since the connection time t. The connection time period, which includes the connection time t, is the period from the timing at which the advertising signal transmission is started, i.e., from a timing that is at least time te earlier than the connection time t, to a timing at least time te later than the connection time t.

[0036] If there is no smartphone 20 within the short-distance range or if the smartphone 20 is powered off, the electronic watch 10 will fail to receive an advertising signal that meets the predetermined conditions during the scanning operation in step S2, as shown in FIG. 5. In FIG. 5, the dashed arrow of the advertising signal indicates that the radio wave strength of the advertising signal is below the reference strength, that the advertising signal does not reach the electronic watch 10, or that the advertising signal is not transmitted from the smartphone 20. In this case, the CPU 11 of the electronic watch 10 does not switch the role to peripheral and does not transmit an advertising signal from the near-field wireless communication unit 17 (i.e., stops transmission of advertising signals from the near-field wireless communication unit 17 to the smartphone 20). Alternatively, the role may be switched to peripheral and advertising signals may not be transmitted. Therefore, a BLE communication connection is not established between the electronic watch 10 and the smartphone 20.

[0037] 4 and 5 is set, for example, at the time of pairing, and is registered in the communication setting data 132 of the electronic timepiece 10 and the communication setting data 232 of the smartphone 20. Also, at the time of pairing, the connection time t for the scheduled communication connection is determined and registered in the communication setting data 132, 232.

[0038] 4 and 5, the electronic watch 10 transmits an advertising signal only when the smartphone 20 is in a short distance and in a state where BLE communication is possible (step S3 in FIG. 4). In other words, if the smartphone 20 is in a position or state where BLE communication is not possible, the electronic watch 10 will not transmit an advertising signal, which consumes a lot of power, as shown in FIG. 5. This makes it possible to reduce the waste of power in the electronic watch 10 by transmitting unnecessary advertising signals. In the above, "a state where BLE communication is not possible" includes a state where BLE communication is not possible due to interference from other communication signals such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

[0039] Note that, since the capacity of the battery 281 of the smartphone 20 is sufficiently large compared to the power required to transmit the advertising signal, it is not necessary for the smartphone 20 to transmit the advertising signal only at or around the connection time t. For example, the role of the smartphone 20 may be alternately switched between peripheral and central at a predetermined switching period, and the advertising signal may be transmitted every time the smartphone 20 operates as a peripheral. In this case, it is preferable to set the length of the scan time during which the electronic timepiece 10 performs the scanning operation in step S2 longer than the above-mentioned switching period so that the electronic timepiece 10 can reliably receive the advertising signal.

[0040] The CPU 11 of the electronic watch 10 repeatedly causes the short-range wireless communication unit 17 to perform a connection attempt operation M at a first period T1. In this embodiment, the first period T1 is six hours. However, as shown in FIG. 6, if a communication connection fails in a certain connection attempt operation M (i.e., if the short-range wireless communication unit 17 does not receive an advertising signal that satisfies a predetermined condition in a scanning operation), the CPU 11 and CPU 21 may set the period until the next connection attempt operation M is started to a second period T2 that is shorter than the first period T1 (a shorter time than the first period T1). In FIG. 6, the second period T2 is half the first period T1 (three hours), but is not limited to this. In the example shown in FIG. 6, communication connections are successful in the connection attempt operations M at connection times t1, t2, and t5, so the period until the next connection attempt operation M is started is set to the first period T1. Furthermore, since the communication connection failed in the connection attempt operations M at the connection times t3 and t4, the period until the next connection attempt operation M is started is set to the second period T2.

[0041] Although the above description uses an example of a fixed communication connection every six hours, a similar sequence may also be used for a manual communication connection in response to a user operation. However, when a user executes a manual communication connection, it is generally assumed that the electronic watch 10 and smartphone 20 are in close proximity and are in a state where communication is possible, so steps S1 and S2 in Figure 4 may be omitted and the process may start with the electronic watch 10 transmitting an advertising signal in step S3.

[0042] Next, the communication connection processing executed by the CPU 11 of the electronic watch 10 and the CPU 21 of the smartphone 20 to realize the above-mentioned operation will be described. First, the communication connection processing on the electronic watch 10 side will be described with reference to FIG. 7. The communication connection processing is executed while the electronic watch 10 is powered on. When the communication connection processing starts, the CPU 11 references the communication setting data 132 and repeatedly determines whether it is the predetermined connection time t (step S101). If it determines that it is the connection time t ("YES" in step S101), the CPU 11 switches the role of the electronic watch 10 to central and starts a scanning operation by the short-range wireless communication unit 17 (step S102).

[0043] The CPU 11 determines whether or not it has received an advertising signal from the smartphone 20 (the advertising signal transmitted in step S202 of FIG. 8) (step S103). If it determines that it has received an advertising signal (“YES” in step S103), the CPU 11 determines whether the radio wave intensity of the received advertising signal is equal to or greater than a reference intensity (step S104). If it determines that the radio wave intensity is equal to or greater than the reference intensity (“YES” in step S104), the CPU 11 switches the role of the electronic timepiece 10 to peripheral and causes the short-range wireless communication unit 17 to transmit an advertising signal (step S105). Step S105 is executed when the smartphone 20 is in a short distance and in a state where BLE communication can be performed. Therefore, the advertising signal transmitted in step S105 is received by the smartphone 20, and a connection request signal is returned from the smartphone 20. In response to receiving this connection request signal, the CPU 11 starts mutual communication using BLE (step S106).

[0044] Thereafter, the CPU 11 repeatedly determines whether or not the data communication via BLE has been completed (step S107), and if it determines that the data communication has been completed ("YES" in step S107), ends the communication connection via BLE (step S108). Furthermore, the CPU 11 sets the next connection time t so that the cycle until the next connection trial operation M is the first cycle T1, and registers this in the communication setting data 132 (step S109). Note that if the current cycle is the first cycle T1, step S109 is omitted.

[0045] On the other hand, if it is determined that an advertising signal has not been received from the smartphone 20 ("NO" in step S103), or if it is determined that the signal strength of the received advertising signal is lower than the reference signal ("NO" in step S104), the CPU 11 determines whether a predetermined scan time has elapsed since the start of the scan operation (step S110). If it is determined that the scan time has not elapsed ("NO" in step S110), the CPU 11 returns the process to step S103. If it is determined that the scan time has elapsed ("YES" in step S110), the CPU 11 determines that reception of the advertising signal and communication connection via BLE have failed, and executes step S111. In step S111, the CPU 11 sets the next connection time t so that the cycle until the next connection attempt operation M is the second cycle T2, and registers this in the communication setting data 132 (step S111). Note that if the current cycle is the second cycle T2, step S111 is omitted. Furthermore, if the cycle of the connection trial operation M is kept constant regardless of whether the communication connection is successful or not, steps S109 and S111 may be omitted.

[0046] When step S109 or step S111 is completed, the CPU 11 determines whether or not an operation to turn off the power of the electronic timepiece 10 has been performed (step S112). If the CPU 11 determines that the operation has not been performed ("NO" in step S112), the process returns to step S101, and if the CPU 11 determines that the operation has been performed ("YES" in step S112), the communication connection process ends.

[0047] Next, the communication connection process on the smartphone 20 side will be described with reference to FIG. 8. The communication connection process is executed while the smartphone 20 is powered on. When the communication connection process is started, the CPU 21 repeatedly determines whether or not it is a predetermined connection time t by referring to the communication setting data 232 (step S201). If it is determined that it is the connection time t ("YES" in step S201), the CPU 21 switches the role of the smartphone 20 to peripheral and causes the short-range wireless communication unit 27 to transmit an advertising signal (step S202). When the transmission of advertising signals has been completed a predetermined number of times over a predetermined period, the CPU 21 switches the role of the smartphone 20 to central and causes the short-range wireless communication unit 27 to start a scanning operation (step S203).

[0048] The CPU 21 determines whether or not it has received an advertising signal (the advertising signal transmitted in step S105 of FIG. 7) from the electronic watch 10 (step S204). If it determines that it has received an advertising signal (YES in step S204), the CPU 21 causes the short-range wireless communication unit 27 to transmit a connection request signal to the electronic watch 10, starting mutual communication via BLE (step S205).

[0049] Thereafter, the CPU 21 repeatedly determines whether or not the data communication via BLE has been completed (step S206), and if it determines that the data communication has been completed ("YES" in step S206), ends the communication connection via BLE (step S207). Furthermore, the CPU 21 sets the next connection time t so that the cycle until the next connection attempt operation M is the first cycle T1, and registers this in the communication setting data 232 (step S208). Note that if the current cycle is the first cycle T1, step S208 is omitted.

[0050] On the other hand, if it is determined that an advertising signal has not been received from the electronic watch 10 ("NO" in step S204), the CPU 21 sets the next connection time t so that the period until the next connection attempt operation M is the second period T2, and registers this in the communication setting data 232. Note that if the current period is the second period T2, step S209 is omitted. Also, if the period of the connection attempt operation M is to be constant regardless of whether the communication connection is successful or not, steps S208 and S209 may be omitted.

[0051] When step S208 or step S209 is completed, the CPU 21 determines whether or not an operation to turn off the power of the smartphone 20 has been performed (step S210). If the CPU 21 determines that the operation has not been performed ("NO" in step S210), the process returns to step S201, and if the CPU 21 determines that the operation has been performed ("YES" in step S210), the communication connection process ends.

[0052] As described above, the electronic watch 10 according to this embodiment is capable of communicating with an external smartphone 20 using BLE, a communication method in which communication is initiated when the central receives an advertising signal transmitted from a peripheral, and is equipped with a short-range wireless communication unit 17 and a CPU 11. The CPU 11 sets the electronic watch 10 to operate as a central and causes the short-range wireless communication unit 17 to perform a scanning operation to wait for an advertising signal. If the short-range wireless communication unit 17 receives an advertising signal that satisfies predetermined conditions from the smartphone 20 operating as a peripheral during the scanning operation, the CPU 11 switches the electronic watch 10 to operate as a peripheral and causes the short-range wireless communication unit 17 to transmit an advertising signal to the smartphone 20 that has been switched to operate as a central. In this way, the electronic watch 10 first attempts to receive an advertising signal from the smartphone 20, thereby determining whether the smartphone 20 is in a short distance and in a state in which it can communicate via BLE before transmitting an advertising signal from the electronic watch 10. Then, only when an advertising signal satisfying predetermined conditions is received, i.e., only when the smartphone 20 is in a location and state where communication is possible, the electronic watch 10 transmits the advertising signal and a BLE communication connection is established. In other words, if the smartphone 20 is in a location or state where communication is impossible, the electronic watch 10 does not transmit advertising signals, which consume a lot of power. This allows the electronic watch 10 to establish a BLE connection with the electronic watch 10 as a peripheral while suppressing unnecessary power consumption due to the transmission of unnecessary advertising signals. As a result, for example, if the frequency of the connection attempt operation M is maintained at the same level as before, power consumption when communication cannot be initiated is reduced, thereby reducing the total power consumed by the electronic watch 10 to initiate a communication connection. Furthermore, if the total power consumed to initiate a communication connection is maintained at the same level as before, the frequency of the connection attempt operation M can be increased, thereby improving the success rate of communication connections.

[0053] Furthermore, when the short-range wireless communication unit 17 does not receive an advertising signal that satisfies a predetermined condition during the scanning operation, the CPU 11 stops transmission of the advertising signal from the short-range wireless communication unit 17 to the smartphone 20. This makes it possible to reduce power consumption by stopping transmission of unnecessary advertising signals when the smartphone 20 is in a position or state where communication is not possible.

[0054] Furthermore, the CPU 11 determines that an advertising signal satisfies a predetermined condition if the radio wave strength of the advertising signal is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference strength. This allows the electronic watch 10 to transmit an advertising signal only when the smartphone 20 is located at or closer than the short distance corresponding to the reference strength. This makes it less likely that an advertising signal will be sent in vain.

[0055] Furthermore, the CPU 11 repeatedly causes the short-range wireless communication unit 17 to perform a connection attempt operation M, including a scan operation over a predetermined scan time, at a first cycle T1. If the short-range wireless communication unit 17 does not receive an advertising signal that satisfies predetermined conditions during the scan operation of a certain connection attempt operation M, the CPU 11 sets the cycle until the next connection attempt operation M to a second cycle T2, which is shorter than the first cycle T1. This prevents periods of no communication from becoming too long. For example, in a mode in which the internal time of the electronic watch 10 is corrected by receiving time information from the smartphone 20 via a scheduled communication connection, this prevents the error in the internal time of the electronic watch 10 from becoming too large.

[0056] Furthermore, the smartphone 20 transmits an advertising signal during a connection time period that includes a connection time t that has been determined in advance and registered in the smartphone 20 and the electronic watch 10, and the CPU 11 causes the short-range wireless communication unit 17 to perform a scanning operation during the connection time period that includes the connection time t. This ensures that the smartphone 20 transmits an advertising signal during the connection time period that includes the connection time t. This makes it less likely that communication will not start even though the smartphone 20 is in a position and state where communication is possible. Furthermore, the frequency with which the smartphone 20 transmits advertising signals can be kept to a minimum.

[0057] The communication method is BLE, which prevents unnecessary power consumption by the electronic timepiece 10 due to unnecessary advertising signal transmission, and enables BLE connection with the electronic timepiece 10 as a peripheral.

[0058] Furthermore, the control method for the electronic watch 10 according to this embodiment sets the electronic watch 10 to operate as a central, has the short-range wireless communication unit 17 perform a scanning operation to wait for an advertising signal, and when the short-range wireless communication unit 17 receives an advertising signal that satisfies predetermined conditions from the smartphone 20 operating as a peripheral during the scanning operation, switches the electronic watch 10 to operate as a peripheral and has the short-range wireless communication unit 17 send an advertising signal to the smartphone 20 that has been switched to operate as a central. This makes it possible to reduce the unnecessary consumption of power required to start communication.

[0059] Furthermore, the program 131 according to this embodiment causes the CPU 11 to function as control means. The control means sets the electronic timepiece 10 to operate as a central, causes the short-range wireless communication unit 17 to perform a scanning operation to wait for an advertising signal, and when the short-range wireless communication unit 17 receives an advertising signal that satisfies predetermined conditions from the smartphone 20 operating as a peripheral during the scanning operation, switches the electronic timepiece 10 to operate as a peripheral and causes the short-range wireless communication unit 17 to transmit an advertising signal to the smartphone 20 that has been switched to operate as a central. This makes it possible to reduce unnecessary power consumption for the start of communication.

[0060] The communication system 1 according to this embodiment includes an electronic timepiece 10 having a short-range wireless communication unit 17 and a CPU 11, and a smartphone 20 having a short-range wireless communication unit 27 and a CPU 21. The CPU 21 sets the smartphone 20 to operate as a peripheral, causes the short-range wireless communication unit 27 to transmit an advertising signal, and switches the smartphone 20 to operate as a central after transmitting the advertising signal. The CPU 11 sets the electronic timepiece 10 to operate as a central, causes the short-range wireless communication unit 17 to perform a scanning operation to wait for an advertising signal, and when the short-range wireless communication unit 17 receives an advertising signal that satisfies predetermined conditions from the smartphone 20 operating as a peripheral during the scanning operation, switches the electronic timepiece 10 to operate as a peripheral and causes the short-range wireless communication unit 17 to transmit an advertising signal to the smartphone 20 that has been switched to operate as a central. This reduces unnecessary power consumption for the start of communication.

[0061] The smartphone 20 according to this embodiment also includes a short-range wireless communication unit 27 and a CPU 21. The CPU 21 sets the smartphone 20 to operate as a peripheral and causes the short-range wireless communication unit 27 to transmit an advertising signal. After transmitting the advertising signal, the CPU 21 sets the smartphone 20 to operate as a central and causes the short-range wireless communication unit 27 to perform a scanning operation to wait for an advertising signal from an external electronic watch 10. The CPU 21 also causes the short-range wireless communication unit 27 to repeatedly perform a connection attempt operation M, including transmitting an advertising signal for a predetermined period of time, at a first cycle T1. If the short-range wireless communication unit 27 does not receive an advertising signal from the electronic watch 10 that has been switched to operate as a peripheral during the scanning operation of a certain connection attempt operation M, the CPU 21 sets the time until the next connection attempt operation M to a second cycle T2 that is shorter than the first cycle T1. This enables BLE connection to be established with the electronic watch 10 as the peripheral and the smartphone 20 as the central while suppressing unnecessary power consumption in the electronic watch 10. It is also possible to prevent periods of no communication from becoming too long.

[0062] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and various modifications are possible. For example, in the above-described embodiment, an electronic watch 10 is used as an example of an electronic device and a smartphone 20 is used as an example of a communication device, but the present invention is not limited to these. The electronic device and communication device may be any device capable of communicating with each other. For example, the electronic device and / or communication device may be a tablet terminal, a notebook PC, a smart ring, a portable game console, etc. In the above embodiment, the electronic watch 10 communicates data with the smartphone 20 via BLE only at specific connection times each day, but this is not limited to this. For example, in an electronic watch 10 capable of establishing a constant BLE connection with the smartphone 20, the BLE connection may be disconnected if the electronic watch 10 becomes too far away from the smartphone 20. In this case, the electronic watch 10 may continue to transmit advertising signals (notification signals) at regular intervals (e.g., one minute), wasting power. If the BLE connection between the electronic watch 10 and the smartphone 20 that has a constant BLE connection is disconnected in this way, the electronic watch 10 may perform the communication connection process shown in FIG. 7 and the smartphone 20 may perform the communication connection process shown in FIG. 8, thereby reducing power consumption and establishing a connection. In this case, the electronic watch 10 may repeatedly determine whether the BLE connection with the smartphone 20 has been disconnected in step S101 of Fig. 7, and if it is determined that the BLE connection has been disconnected (“YES” in step S101), the CPU 11 may switch the role of the electronic watch 10 to central and start a scanning operation by the near-field wireless communication unit 17 (step S102). Similarly, the smartphone 20 may repeatedly determine whether the BLE connection with the electronic watch 10 has been disconnected in step S201 of Fig. 8, and if it is determined that the BLE connection has been disconnected (“YES” in step S201), the CPU 21 may switch the role of the smartphone 20 to peripheral and start transmitting an advertising signal by the near-field wireless communication unit 27 (step S202). Note that if the smartphone 20 alternately switches its role between peripheral and central at a predetermined switching period (for example, 15 seconds), the smartphone 20 does not need to switch its role based on the result of determining whether the BLE connection with the electronic watch 10 has been disconnected. This makes it possible to reduce unnecessary power consumption for starting communication. In this case, the first period T1 may be set to 1 minute and the second period T2 may be set to 30 seconds, for example. This allows the BLE connection to be re-established as quickly as possible when the electronic timepiece 10 and smartphone 20 become closer to each other again. That is, even in this case, the success rate of communication connection can be improved by reducing the total power consumed for starting a communication connection and by increasing the frequency of the connection trial operation M.

[0063] Furthermore, the short-range wireless communication method is not limited to BLE, and any communication method can be used in which communication is initiated when the detection side device receives the notification signal transmitted from the notification side device.

[0064] In the above description, an example has been disclosed in which flash memory is used as the computer-readable medium for the program according to the present invention in the storage units 13 and 23, but this is not limiting. Other computer-readable media may include information recording media such as HDDs (Hard Disk Drives), SSDs (Solid State Drives), and CD-ROMs. Furthermore, carrier waves may also be used as a medium for providing data for the program according to the present invention via a communication line.

[0065] Furthermore, it goes without saying that the detailed configuration and detailed operation of each component of the communication system 1 in the above embodiment can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0066] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0067] 1...communication system, 10...electronic watch (electronic device), 11...CPU (control unit, first control unit), 17...near-field wireless communication unit (communication unit, first communication unit), 20...smartphone (communication device), 21...CPU (second control unit), 27...near-field wireless communication unit (second communication unit), M...connection attempt operation, T1...first period, T2...second period

Claims

1. An electronic device capable of communicating with an external communication device by a communication method in which communication is initiated when a detection side device receives a notification signal transmitted from a notification side device, The Communications Department and a control unit, The control unit setting the electronic device to operate as the detecting device, and having the communication unit perform a detecting operation of waiting for the notification signal; When the communication unit receives the notification signal that satisfies a predetermined condition from the communication device operating as the notification side device in the detection operation, the communication unit switches the electronic device to operate as the notification side device, and causes the communication unit to transmit the notification signal to the communication device that has been switched to operate as the detection side device. electronic equipment.

2. the control unit stops transmission of the notification signal from the communication unit to the communication device when the communication unit does not receive the notification signal that satisfies the predetermined condition during the detection operation. The electronic device according to claim 1 .

3. the control unit determines that the notification signal satisfies the predetermined condition when the radio wave intensity of the notification signal is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference intensity. The electronic device according to claim 1 .

4. The control unit causing the communication unit to repeatedly perform a connection attempt operation including the detection operation for a predetermined detection time in a first cycle; If the communication unit does not receive the notification signal that satisfies the predetermined condition in the detection operation of one of the connection attempt operations, a time period until the next connection attempt operation is started is set to a time period shorter than the first cycle. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. the communication device transmits the notification signal during a connection time period that includes a connection time that is predetermined and registered in the communication device and the electronic device; the control unit causes the communication unit to perform the detection operation during a connection time period that includes the connection time. The electronic device according to claim 1 .

6. the communication method is BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), the detecting device is a central; The notification device is a peripheral. The electronic device according to claim 1 .

7. A control method for an electronic device having a communication unit capable of communicating with an external communication device by a communication method in which communication is initiated when a detection side device receives a notification signal transmitted from a notification side device, comprising: setting the electronic device to operate as the detecting device, and having the communication unit perform a detecting operation of waiting for the notification signal; When the communication unit receives the notification signal that satisfies a predetermined condition from the communication device operating as the notification side device in the detection operation, the communication unit switches the electronic device to operate as the notification side device, and causes the communication unit to transmit the notification signal to the communication device that has been switched to operate as the detection side device. How to control electronic devices.

8. A program that causes a computer of an electronic device having a communication unit capable of communicating with an external communication device to function as a control means by a communication method in which communication is initiated when a detection side device receives a notification signal transmitted from a notification side device, The control means setting the electronic device to operate as the detecting device, and having the communication unit perform a detecting operation of waiting for the notification signal; When the communication unit receives the notification signal that satisfies a predetermined condition from the communication device operating as the notification side device in the detection operation, the communication unit switches the electronic device to operate as the notification side device, and causes the communication unit to transmit the notification signal to the communication device that has been switched to operate as the detection side device. program.

9. A communication system including an electronic device and a communication device that can communicate with each other by a communication method in which communication is initiated when a detection side device receives a notification signal transmitted from a notification side device, the electronic device includes a first communication unit and a first control unit; the communication device includes a second communication unit and a second control unit; the second control unit sets the communication device to operate as the notification side device, causes the second communication unit to transmit the notification signal, and switches the communication device to operate as the detection side device after transmitting the notification signal; The first control unit setting the electronic device to operate as the detecting device, and causing the first communication unit to perform a detecting operation of waiting for the notification signal; When the first communication unit receives the notification signal that satisfies a predetermined condition from the communication device operating as the notification side device in the detection operation, the first communication unit switches the electronic device to operate as the notification side device, and causes the first communication unit to transmit the notification signal to the communication device that has been switched to operate as the detection side device. Communication system.

10. A communication device capable of communicating with an external electronic device by a communication method in which communication is initiated when a detection side device receives a notification signal transmitted from a notification side device, The Communications Department and a control unit, The control unit setting the communication device to operate as the notification device and causing the communication unit to transmit the notification signal; After transmitting the notification signal, the communication device is set to operate as the detection side device, and the communication unit is caused to perform a detection operation of waiting for the notification signal from an external electronic device; causing the communication unit to repeatedly perform a connection attempt operation including transmitting the notification signal for a predetermined time period in a first cycle; When the communication unit does not receive the notification signal from the electronic device that has been switched to operate as the notification side device in the detection operation of one of the connection attempt operations, the time until the start of the next connection attempt operation is set to a time shorter than the first cycle. Communication equipment.

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