US 2004/0201772 A1 · Portable electronic apparatus and power source control method therefor

Abstract

A digital camera is provided with a direction sensor which senses a vertical or horizontal direction along a direction of rotation about a predetermined axis of the camera body. When the direction sensor senses that the camera body is changed from a vertically laid state to a horizontally laid state or from a horizontally laid state to a vertical laid state in a power source off state with a predetermined operation mode being set, a control unit switches on the power source. If no operation is made during a short time period after the power source is switched on, the control unit switches off the power source. A user can quickly perform image capturing at a desired timing without having to perform the power source switching on operation, when taking out the digital camera from where it has been put such as a pocket of the clothes.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A portable electronic apparatus comprising:

a direction sensing unit which senses a vertical or horizontal direction which is along a direction of rotation about a predetermined axis of an apparatus body;
and
a control unit which switches on a power source in response to that a direction of said apparatus body sensed by said direction sensing unit changes.

A method of controlling a power source of a portable electronic apparatus, said method comprising

switching on a power source when a control unit determines that a predetermined change in an environment occurs to an apparatus, based on information from first and second sensing units which are different from each other.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Portable electronic apparatus and power source control method therefor

Life of this patent

Portable electronic apparatus and power source control method therefor

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20