1* i4 )1
Contents
1. IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin vol 24 No 2 Jul 1981 Miniman Applian Software s Replay Radio and Player v1 02 Product review pocketnow com http www pocketnow com re views replay replay htm Jul 31 2001 Musicmatch Musicmatch and Xing Technology Introduce Musicmatch Jukebox May 18 1998 http www musicmatch com info company press releases year 1998 amp release 2 Nonhoff Arps et al StraBenmusik Portable MP3 Spieler mit USB Anschluss CT Magazin Fuer Computer Technik Verlag Heinz Heise GMBH Hannover DE No 25 Dec 4 2000 International Search Report dated Nov 24 2006 in PCT Application No PCT US2005 046797 Personal Jukebox PJB Systems Research Center and PAAD Compaq Computer Corp Oct 13 2000 http research compaq com SRC pjb Peter Lewis Two New Ways to Buy Your Bits CNN Money Dec 31 2003 pp 1 4 Sastry Ravindra Wadali A Need for Speed A New Speedometer for Runners submitted to the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology May 28 1999 Sinitsyn Alexander A Synchronization Framework for Personal Mobile Servers Pervasice Computing and Communications Work shops 2004 Proceedings of the Second IEEE Annual Conference on Piscataway NJ USA IEEE Mar 14 2004 pp 208 212 SoundJam MP Plus Representative Screens published by Casady amp Greene Inc Salinas CA 2000 Sp2. entering a trouble code or its equivalent indicating the nature of the device problem if known powering up the device if possible and so on If media player 400 can not be powered up due to a faulty power supply for example it may be necessary to connect evaluator unit 502 directly to sensor 100 by way of signal cable 512 or by way of wireless channel 514 if sensor 100 has wireless capabilities using acoustic or any appropriate wireless signal Clearly if media player 400 cannot provide power to sensor 100 then sensor 100 must be self powered or at least be able to receive power from an external power supply In some cases however sensor 100 can be configured in such a way that recording device 122 can be detachable or otherwise accessible to external circuitry in such a way that any recorded event data can be retrieved without either sensor 100 or media player 400 providing any power whatsoever In any case once evaluator unit 502 is in communication with sensor 100 by way of I O 110 or indirectly by way ofI O 410 if media player 400 is active evaluation program 508 instruct processor 504 to send event data request 516 to sensor 100 for processing by processor 102 Processor 102 can in turn respond to event data request 516 in part by transmit ting device identifier 518 Device identifier 518 can provide any information that evaluation program 508 might require in order to carry out the evaluation process For example
3. 50 55 60 65 8 example if it is observed that a battery in media player 400 cannot hold a proper charge and event data indicates that a user of media player 400 is not following proper charging procedures then in all likelihood that is the cause of the battery not holding a charge Another example could be that event data 118 indicates that a number of warning notices have been issued by media player 400 over a period of time indicating that the media player 400 has for example been exposed to temperature extremes repeated shocks improper battery charging etc If media player 400 is exhibiting a problem that has been previously linked to any of the events associated with the issued warning s then a conclusion could be that the observed problem with media player 400 is due to that event s and not a design or product defect In this case a manufacturer could realistically decline to repair media player 400 under a manufacturer warranty In any case when evaluation program 508 has completed its analysis a fault summary 520 can be displayed on display 506 indicating at least a list of faults causes and any corrective actions In some cases a user can also invoke an embedded fault analysis program 522 that can provide simplified fault analy sis generated by for example CPU 402 In this way real time fault analysis summary 524 along the lines of an automated trouble shooting guide can be provided to for example a user
4. device identifier 518 can include information used to distinguish media player 400 from other similar media players In some embodiments evaluation program 508 can use device iden tifier 518 to determine if media player 400 has had any pre vious repair sessions and if so retrieve data from those previ ous repair sessions stored in a server computer for example connected to evaluator unit 502 as part of a network of com puters In addition to device identifier 518 processor 102 can be programmed to provide event data 118 from recording device 122 without waiting for a specific data request from evaluation program 508 In any case once evaluation pro gram 508 has received event data 118 evaluation program 508 can use event data 118 to evaluate the current operational status of media player 400 that could include determining a likely cause of a device defect or device malfunction For example one type of analysis that can be carried out by evaluation program 508 can be based upon pattern analysis where a pattern of occurrence of a particular event such as repeated improper battery charging repeated impacts etc can be correlated to observed defects or operational problems with media player 400 Another type of analysis that can be carried out by evaluation program 508 can be based upon performing a correlation analysis between certain aspects of event data 118 to known problems and their causes For 20 25 30 35 40 45
5. Cowgill et al 2003 0229490 Al 12 2003 Etter 6 611 789 BL 8 2003 Darley 2004 0001395 Al 1 2004 Keller et al 6 617 963 Bl 9 2003 Watters et al 340 10 41 2004 0001396 Al 1 2004 Keller et al 6 621 768 B1 9 2003 Keller et al 2004 0012556 Al 1 2004 Yong et al 6 623 427 B2 9 2003 Mandigo 2004 0055446 Al 3 2004 Robbin et al 6 631 101 10 2003 Chan et al 2004 0069122 Al 4 2004 Wilson 6 693 612 BL 2 2004 Matsumoto et al 2004 0076086 A1 4 2004 Keller et al 6 731 312 B2 5 2004 Robbin 2004 0086120 Al 5 2004 Akins et al 6 760 536 B1 7 2004 Amir et al 2004 0094018 Al 5 2004 Ueshima et al 6 762 741 B2 7 2004 Weindorf 2004 0125522 Al 7 2004 Chiu etal 6 794 566 B2 9 2004 Pachet 2004 0165302 Al 8 2004 Lu 6 799 226 BL 9 2004 Robbin et al 2004 0177063 Al 9 2004 Weber et al 6 801 964 10 2004 Mahdavi 2004 0198436 Al 10 2004 Alden 6 870 529 BL 3 2005 Davis 2004 0224638 Al 11 2004 Fadell et al 6 871 063 3 2005 Schiffer 2004 0267825 Al 12 2004 Novak et al 6 876 947 B1 4 2005 Darley et al 2005 0015254 Al 1 2005 Beaman 6 882 955 Bl 4 2005 Ohlenbusch et al 2005 0053365 Al 3 2005 Adams et al 6 898 550 5 2005 Blackadar et al 2005 0108754 5 2005 Carhart et al 6 911 971 B2 6 2005 Suzuki et al 2005 0111820 Al 5 2005 Matsumi et al 6 918 677 B2 7 2005 Shipman 2005 0122315 Al 6 2005 Chalk et al 6 934 812 B1 8 2005 Robbin et al 2005 0123886 Al 6 2005 Hua tal 6 950 087 B2 9 2005 Knox etal 2005 0152294 7 2005 Yuetal 70
6. and or an audio cue 31 An evaluation unit as recited in claim 25 further com prising computer code for evaluating the operational status of the portable electronic device based upon the recorded event data computer code for determining if at least some of the recorded event data is improperly recorded and computer code for evaluating a current operational status of the portable electronic device using a portion of the properly recorded event data 32 An evaluation unit as recited in claim 31 further com prising computer code for passing at least some of the recorded event data to an external computing device having a processor arranged to execute computer code for further processing that includes at least some of the evaluating and computer code for issuing a portable electronic device operational status evaluation report based upon the evaluating 33 An evaluation unit as recited in claim 31 wherein the external circuit is a computing device that is part of a network of computing devices 34 An evaluation unit as recited in claim 25 wherein the physical occurrence is selected from a group comprising exposure to heat and or cold impact stress user initiated action and exposure to moisture 35 An evaluation unit as recited in claim 25 further com prising computer code for updating the parameter threshold value to an updated parameter threshold value 36 system comprising a portable electronic consu
7. can be used to evaluate a likely cause of any damage or non functionality of a device The invention will now be described in the context of a portable electronic consumer product that for the remainder of the discussion takes the form of a portable media player 400 that at least incorporates sensor 100 FIG 4 shows portable media player 400 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention that can include central pro cessing unit CPU 402 for controlling the overall operation of media player 400 Media player 400 can store media data pertaining to media assets in file system 404 and or cache 406 File system 404 can take the form of a storage disk or a plurality of disks that can provide high capacity storage capa bility for the media player 400 However since the access time to file system 404 can be relatively slow media player 400 can also include cache 406 Even though the relative access time to cache 406 can be substantially shorter than for file system 404 cache 406 typically does not have the large storage capacity offile system 404 Media player 400 can also include memory resources 408 In the described embodiment memory resources can be configured to include RAM 410 that can store programs utilities or processes to be executed in a non volatile manner and Read Only Memory ROM 412 that can store programs utilities or processes to be executed in a non volatile manner Data bus 414 can facilitate data transfer between at l
8. consumer product as recited in claim 18 wherein as part of the further processing the exter nal circuit issues an operational status evaluation report 20 A portable electronic consumer product as recited in claim 19 wherein if the current operational status indicates that a repair operation is required then the external circuit determines if the repair operation is covered by a manufac turer s warranty or not 21 A portable electronic consumer product as recited in claim 20 wherein the external circuit is a computing device 22 portable electronic consumer product as recited in claim 21 wherein the computing device is part of a network of computing devices 23 A portable electronic consumer product as recited in claim 22 wherein the physical occurrence is selected from a group comprising exposure to heat and or cold impact stress user initiated action and exposure to moisture 24 A portable electronic consumer product as recited in claim 13 wherein the parameter threshold value is periodi cally updated 25 An evaluation unit having a processor for evaluating an operational status ofa portable electronic device comprising computer code for monitoring the portable electronic device for at least one physical occurrence expressed as a parameter having a parameter value computer code for designating the physical occurrence as an event when the associated parameter value reaches or exceeds a parameter threshold value compu
9. defects or user events Such user events can include exposing the device to extreme tempera tures either high or low or exposing the device to physical shock or stress e g dropping the device or attempting to open the device housing Other potentially damaging events include improper use ofthe device over an extended period of time e g improper battery charging repeatedly dropping the device Since the occurrence of a single event may not in itself cause damage it may be necessary to record multiple events to distinguish between user and manufacturer related damage For example dropping the device once or even twice may not result in damage to the device but numerous shocks over an extended time can have a cumulative effect that can result in the device being damaged In addition to isolated events a user may be operating the device in a manner that can damage the device or otherwise reduce its useful operat ing life For example if the user does not properly charge the battery then the battery lifetime can be severely reduced Itis also desirable for both the user and manufacturer that when such events are recorded that a warning notice be issued that informs the user that a potentially damaging event has just occurred i e the device has been dropped or has occurred a number of times i e the device has been repeat edly dropped or that the user is operating the device in an improper manner i e improperly charging th
10. exceeds parameter threshold P at time t40 for example for at least a duration of time t t 5 Similarly event B can be said to occur when processor 102 determines that parameter value P exceeds parameter threshold P at time tzo for example for at least a duration of time t 4 t5 Some sensors or corresponding constituent sensing units however are more suited for monitoring events of a discon tinuous nature such as an impact having a short or indeter minate duration an example of which can be seen in FIG 3 In these cases an event can be said to occur when processor 102 determines that parameter value P has reached or exceeded the parameter threshold value P at a time t and or t Once processor 102 has determined that an event has occurred processor 102 can process sensing data S received from sensing unit 116 into associated event data 118 that can then be forwarded and stored event log 120 in recording device 122 Event data 118 can include time of occurrence date of occurrence duration of occurrence maximum or minimum parameter value and so on For example in FIG 2 event data 118 can include information related to a differ ence between parameter threshold value P and maximum parameter value P for example with respect to event A event data 118 can include information related to the differ US 7 589 629 2 5 ence between P P or more simply a maximum value of parameter value P d
11. indication if the repair operation is cov ered by the manufacturer s warranty or not
12. unit to interact with sensor 100 For example input output I O device 110 can include wired data port 112 that can communicate with an external signal cable by way of a connector not shown I O device 110 can also include wireless interface 114 that can provide a wireless communication channel that can be used for trans mission and receiving data between sensor 100 and external circuitry Such communication channels can be formed using for example RF carrier waves infrared IR signals etc Sensor 100 can also include sensing device s 116 that can detect a change in a parameter expressed as a parameter value associated with the one or more physical occurrences Therefore sensing device 116 can have a dynamic range that covers the expected parameter value of the physical occur rence to be monitored and can withstand the operating con ditions to which it may be exposed For example FIG 2 shows a representative response of sensing unit 116 to the monitoring of a physical occurrence exposure to heat cold expressed as continuously variable parameter i e tempera ture in accordance with an embodiment of the invention In the context of this discussion an event occurs whenever a physical occurrence has a parameter value that reaches or exceeds a parameter threshold P For example event can be said to occur when processor 102 determines that param eter value P received from sensing unit 116 in the form of sensing signal S
13. 00 12 1 925 Candela Mobile PC downloaded from L CDHardware com on Dec 19 2002 http www ledharware com panel 12 1 panel default asp BL82 Series Backlit Keyboards www tg3electronics com prod ucts backlit backlit htm downloaded Dec 19 2002 Bluetooth PC Headsets Enjoy Wireless VoIP Conversations Connecting Your Bluetooth Headset With Your Computer Bluetooth PC Headsets downloaded on Apr 29 2006 from http www bluetoothpcheadsets com connect htm Creative MuVo TX 256 MB T3 Magazine Aug 17 2004 http www t3 co uk reviews entertainment mp3 player creative muvo 256mb downloaded Jun 6 2006 Digital Still Cameras Downloading Images to a Computer Mimi Chakarova et al Multi Media Reporting and Convergence 2 pgs May 9 2005 Eluminx Illuminated Keyboard downloaded Dec 19 2002 http www elumix com How to Pair a Bluetooth Headset amp Cell Phone About com down loaded on Apr 29 2006 from http mobileoffice about com od usingyourphone ht blueheadset p htm Peripherals for Industrial Keyboards amp Pointing Devices Stealth Computer Corporation downloaded on Dec 19 2002 http www stealthcomputer com peropherals oem htm Poly Optical Fiber Optic Membrane Switch Backlighting down loaded Dec 19 2002 http www poly optical com membrane switches html Public Safety Technologies Tracer 2000 Computer downloaded Dec 19 2002 http www pst91 1
14. 28096 B1 4 2006 Lee 2005 0160270 Al 7 2005 Goldberg et al 0 7 589 629 2 3 2005 0166153 Al 7 2005 Eytchison et al WO WO 01 65413 9 2001 2005 0245839 Al 11 2005 Stivoric et al WO WO 01 67753 9 2001 2005 0248555 Al 11 2005 Feng et al WO WO 02 25610 3 2002 2005 0259524 Al 11 2005 Yeh WO WO 03 023786 3 2003 2006 0013414 Al 1 2006 Shih WO WO 03 036457 5 2003 2006 0068760 Al 3 2006 Hameed et al WO WO 03 067202 8 2003 2006 0088228 Al 4 2006 Marriott et al WO 2004 061850 Al 7 2004 2006 0098320 Al 5 2006 et al WO WO 2004 055637 7 2004 2006 0135883 Al 6 2006 Jonsson etal 600 546 WO WO2004 084413 A2 9 2004 2006 0152382 Al 7 2006 Hiltunen WO WO 2004 104815 12 2004 2006 0155914 Al 7 2006 Jobs et al WO WO 2005 031737 4 2005 2006 0170535 Al 8 2006 Watters etal 340 10 41 WO 2005 048644 5 2005 2006 0190577 Al 8 2006 Yamada WO WO 2005 008505 7 2005 2006 0221788 Al 10 2006 Lindahl et al WO 2005 109781 11 2005 2006 0265503 Al 11 2006 Jones et al WO WO 2006 040737 4 2006 2006 0272483 Al 12 2006 Honeywell WO 2006 071364 6 2006 2007 0028009 Al 2 2007 Robbin et al 2007 0124679 Al 5 2007 Jeong et al OTHER PUBLICATIONS 2007 0135225 Al 6 2007 Nieminen et al 473 212 2007 0255163 Al 11 2007 Prineppi 600 549 Apple Introduces iTunes World s Best and Easiest To Use Jukebox FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS DE 44 45 023 Al EP 0 127 139 EP 0578604 EP 0 757 437 EP 0 813 138
15. 30 Written Opinion dated Feb 18 2008 in Patent Application No PCT US2007 079766 Search Report dated Mar 20 2008 in Patent Application No PCT US2007 077789 Written Opinion dated Mar 20 2008 in Patent Application No PCT US2007 077789 Invitation to Pay Additional Fees and Partial Search Report for PCT Application No PCT US2007 077160 dated Apr 1 2008 Combination Belt Clip Leaf Spring and Housing Latch Wandt et al Motorola Technical Developments Motorla Inc Schaumburg IL vol 18 Mar 1 1993 Notification of Reason for Rejection from PCT Application No 2003 539048 dated Nov 27 2007 Creative Zen Vision M 30GB Dec 21 2005 downloaded on Jan 11 2008 from http web archive org web 2005 122 1050 140 http www everthingusb com creative_zen_vision m_30gb html gt International Search Report dated Jul 7 2008 in PCT Application No PCT US2007 076793 International Search Report dated Jun 10 2008 in PCT Application No PCT US2007 0 10630 Kadir et al Adaptive Fast Playback Based Video Skimming Using a Compressed Domain Visual Complexity Measure 2004 IEEE International Conference on Multimedia and Expo pp 2055 2058 Office Action dated Jun 17 2008 in U S Appl No 11 212 313 Office Action dated May 30 2008 in Chinese Patent Application No 02825938 6 Office Action dated Oct 16 2008 in U S Appl No 11 327 544 Office Action in Japanese Patent Application No 2008 04535 1 dated Aug
16. 5 2008 Office Action in U S Patent Appl No 11 212 555 dated Aug 14 2008 Search Report dated May 15 2008 in PCT Application No PCT US2007 019578 Written Opinion dated Jul 7 2008 in PCT Application No PCT US2007 076793 Written Opinion dated Jun 10 2008 in PCT Application No PCT US2007 010630 Written Opinion dated May 15 2008 in PCT Application No PCT US2007 019578 Yee et al Faceted Metadata for Image Search and Browsing Association For Computing Machinery Conference Proceedings Apr 5 2003 Notice of Allowance dated Apr 21 2009 in U S Appl No 11 327 544 Office Action in European Patent Application No 05 855 368 6 dated Nov 20 2008 Office Action dated Dec 15 2008 in U S Appl No 11 212 313 Notice of Allowance dated Dec 18 2008 in U S Appl No 11 212 555 International Search Report dated Oct 10 2008 in Application No PCT US2007 077160 Written Opinion dated Oct 10 2008 in PCT Application No PCT US2007 077160 Office Action dated Jan 26 2009 in U S Appl No 11 373 468 Office Action dated Sep 1 2008 in EP Application No 06 256 215 2 Written Opinion dated Jan 6 2009 in Singapore Application No 0701865 8 Office Action dated Mar 30 2009 in U S Appl No 11 515 270 Office Action dated Apr 9 2009 in U S Appl No 11 583 199 cited by examiner U S Patent Sep 15 2009 Sheet 1 of 8 US 7 589 629 B2 Sensor 100 120 processor
17. 732 11 1998 Kikinis et al 7 143 241 B2 11 2006 Hull 5 838 969 A 11 1998 Jacklin et al 7 146 437 B2 12 2006 Robbin et al 5 864 868 A 1 1999 Contois 7 171 331 B2 1 2007 Vocketal 702 160 5 867 163 2 1999 Kurtenbach 7 191 244 B2 3 2007 Jennings et al 5 870 710 A 2 1999 Ozawa et al 7 213 228 B2 5 2007 Putterman et al 5 918 303 6 1999 Yamaura et al 7 234 026 B2 6 2007 Robbin et al 5 920 728 7 1999 Hallowell et al 7277928 B2 10 2007 Lennon 5 923 757 7 1999 Hocker et al 7 301 857 B2 11 2007 Shah et al 5 952 902 9 1999 Helms 7 356 679 BL 4 2008 Leetal 6 006 274 12 1999 Hawkins et al 7 508 535 B2 3 2009 Hart et al 6 009 237 A 12 1999 Hirabayashi et al 2001 0013983 Al 8 2001 Izawa etal 6 011 585 A 1 2000 Anderson 2001 0037367 1 11 2001 Iyer 6 018 705 A 1 2000 Gaudet et al 2001 0041021 Al 11 2001 Boyle et al 6 041 023 3 2000 Lakhansingh 2001 0042107 Al 11 2001 Palm 6 052 654 4 2000 Gaudet et al 2002 0002413 Al 1 2002 Tokue 6 108 426 A 8 2000 Stortz 2002 0013784 A1 1 2002 Swanson 6 122 340 A 9 2000 Darley et al 2002 0045961 Al 4 2002 Gibbs et al 6 158 019 12 2000 Squibb 2002 0046315 Al 4 2002 Miller et al 6 161 944 A 12 2000 Leman 2002 0055934 Al 5 2002 Lipscomb et al 6 172 948 B1 1 2001 Keller et al 2002 0090912 Al 7 2002 Cannon et al 6 179 432 B1 1 2001 Zhang et al 2002 0116082 Al 8 2002 Gudorf 6 185 163 B1 2 2001 Bickford et al 2002 0152045 A1 10 2002 Dowling et al 6 191 939 B1 2 2001
18. Burnett 2002 0156833 Al 10 2002 Maurya et al 6 208 044 3 2001 Viswanadham et al 2002 0161865 Al 10 2002 Nguyen 6 216 131 B1 4 2001 Liu etal 2002 0173273 Al 11 2002 Spurgat et al 6 217 183 BL 4 2001 Shipman 2002 0189426 Al 12 2002 Hirade et al 6 248 946 Bl 6 2001 Dwek 2002 0189429 Al 12 2002 Qian et al 6 295 541 B1 9 2001 Bodnar et al 2002 0199043 Al 12 2002 Yin 6 298 314 10 2001 Blackadar et al 2003 0037254 Al 2 2003 Fischer et al 6 332 175 B1 12 2001 Birrell et al 2003 0046434 Al 3 2003 Flanagin et al 6 336 365 Bl 1 2002 Blackadar et al 2003 0050092 Al 3 2003 Yun 6 336 727 BL 1 2002 Kim 2003 0074457 Al 4 2003 Kluth 6 341 316 B1 1 2002 Kloba et al 2003 0076301 Al 4 2003 Tsuk et al 6 357 147 B1 3 2002 Darley et al 2003 0076306 4 2003 Zadesky 6 377 530 Bl 4 2002 Burrows 2003 0079038 Al 4 2003 Robbin et al 6 452 610 B1 9 2002 Reinhardt et al 2003 0095096 5 2003 Robbin et al 6 467 924 B2 10 2002 Shipman 2003 0097379 Al 5 2003 Ireton 6 493 652 Bl 12 2002 Ohlenbusch et al 2003 0104835 Al 6 2003 Douhet 6 536 139 B2 3 2003 Darley et al 2003 0128192 Al 7 2003 van Os 6 549 497 B2 4 2003 Miyamoto et al 2003 0133694 Al 7 2003 Yeo 6 560 903 B1 5 2003 Darley 2003 0153213 Al 8 2003 Siddiqui et al 6 587 403 B1 7 2003 Keller et al 2003 0156503 Al 8 2003 Schilling et al 6 587 404 B1 7 2003 Keller et al 2003 0167318 Al 9 2003 Robbin et al 6 605 038 B1 8 2003 Teller et al 2003 0176935 Al 9 2003 Lian et al 6 606 281 B2 8 2003
19. EP 0 863 469 EP 0 917 077 EP 0 982 732 EP 1028 425 EP 1028426 A2 EP 1076 302 EP 1213 643 EP 1289 197 EP 1 503 363 EP 1536612 EP 1566 743 EP 1566948 EP 1372 133 EP 1686 496 GB 2 370 208 GB 2384399 JP 59 023610 JP 03 228490 JP 04 243386 JP 6 96520 JP 8 235774 JP 9 50676 JP 9 259532 JP 2000 90651 JP 2000 224099 JP 2000 285643 JP 2000 299834 JP 2000 311352 JP 2000 339864 JP 2001 236286 JP 2001 312338 JP 2002 076977 JP 2002 175467 JP 2003 188792 JP 2003 259333 JP 2003 319365 JP 2004 021720 JP 2004 219731 JP 2004 220420 KR 20010076508 WO WO 95 16950 WO 98 17032 WO WO 99 28813 WO WO 00 22820 WO WO 01 33569 6 1996 5 1984 1 1994 2 1997 12 1997 9 1998 5 1999 3 2000 8 2000 8 2000 2 2001 6 2002 3 2003 2 2005 6 2005 8 2005 8 2005 12 2005 8 2006 6 2002 7 2003 2 1984 10 1991 8 1992 4 1994 9 1996 2 1997 10 1997 3 2000 8 2000 10 2000 10 2000 11 2000 12 2000 8 2001 11 2001 3 2002 6 2002 7 2003 9 2003 11 2003 1 2004 8 2004 8 2004 8 2001 6 1995 4 1998 6 1999 4 2000 5 2001 Software Macworld Expo San Francisco Jan 9 2001 Apple s iPod Available in Stores Tomorrow Press Release Apple Computer Inc Nov 9 2001 Nomad Jukebox User Guide Creative Technology Ltd Version 1 Aug 2000 SoundJam MP Plus Manual version 2 0 MP3 Player and Encoder for Macintosh by Jeffrey Robbin Bill Kincaid and Dave Heller manual by Tom Negrino published by Casady amp Greene Inc 20
20. US007589629B2 a2 United States Patent 10 Patent No US 7 589 629 B2 Tupman et al 45 Date of Patent Sep 15 2009 54 EVENT RECORDER FOR PORTABLE MEDIA 5 583 993 A 12 1996 Foster et al DEVICE 5 608 698 A 3 1997 Yamanoi et al 5 616 876 A 4 1997 Cluts 75 Inventors David Tupman San Francisco CA 5 617 386 A 4 1997 Choi US Anthony Fadell Portola Valley 5 670 985 A 9 1997 Cappels Sr et al CA US 5 684 513 A 11 1997 Decker 5 5 710 922 1 1998 Alley et al 73 Assignee Apple Inc Cupertino CA US 5 712 949 1 1998 Kato et al Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this 5 721 949 A 2 1998 Smith et al patent is extended or adjusted under 35 5 726 672 A 3 1998 Hernandez et al U S C 154 b by 378 days 5 739 451 A 4 1998 Winksy et al 5 740 143 A 4 1998 Suetomi 21 Appl No 11 680 580 5 760 588 A 6 1998 Bailey 5 778 374 A 7 1998 Dang et al 22 Filed Feb 28 2007 65 Prior Publication Data Continued US 2008 0204218 A1 Aug 28 2008 FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS 51 Int Cl 334773 Al 4 1994 G08B 1 08 2006 01 BE Ra 52 340 539 11 340 539 26 340 517 58 Field of Classification Search 340 539 1 Continued 340 539 11 539 26 539 27 539 28 539 29 OTHER PUBLICATIONS 340 500 501 517 10 41 473 131 212 702 160 Apple Announces iTunes 2 Press Release Apple Computer Inc See application file for complete search history Oct 23 2001 56 R
21. Wired data Sensing Sensing 102 port device device 108 116 1 116 te Wireless Pid interface I I I Input output I _ Memory resources device POTITI ae ee eee a PEE 103 110 Fig 1 U S Patent Sep 15 2009 Sheet 2 of 8 US 7 589 629 B2 Continuously variable parameter value Parameter value Parameter threshold Pin Pamax 4 time Event Event B Fig 2 U S Patent Sep 15 2009 Sheet 3 of 8 US 7 589 629 B2 Impact type events Pamax SSS SS Parameter threshold Parameter value pee time ta ts Fig 3 Event A Event B U S Patent Sep 15 2009 Sheet 4 of 8 US 7 589 629 B2 Media player 400 Z USER INPUT 422 SPEAKERS 424 DISPLAY 420 Data bus FILE SYSTEM 404 U S Patent Sep 15 2009 Sheet 5 of 8 US 7 589 629 B2 instructions Signal cable 512 Evaluation Fault analysis Interface N ass summar y 510 524 pa gt Fault summary Display nu 7 go 520 506 uo n d 110 Fault Display Event data request si sumar instruction 516 MS a Sensor 522 antl Trouble code ean 100 A Processor Device identifier 504 518 sex 102 Evaluation B Program Device identifier Device 508 518 122 Identifies Even
22. a recording device coupled to the processor arranged to at least record event data corresponding to the event Wherein if at least some of the recorded event data is improperly recorded then a current operational status of the portable consumer electronic product is evaluated using a portion of the properly recorded event data 14 A portable electronic consumer product as recited in claim 13 wherein the CPU issues and records in the recording US 7 589 629 2 11 device as part of the event data a notification that the event has occurred and has been recorded 15 portable electronic consumer product as recited in claim 14 wherein the event data comprises an event type code a date of the event a time of the event a duration of the event and an event counter indicating a number of times that a like event has occurred 16 A portable electronic consumer product as recited in claim 15 wherein the notification includes at least some of the recorded event data 17 A portable electronic consumer product as recited as recited in claim 16 wherein the notification takes the form of a visual cue and or an audio cue 18 A portable electronic consumer product as recited in claim 13 wherein the portable electronic consumer product further comprises an input output device coupled to the CPU arranged to pass at least some of the recorded event data to an external circuit for further processing 19 A portable electronic
23. com traver html QuickTime Movie Playback Programming Guide Apple Com puter Inc Aug 11 2005 QuickTime Overview Apple Computer Inc Aug 11 2005 Rocky Matrix Backlit Keyboard downloaded Dec 19 2002 http www amrel com asi_matrixkeyboard html Sony Ericsson to introduce Auto pairing to improve Bluetooth con nectivity between headsets and phones Sep 28 2005 Press Release Sony Ericsson Corporate downloaded on Apr 26 2006 from http Www sonyericsson com spg jsp cc global amp lc en amp ver 4001 amp template pc3 1 1 amp z TAOS Inc Announces Industry s First Ambient Light Sensor to Convert Light Intensity to Digital Signals www taosinc com pressrelease 090902 htm downloaded Jan 23 2003 Toughbook 28 Powerful Rugged and Wireless Panasonic Toughbook Models downloaded Dec 19 2002 http www panasonic com computer notebook htm1 01a_s8 htm US 7 589 629 B2 Page4 When it Comes to Selecting a Projection TV Toshiba Makes Every thing Perfectly Clear Previews of New Releases www bestbuy com HomeAudioVideo Specials ToshibaTVFeatures asp down loaded Jan 23 2003 WhyBuy Think Pad IBM ThinkPad Web Page Ease of Use down loaded on Dec 19 2002 http www pc ibm com us thinkpad easeofuse html 512MB Waterproof MP3 Player with FM Radio amp Built in Pedom eter Oregon Scientific downloaded on Jul 31 2006 from http WWW 2 oregonscientific com shop product a
24. e battery In this way not only does the manufacturer have the data to help determine the likely cause of damage the user is put on notice that the device is being operated by the user in a manner that can result in damage to the device Generally the invention relates to monitoring at least one parameter in a portable electronic device e g a cell phone laptop or media player An event occurs when a monitored parameter value reaches or exceeds a pre determined thresh old value Event data can be recorded and subsequently ana lyzed by a manufacturer for example to evaluate an oper ating status ofthe portable electronic device For example if the portable electronic device is not operating properly or at all or has been damaged in some way the event data can be used to determine a likely cause of the device malfunction and or device damage Furthermore in those situations where an event has been improperly or only partially recorded due for example to the device failing during the recording or a defective recording device or a recording device that becomes defective due to the event being recorded and so on the partially or improperly recorded data can be used to evaluate the current operational status ofthe device For example if an event occurs such as a device being dropped while another event temperature over or under limit for example is being recorded any event data in the process of being or already having been r
25. east file system 404 cache 406 CPU 402 and CODEC 416 Media player 400 can also include data link 418 allowing media player 400 to couple to a host com puter for example Media player 400 includes display 420 for displaying graphical video or images user input 422 for receiving user supplied input commands and speakers 424 Sensor 100 can be configured as a stand alone type unit along the lines described with respect to FIG 1 and as such can be connected to CPU 402 by way of data bus 414 Sensor 100 can also have its own power supply not shown indepen dent ofthat provided for media player 400 In this way sensor 100 can monitor selected parameters and communicate with external circuitry when media player 400 is powered off or has been rendered inoperable Sensor 100 can also be inte grated with CPU 402 providing a less robust but more cost effective embodiment since all memory and processing requirements of sensor 100 can then be performed by memory resources 408 and CPU 402 respectively It should be noted by utilizing on board memory resources either memory resources 103 or memory resources 408 various threshold values used to determine whether an event has or has not occurred can be updated in a timely manner FIG 5 shows a system 500 used to evaluate recorded event data in accordance with an embodiment of the invention Evaluation of recorded event data by system 500 can be put to any number of uses such as providing a r
26. ecification Sheet iTunes 2 Apple Computer Inc Oct 31 2001 Spiller Karen Low decibel earbuds keep noise at a reasonable level The Telegraph Online dated Aug 13 2006 http www nashuatelegraph com apps pbcs dll article Date 20060813 amp Cate Downloaded Aug 16 2006 Steinberg Sonicblue Rio Car Product Review Dec 12 2000 http electronics cnet com electronics 0 6342420 1304 4098389 html Travis Butler Archos Jukebox 6000 Challenges Nomad Jukebox Aug 13 2001 http db tidbits com getbits acgi tbart 06521 Travis Butler Portable MP3 The Nomad Jukebox Jan 8 2001 http db tidbits com getbits acgi tbart 06261 U S Appl No 11 621 541 Personalized Podcasting Podmapping filed Jan 9 2007 Waterproof Music Player with FM Radio and Pedometer User Manual Oregon Scientific 2005 Apple iTunes Smart Playlists downloaded Apr 5 2005 from http web archive org web 20031002011316 www apple com itunes smartplaylists pp 1 2 International Search Report dated Dec 5 2007 in PCT Application No PCT US2007 004810 International Search Report in Patent Application No PCT US2006 048738 dated Jan 29 2008 International Search Report in Patent Application No PCT US2007 077020 dated Jan 28 2008 International Search Report in Patent Application No PCT US2007 076889 dated Jan 28 2008 iTunes Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia downloaded on Oct 5 2005 pp 1 6 Nutzel
27. ecorded can be corrupted leaving only a portion of the recorded data available for subsequent evaluation In these situations the uncorrupted data can be retrieved and used to evaluate the current operational status of the device Furthermore a warning notice can be timely issued noti fying a user that an event or events has occurred that may um 0 an 5 20 25 30 40 45 50 65 4 result in damage to the device if corrective actions are not taken Sensors that can be used in embodiments of this inven tion include temperature sensors pressure sensors stress strain sensors accelerometers shock sensors vibration sen sors position sensors sensors that detect thermal exposure optical exposure x ray exposure microwave exposure pol lutants and the like many of which are commercially avail able FIG 1 illustrates an example of a data gathering device in the form of sensor 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention Sensor 100 can include processor 102 for con trolling the overall operation of sensor 100 Sensor 100 can also include memory resources 103 that can include RAM 104 that can provide volatile data storage and Read Only Memory ROM 106 that can store programs utilities or processes each of which can be coupled to processor 102 by way of data bus 108 Sensor 100 can also include input output device 110 that can allow an external circuit such as an external processor or an evaluator
28. eferences Cited Continued U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 4 090 216 A 5 1978 Constable 4 386 345 5 1983 Narveson et al 4 451 849 A 5 1984 Fuhrer 4 589 022 A 5 1986 Prince et al 4 908 523 A 3 1990 Snowden et al 4 928 307 5 1990 Lynn 4951 171 A 8 1990 Tran et al 5 185 906 A 2 1993 Brooks 5 293 494 3 1994 Saito et al 5 406 305 A 4 1995 Shimomura et al 5 559 945 A 9 1996 Beaudet et al 5 566 337 A 10 1996 Szymanski et al Primary Examiner Van T Trieu 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Beyer Law Group LLP 57 ABSTRACT Operational parametric sensing and event recording capabili ties are provided for portable electronic devices such as media players cell phones laptop computers and the like that takes the can take the form of a standalone sensing unit or as an integrated component of the portable electronic device 43 Claims 8 Drawing Sheets Sensing Sensing Sensing device device device 116 Sensing data resources f Wired data port Wireless interface SY Input output device 110 Memory 103 US 7 589 629 B2 Page2 U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 7 046 230 B2 5 2006 Zadesky 7 062 225 B2 6 2006 White 5 803 786 A 9 1998 McCormick 7 084 856 B2 8 2006 Huppi 5 815 225 9 1998 Nelson 7 084 921 B1 8 2006 5 822 288 10 1998 Shinada 7 002 946 B2 8 2006 Bodnar 5 835 721 11 1998 Donahue et al 7 124 125 B2 10 2006 Cook et al 5 835
29. epair technician information related to a likely cause of a device malfunction or defect This information can be used to repair the device and or inform the device owner that any repairs would or would not be covered by a warranty For example if the evaluation reveals that the damage to the device or device malfunction was most likely caused by improper use by the US 7 589 629 2 7 device user then any repairs would most likely not be covered by a manufacturer warranty or at least would be at the option of the manufacturer Accordingly when media player 400 is brought into a repair center for example for evaluation and possible repair a repair technician can power on evaluator unit 502 that includes processor 504 for controlling operations ofevaluator unit 502 and display 506 for displaying user interfaces and other relevant information data Once evaluator unit 502 is powered on evaluation program 508 typically stored in evaluator unit memory not shown for sake of clarity can instruct processor 504 to orchestrate the evaluation process that can include at least displaying an evaluation interface 510 on display 506 At this point as part of the evaluation process a repair technician can be requested to follow a set of specific instructions as part of the evaluation interface 510 Such instructions can include at least visually inspecting the device and or device housing for any external damage a cracked housing for example
30. er readable medium for storing the computer code As a system one embodiment of the invention includes at least a portable electronic consumer product having a sens ing unit arranged to monitor the consumer electronic product for at least one physical occurrence expressed as a parameter having a parameter value a processor coupled to the sensing unit arranged to at least receive the parameter value from the sensing unit and designate the physical occurrence as an event when the parameter value reaches or exceeds a parameter threshold value a recording device coupled to the processor arrange to at least record event data corresponding to the event and an external circuit in communication with at least the portable electronic consumer product arranged to evaluate the current operational status of the portable electronic con sume product using the recorded event data Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 illustrates an example of a data gathering device sensor in the form of sensing unit in accordance with an embodiment of the invention FIG 2 shows a representative response of sensor to the monitoring of a continuously variable parameter such as temperature in accordance with an embodiment ofthe inven t
31. er value designating the physical occurrence as the event when the associated parameter value reaches or exceeds a param eter threshold value and recording event data corresponding to the event if at least some of the recorded event data 1s improperly recorded then 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 10 evaluating a current operational status of the portable elec tronic device using a portion of the properly recorded event data 2 A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising issuing in real time a notification that the event has been recorded and recording the issuance of the notification as part of the recorded event data 3 method as recited in claim 2 further comprising updating an event counter indicating a number oftimes that a like event has occurred 4 A method as recited in claim 3 wherein the event data comprises an event type code a date of the event a time of the event a duration of the event and the event counter 5 method as recited in claim 3 wherein the issuing the notification comprises communicating at least some of the recorded event data 6 A method as recited as recited in claim 5 wherein the communicating comprises providing a visual cue and or an audio cue 7 method as recited in claim 1 wherein the evaluating the operational status ofthe portable electronic device further comprises passing at least some of the recorded event data to a
32. et al Sharing Systems for Future HiFi Systems The Com puter Society Jun 2004 Partial Search Report dated Sep 6 2007 in PCT Application No PCT US2007 004810 Written Opinion dated Dec 5 2007 in PCT Application No PCT US2007 004810 Written Opinion in Patent Application No PCT US2006 048738 dated Jan 29 2008 Written Opinion in Patent Application No PCT US2007 076889 dated Jan 28 2008 Written Opinion in Patent Application No PCT US2007 077020 dated Jan 28 2008 Office Action dated Feb 1 2008 in U S Appl No 11 327 544 Hart Daves Guy How To Do Everything With Your iPod and iPod Mini 2004 McGraw Hill Professional p 33 Office Action dated Feb 4 2008 in U S Appl No 11 566 072 Creative liefert erstes Portable Media Center aus Online Sep 2 2004 Retrieved from the internet on Sep 20 2007 from http www golem de 0409 33347 html International Search Report dated Feb 18 2008 in Patent Application No PCT US2007 079766 0 7 589 629 2 Page 5 International Search Report Dated Sep 27 2007 in Application 05824296 7 Office Action dated Apr 4 2008 in U S Appl 11 212 555 Office Action dated Feb 20 2008 in Japanese Application No 2007 538196 Office Action dated Feb 25 2008 in U S Appl No 11 749 599 Office Action dated Mar 4 2008 from U S Appl No 10 973 657 Partial International Search Report dated Feb 1 2008 in Patent Application No PCT US2007 0106
33. has occurred At 612 corresponding event data is recorded Event data can include time of occurrence date of occurrence duration of occur rence maximum or minimum parameter value and so on FIG 7 illustrates process 700 for updating parameter threshold values in accordance with an embodiment of the invention Process 700 begins at 702 by retrieving stored parameter threshold values At 704 current parameter thresh old values are compared to stored parameter threshold values At 706 based upon the comparison any stored parameter threshold value not matching current parameter threshold values can be updated FIG 8 illustrates a flowchart detailing a process 800 for evaluating an operational status of a portable electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the invention Process 800 begins at 802 establishing a communication link between the portable electronic device and an evaluation program In the described embodiment the evaluation pro gram can be executed by a processor included in an external US 7 589 629 2 9 circuit that can be separate and distinct from the portable electronic device The evaluation program can also be executed by a processing unit that is part of the portable electronic device under evaluation along the lines of a virtual troubleshooting guide In any case once the communication link has been established a current operational status that can include operational problems defects and so o
34. iated parameter value reaches or exceeds a parameter threshold value and record ing event data corresponding to the event In one aspect ofthe invention the recorded event data can be used to evaluate the operational status of the portable electronic device 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 As a portable electronic consumer product one embodi ment of the invention includes at least a sensing unit arranged to monitor the consumer electronic product for at least one physical occurrence expressed as a parameter hav ing a parameter value a processor coupled to the sensing unit arranged to at least receive the parameter value from the sensing unit and designate the physical occurrence as an event when the parameter value reaches or exceeds a parameter threshold value and a recording device coupled to the pro cessor arranged to at least record event data corresponding to the event As computer program product executable by a processor for recording an event in a portable electronic device one embodiment ofthe invention includes at least computer code for monitoring the portable electronic device for at least one physical occurrence expressed as a parameter having a parameter value computer code for designating the physical occurrence as the event when the associated parameter value reaches or exceeds a parameter threshold value computer code for recording event data corresponding to the event and comput
35. ion FIG 3 shows a representative response of a sensor to the monitoring of a short duration event such as an impact in accordance with an embodiment of the invention FIG 4 shows portable media player in accordance with an embodiment of the invention FIG 5 shows a system having an evaluator unit for evalu ating recorded event data in accordance with an embodiment of the invention FIG 6 shows a flowchart detailing a process for real time monitoring in accordance with an embodiment of the inven tion FIG 7 illustrates a flowchart detailing a process used for updating threshold values in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention FIG 8 shows a flowchart detailing a process for evaluating an operational status of a portable electronic device in accor dance with an embodiment of the invention US 7 589 629 2 3 DETAILED DESCRIPTION Reference will now be made in detail to selected embodi ments of the invention an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings While the invention will be described in conjunction with selected embodiments it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to one particular embodiment To the contrary it is intended to cover alternatives modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims A portable electronic device can suffer loss of function due to manufacturing or product
36. ly vari able type or impact type In any case each of the sensing devices can be placed in either active or sleep mode depend ing upon the particular event type parameter to be monitored and so on for which it is configured to monitor For example one sensing device can be configured to continuously monitor temperature and therefore be set to active mode whereas another sensing unit can be configured to concurrently moni tor impacts and therefore can be set to low power mode In this way sensor 100 can be used to monitor separate parameters and provide corresponding event data that can be used in subsequent analysis either separately or together For example a piezoelectric strain sensor for measuring material strain indicative of rough handling can be used to determine if a device has undergone an impact type event A temperature 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 sensor can also be used to record any temperature events experienced by the device The data provided by both sensing devices can be used separately or together using cross cor relation type analysis for example to determine if for example stress damage to a device housing was likely due to externally applied forces i e if an impact event has been recorded but no temperature event or related to thermal expansion contraction i e if temperature event has been recorded but no impact event Subsequent analysis of any or all available data
37. mer product having at least a sensing unit arranged to monitor the consumer elec tronic product for at least one physical occurrence expressed as a parameter having a parameter value a central processing unit CPU coupled to the sensing unit arranged to at least receive the parameter value from the sensing unit and designate the physical occur rence as an event when the parameter value reaches or exceeds a parameter threshold value and a recording device coupled to the processor arranged to at least record event data corresponding to the event and an external circuit in communication with at least the por table electronic consumer product arranged to evaluate the current operational status based in part upon recorded event data received from the recording device wherein if at least some of the recorded event data is US 7 589 629 2 13 improperly recorded then current operational status of the portable electronic consumer product is evaluated using a portion of the properly recorded event data 37 The system as recited in claim 36 wherein the CPU issues in real time a notification that the event has been recorded and records the issuance of the notification as part of the recorded event data 38 The system as recited in claim 37 wherein the CPU updates an event counter indicating a number of times that a like event has occurred 39 The system as recited in claim 37 the notification includes at least some of the
38. n external circuit for further processing that includes at least some of the evaluating and issuing an operational status evaluation report that includes a current operational status of the portable electronic device 8 A method as recited in claim 7 further comprising ifthe current operational status requires a repair operation then determining if the repair operation is covered by a manu facturer s warranty or not based upon the evaluation 9 A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the external circuit is a computing device 10 A method as recited in claim 9 wherein the computing device is part of a network of computing devices 11 method as recited in claim 1 wherein the physical occurrence is selected from a group comprising exposure to heat and or cold impact stress user initiated action and exposure to moisture 12 A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising updating the parameter threshold value to an updated parameter threshold value 13 A portable consumer electronic product comprising a sensing unit arranged to monitor the consumer electronic product for at least one physical occurrence expressed as a parameter having a parameter value a central processing unit CPU coupled to the sensing unit arranged to at least receive the parameter value from the sensing unit and designate the physical occurrence as an event when the parameter value reaches or exceeds a parameter threshold value and
39. n of the portable electronic device can be provided to the evaluation program at 804 The evaluation program can request a manual entry ofthe current operational status by for example a repair technician a user and so on The evaluation program can also request the portable electronic device automatically provide information over the communication link indicative of the operational status of the portable electronic device Such operational problems can include the inability of the portable electronic device to power up properly or power up at all some or all of the components speakers display and so on are not functioning properly the battery 1 the portable elec tronic device is battery powered is not holding a proper charge or not holding a charge for as long as expected etc At 806 a determination can be made if any recorded event data is available If no recorded event data is available then processing ends otherwise any recorded event data can be passed to the evaluation program at 808 At 810 the evalua tion program analyzes the operational status in view of the event data Analysis of the event data can include pattern analysis correlation analysis and evaluation of any warning notices that have been issued and if there is any correlation to any operational problems At 812 once the evaluation pro gram has completed the analysis a summary report is issued The summary report can include information about the opera tio
40. nal status of the portable electronic device pointing out likely causes of any problems In some cases the summary report can include a probability analysis indicating a prob ability distribution of likely causes of any operational prob lems For example if the portable electronic device is expe riencing short battery life and the event data indicates a history of improper battery charging then there would be a high probability that the improper battery charging practices is the root cause of the reduced battery life and not a defective battery In this case since the likely cause of the reduced battery life stems from the user a manufacturer can refuse to repair or replace the defective battery under a manufacturer s warranty While this invention has been described in terms of a pre ferred embodiment there are alterations permutations and equivalents that fall within the scope of this invention It should also be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing both the process and apparatus of the present invention It is therefore intended that the invention be inter preted as including all such alterations permutations and equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention What is claimed is 1 Ina portable electronic device a method of recording an event comprising monitoring the portable electronic device for at least one physical occurrence expressed as a parameter having a paramet
41. nsing devices used to record events that affect the operability of portable electronic devices DESCRIPTION OF RELEVANT ART The small size and lightweight of many popular portable electronic consumer products media players cell phones laptops make such products particularly susceptible to events e g dropping immersion in water exposure to tem perature extremes humidity etc that can render them either completely or partially inoperable For example a severe shock or vibration can render display elements ofa display on a portable electronic device inoperative Sometimes as a result a user may request that the manufacturer repair the damaged device Moreover the user may also request that such repairs be made free of charge if the user believes the damage is a result of a product design defect or covered by a manufacturer s warranty It is therefore important for the manufacturer to be able to determine if the damage to the device was caused by product defect or by warranty voiding user actions Such user actions include for example abusive behavior e g immersion in water dropping throwing etc unauthorized opening of the device housing improper battery charging etc By being able to determine the likely cause ofthe damage the manufacturer can distinguish defects from improper use By recording rel evant information the manufacturer can also save the time and expense of dealing with device owners who may or may not
42. o 0x09 Protocol V1 00 May 1 2006 IEEE 1394 Wikipedia 1995 http www wikipedia org wiki Firewire Written Opinion ofthe International Searching Authority dated Nov 24 2006 in PCT Application No PCT U52005 046797 International Search Report dated Feb 4 2003 in corresponding application No PCT US2002 033330 International Search Report dated Jul 10 2007 in corresponding application No PCT US2006 048738 International Search Report dated Apr 5 2006 from corresponding International Application No PCT U52005 038819 International Search Report dated Jul 2 2007 in related case PCT US2006 048669 International Search Report dated Jun 19 2007 in related Applica tion PCT US2006 048753 International Search Report dated May 21 2007 from corresponding PCT Application No PCT US2006 048670 International Search Report in corresponding European Application No 06256215 2 dated Feb 20 2007 Invitation to Pay Additional Fees and Partial Search Report for conesponding PCT Application No PCT US2005 046797 dated Jul 3 2006 iTunes 2 Playlist Related Help Screens iTunes v2 0 Apple Com puter Inc Oct 23 2001 iTunes Playlist Related Help Screens iTunes v1 0 Apple Computer Inc Jan 2001 Jabra Bluetooth Headset User Manual GN Netcom A s 2005 Jabra Bluetooth Introduction GN Netcom A S Oct 2004 Jabra FreeSpeak BT200 User Manual Jabra Corporation 2002 Kennedy Digital Data Storage Using Video Disc
43. recorded event data 40 The system as recited in claim 36 wherein the event data comprises an event type code a date of the event a time of the event a duration of the event and the event counter 41 system comprising a portable electronic consumer product having at least a sensing unit arranged to monitor the consumer elec tronic product for at least one physical occurrence 20 14 expressed as a parameter having a parameter value a central processing unit CPU coupled to the sensing unit arranged to at least receive the parameter value from the sensing unit and designate the physical occur rence as an event when the parameter value reaches or exceeds a parameter threshold value and a recording device coupled to the processor arranged to at least record event data corresponding to the event and an external circuit in communication with at least the por table electronic consumer product arranged to evaluate the current operational status based in part upon recorded event data received from the recording device determine ifthe current operational status requires a repair operation and determine if the repair operation is covered by a manufac turer s warranty or not 42 The system as recited in claim 41 wherein the CPU issues in real time a notification if the current operational status requires the repair operation 43 The system as recited in claim 42 wherein the notifi cation includes the
44. recording device 122 can be implemented as an electrical circuit having a particular resonance frequency in communi cation with sensing device 116 that can be a fuse in one leg of the circuit Furthermore sensor 100 can be placed in an inactive or sleep mode However in order to record event data when a parameter value temperature for example passes a thresh old value sensor 100 can be activated e g woken up For example if all that is required is that a temperature excursion either hot or cold be recorded it is not necessary for sensor 100 to continually monitor the temperature of the device that is necessary is that at least one sensing unit 116 in sensor 100 provide appropriate notification to processor 102 that the monitored temperature has reached or exceeded the tempera ture threshold at which point processor 102 can wake up sensor 100 and complete the recordation of the event Once the recordation of the event is complete processor 102 can put sensor 100 back into sleep mode By providing for a low power operational mode valuable power resources can be preserved while still maintaining the ability to monitor parameters of interest Itshould be noted that if sensor 100 includes more than one sensing device each sensing device could be configured to monitor different parameters or the same parameter having different parameter threshold values in a cascade arrange ment or even different event types e g continuous
45. repair technician etc on display 420 Real time fault analysis summary 524 can provide specific fault codes indi cating faults detected recommended corrective actions and so on In this way a user for example can consult use real time fault analysis 524 to diagnose and potentially correct the problem without the need to deal with customer service thereby greatly reducing any device downtime lost in trans porting the damaged device to a repair center FIG 6 shows a flowchart detailing a process 600 for real time monitoring ofa portable electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the invention Process 600 begins at 602 by configuring a sensing device to monitor a selected physical occurrence that can be expressed as a parameter value Configuring the sensing device can include setting or resetting a parameter threshold value setting an operational mode for example low power mode or sleep mode con necting the sensing device to other sensing devices to form a cascade arrangement and so on Once the sensing device has been configured the sensing device monitors for a pre deter mined physical occurrence at 604 and generates sensing data 1 temperature pressure impact stress etc at 606 that can be expressed as a corresponding parameter value F nt cm2 etc If at 608 the parameter value reaches or exceeds acorresponding parameter threshold value then an event flag is issued at 610 indicating that an event
46. sp cid 4 amp scid 1 1 amp 581 Adam Engst SoundJam Keeps on Jammin Jun 19 2000 http db tidbits com getbits acgi tbart 05988 Alex Veiga AT amp T Wireless Launching Music Service Yahoo Finance Oct 5 2004 pp 1 2 Andrew Birrell Personal Jukebox PJB Oct 13 2000 http birrell org andrew talks pjb overview ppt Apple iPod Technical Specifications iPod 20GB and 60GB Mac PC downloaded from http www apple com ipod color specs html on Aug 8 2005 Bociurkiw Michael Product Guide Vanessa www forbes com asap 2000 1127 vmartz print html Nov 27 2000 Compaq Personal Jukebox Jan 24 2001 http research compaq com SRC pjb Creative Creative NOMAD MuVo TX www creative com Nov 1 2004 http web archive org web 2004 1024 175952 www creative com products pfriendly asp product 9672 downloaded Jun 6 2006 Creative Creative NOMAD MuVo www creative com Nov 1 2004 http web archive org web 2004 102407590 www creative com products product asp category 2 13 amp subcategory 2 15 amp prod uct 110 downloaded Jun 7 2006 Creative MP3 Player www creative com Nov 1 2004 http web archive org web 2004 1024074823 www creative com prod ucts product asp category 213 amp subcategory 2 16 amp product 4983 downloaded Jun 7 2006 De Herrera Chris Microsoft ActiveSync 3 1 Version 1 02 Oct 13 2000 iAP Sports Ling
47. t data Event data 518 122 122 Event data request 516 Evaluation unit Wireless 502 channel 514 TS i Media player 400 Z Fig 5 U S Patent Sep 15 2009 Sheet 6 of 8 US 7 589 629 B2 Configuring a sensing device Monitoring pre determined physical 604 602 Generating parameter values based on monitoring 606 Paramater value reaches or exceeds parameter value threshold event has occurred Record event data 608 Fig 6 U S Patent Sep 15 2009 Sheet 7 of 8 US 7 589 629 B2 Retrieve stored parameter threshold values Compare stored parameter threshold values with current parameter threshold values Update those stored values not matching current values Fig 7 U S Patent Sep 15 2009 Sheet 8 of 8 US 7 589 629 B2 Establishing communication link between portable electronic device and an evaluation program Providing current operational status of portable electronic 804 device to evaluation program N 806 Event data available Pass event data to 808 evaluation program i Analyze operational status lt d oly in view of event data Issue operational status Te evaluation summary report Fig 8 US 7 589 629 2 1 EVENT RECORDER FOR PORTABLE MEDIA DEVICE FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates generally to portable elec tronic devices More particularly the present invention relates to se
48. ter code for recording event data corresponding to the event computer code for determining a current operational status of the portable electronic device based upon the recorded event data computer code for determining if the current operational status requires a repair operation computer code for determining if the repair operation is covered by a manufacturer s warranty or not and computer readable medium for storing the computer code 26 An evaluation unit as recited in claim 25 further com prising computer code for issuing in real time a notification that the event has been recorded and computer code for recording the issuance of the notifica tion as part of the recorded event data 5 20 25 30 35 40 45 55 60 65 12 27 An evaluation unit as recited in claim 26 further com prising computer code for updating an event counter indicating a number of times that a like event has occurred 28 An evaluation unit as recited in claim 27 wherein the event data comprises an event type code a date of the event a time of the event a duration of the event and the event counter 29 An evaluation unit as recited in claim 27 wherein the issuing the notification comprises computer code for communicating at least some of the recorded event data 30 An evaluation unit as recited as recited in claim 29 wherein the communicating comprises computer code for providing a visual cue
49. understand the source of problem Therefore it is desirable to be able to record an event in a portable electronic device that can be used to at least evalu ate an operational status of a portable electronic device such as a hand held wearable and other miniature device SUMMARY The invention pertains to methods systems and apparatus for recording an event and associated event data in a portable electronic device The recorded event data can be used at least to evaluate an operational status of a portable electronic device such as media players cell phones laptop computers and the like In one embodiment the portable electronic device includes appropriate event monitoring and recording capabilities that can take the form of a standalone sensing unit By providing monitoring and recording capabilities more efficient and accurate fault analysis can be provided that in turn can facilitate product design and may reduce cost of repair by more clearly delineating if any recorded event usually user initiated has voided a current product warranty Several embodiments ofthe invention are discussed below As a method for recording an event in a portable electronic device the method is carried out by performing at least the following operations monitoring the portable electronic device for at least one physical occurrence expressed as a parameter having a parameter value designating the physical occurrence as an event when the assoc
50. uring a particular event P or for example If recording device 122 is electronic in nature such as volatile memory devices then event data 118 can be recorded as a change in bit values of the memory device whereas if recording device 122 is electro mechanical or mechanical in nature then event data 118 can be recorded as a non reversible state change such as the melting of a fuse etc Examples of recording devices include electrical cir cuits electromechanical circuits mechanical latching mechanisms programmable integrated circuits such as EPROMs fusible links magnetic circuits acoustic circuits optical IR circuits and the like It should be noted that event data 118 could be stored in any appropriate memory device located either within sensor 100 or external to sensor 100 Insome cases in order to preserve power resources which is especially important in battery powered electronic devices recording device 122 can be configured to record an event in a non reversible manner such a melting of a ther mocouple to indicate extreme temperature or discoloration of a moisture sensitive tab to indicate high moisture In this case recording usually means that some mechanical aspect of recording device 122 has changed in a non reversible man ner In this way even if sensor 100 becomes inoperable for whatever reason an event can still be recorded even if sensor 100 is not powered or otherwise inoperable For example
Download Pdf Manuals
Related Search