Communication device with automatic display and lighting activation
Contents
1. blank display When a device user desires and or requires reactivating of the display undesirable operations such as described above in reference to the lighting functions can occur when operating within a dark environment BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 0009 The accompanying figures where like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate views and which together with the detailed description below are incorporated in and form part of the specification serve to further illustrate various embodiments and to explain various principles and advan tages all in accordance with the present invention 0010 FIG 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a communication device 0011 2 is an electronic block diagram of the communication device of FIG 1 0012 FIG 3 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of the operation of the communication device of FIGS 1 and 2 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT S 0013 As required detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein however it is to be under stood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention which can be embodied in various forms Therefore specific structural and functional details dis closed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously2. the material The lightness detector 290 provides a lightness signal to the processor 230 identifying the current level of light surrounding the lightness detector 290 0027 provide the communication capabilities of the communication device 100 the microphone 105 and the earpiece 110 are preferably coupled to the processor 230 The device user is provided with audio information via the earpiece 110 from the processor 230 and the device user s audio information is processed via the microphone 105 through the processor 230 0028 The communication device 100 preferably further includes a clock 275 coupled to the processor 230 The clock 275 provides timing for the processor 230 The clock 230 can include a current time 285 for use in the operation of the communication device 100 and particularly for use in the operation of the operation management application 255 The clock 275 also provides one or more timing values 280 for automatically turning on and off various functions of the communication device 100 0029 In a preferred embodiment the communication device 100 includes the operation management application 255 The operation management application 255 can be hard coded or programmed into the communication device 100 during manufacturing can be programmed over the air upon customer subscription or can be a downloadable application It will be appreciated that other programming methods can be utilized for programming the operat
3. employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure Further the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting but rather to provide an understand able description of the invention 0014 The terms a or an as used herein are defined as one or more than one The term plurality as used herein is defined as two or more than two The term another as used herein is defined as at least a second or more The terms including and or having as used herein are defined as comprising 1 open language The term coupled as used herein is defined as connected although not necessarily directly and not necessarily mechanically The terms pro gram software application and the like as used herein are defined as a sequence of instructions designed for execution on a computer system program computer program software application may include a subroutine a function a procedure an object method an object implementation an executable application an applet a servlet a source code an object code a shared library dynamic load library and or other sequence of instructions designed for execution on a computer system 0015 Referring to FIG 1 an exemplary communication device 100 is shown The communication device 100 for US 2004 0233153 A1 example is a voice communication device The communi cation device 100 for example can be a cellular telephone as illustrated a cordl
4. 05 20040233153 1 a2 Patent Application Publication Pub No US 2004 0233153 A1 as United States Robinson 43 Pub Date Nov 25 2004 54 COMMUNICATION DEVICE WITH AUTOMATIC DISPLAY AND LIGHTING ACTIVATION AND METHOD THEREFORE 76 Inventor Heber Robinson W Palm Beach FL US Correspondence Address Randi L Dulaney Motorola Inc Law Department 8000 West Sunrise Boulevard Fort Lauderdale FL 33322 US 21 Appl No 10 443 218 205 NU 215 230 210 220 TRANSMITTER 275 280 TIMER VALUES 285 CURRENT TIME 105 MICROPHONE SPEAKER PROCESSOR 22 Filed May 22 2003 Publication Classification 51 nts Cl eae G09G 3 36 52 US CL nette a 345 102 57 ABSTRACT A communication device 100 includes a sensor 125 for determining a position of the communication device 100 in relation to a device user a user interface 250 for receiving user inputs from the device user and a lighting mechanism 260 for illuminating the user interface 250 when the position determined by the sensor 125 is greater than a predetermined distance 125 SENSOR 260 DISPLAY LIGHTING 265 KEYPAD LIGHTING 53 ALERT circuit 240 DISPLAY 120 USER INTERFACE KEYPAD 115 OPERATION 221 MANAGEMENT APPLICATION LIGHTNESS DETECTOR 290 250 255 100 235 MEMORY Patent Application Publication Nov 25 2004 Sheet 1 of 3 US 2004 0233153 A1 110 105 FTG 7 US
5. 2004 0233153 A1 Patent Application Publication Nov 25 2004 Sheet 2 of 3 DIA AWONIN cez oor 06 40103130 553 NOILVOIlddV 1N3W3OVNVM NOTLVY3d0 3395 OIT YSN 801 092 9602 0 1 8510 FLL ININA 8 SX WA WNL pgz umo Luv 672 042 ONILHOT QVdA3 905539088 YJLLINSNYNL ONILHOIT AV 14519 992 022 Pc 012 93 092 05 35 OFZ LN co p GIZ 2 Patent Application Publication Nov 25 2004 Sheet 3 of 3 US 2004 0233153 A1 PROXIMATE TO USER FIG 3 US 2004 0233153 A1 COMMUNICATION DEVICE WITH AUTOMATIC DISPLAY AND LIGHTING ACTIVATION AND METHOD THEREFORE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 0001 1 Field of the Invention 0002 This invention relates in general to electronic devices and more particularly to communication devices with display and lighting capability 0003 2 Description of the Related Art 0004 Cellular telephones messaging devices PDAs Personal Digital Assistants and other portable electronic devices having communication capability have become fix tures of everyday life over the last several years As they evolve prices continue to fall while the devices capabilities have expanded It is anticipated that as time goes by the capabilities of such communication devices will continue to expand as prices continue to fall making use of such communication devices a permane
6. A communication device as recited in claim 1 further comprising a lightness detector for determining a lightness level wherein the lighting mechanism further illuminates the user interface when the lightness level is below a predetermined level 9 A communication device as recited in claim 1 further comprising an operation management application programmed to receive the sensing information from the sensor and compare the sensing information to a plurality of user preferences and change the state of the lighting mechanism based on the comparing step 10 A communication device as recited in claim 9 further comprising a display wherein the operation management application is further programmed to change the state of the display based on the comparing step 11 A method for automatic display and lighting activation within a communication device the method comprising the steps of US 2004 0233153 A1 initiating a communication call determining a position of the communication device in relation to a device user activating a lighting mechanism when the position is greater than a predetermined distance 12 The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of activating a display when the position is greater than a predetermined distance Nov 25 2004 13 The method of claim 11 further comprising the steps of measuring a lightness level surrounding the communica tion device prior to the activating st
7. d the like to determine the positioning of the communication device 100 in relation to a device user The sensor 125 is preferably coupled to a sensing circuit not shown which receives signals from the sensor 125 and provides control to various operational blocks of the communication device 100 0017 FIG 2 is an electronic block diagram of a com munication device in accordance with the present invention The communication device for example can be the com munication device 100 as illustrated in FIG 1 or an equiva lent As illustrated the communication device 100 prefer ably includes a first antenna 205 a second antenna 210 a receiver 215 a transmitter 220 a processor 230 a memory 235 an alert circuit 240 the display 120 a user interface 250 such as the keypad 115 a lighting mechanism 260 and an operation management application 255 0018 The first antenna 205 intercepts transmitted signals from a communication system The first antenna 205 is coupled to the receiver 215 which employs conventional demodulation techniques for receiving the communication signals Coupled to the receiver 215 is the processor 230 utilizing conventional signal processing techniques for pro cessing received messages It will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that additional processors can be utilized as required to handle the processing requirements of the processor 230 The processor 230 decodes an address in the demodulated
8. data of a received message compares the decoded address with one or more addresses stored in the memory 235 and when a match is detected proceeds to process the remaining portion of the received message 0019 perform the necessary functions of the commu nication device 100 the processor 230 is coupled to the memory 235 which preferably includes random access memory a read only memory and an elec Nov 25 2004 trically erasable programmable read only memory EEPROM not shown It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the memory 235 can be integrated within the communication device 100 or alter natively can be at least partially contained within an external memory such as a memory storage device 0020 Upon receipt and processing of a message or a call the processor 230 preferably generates a command signal to the alert circuit 240 as a notification that the message has been received and stored or alternatively that a call is waiting for a response The alert circuit 240 can include a speaker not shown with associated speaker drive circuitry capable of playing melodies and other audible alerts a vibrator not shown with associated vibrator drive circuitry capable of producing a physical vibration or one or more light emitting diodes LEDs not shown with associated LED drive circuitry capable of producing a visual alert It will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in
9. e to the earpiece 110 It will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that in accordance with the present invention the sensor 125 can be located within the communication device 100 as mentioned herein or an equivalent The sensor 125 in one embodiment monitors a frequency response by measuring an acoustic pressure One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the acoustic pressure varies as the communication device 100 is brought closer or farther away from the ear of the user of the communication device 100 The sensor 125 is coupled to and feeds a response signal to the processor 230 which preferably includes software and hardware to process the information received from the sensor 125 Similarly the sensor 125 can utilize temperature sensing or other similar means to determine the position of the communication device in relation to the device user 0026 The communication device 100 preferably also includes a lightness detector 290 coupled to the processor 230 to determine the environmental lighting conditions i e a lightness level The lightness detector 290 for example can be a photo sensor A photo sensor is an electronic component that detects the presence of visible light infrared transmission IR and or ultraviolet UV energy Most photo sensors consist of semiconductor having a property called photoconductivity in which the electrical conduc tance varies depending on the intensity of radiation striking
10. ep proceeding to the activating step when the lightness level is below a predetermined level and inactivating the lighting mechanism when the lightness level is above a predetermined level
11. ess telephone a mobile telephone a wired landline telephone or a personal communicator In the following description the term communication device refers to any of the communication devices mentioned above or an equivalent 0016 The communication device 100 preferably includes a microphone 105 an earpiece 110 a keypad 115 a display 120 and a sensor 125 The sensor 125 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention is proximately located with the microphone 105 as illustrated Alterna tively the sensor 125 in accordance with another embodi ment of the present invention is proximately located with the earpiece 110 not shown The microphone 105 converts an acoustic input signal received from a voice transmission to the communication device 100 into an electric input signal The earpiece 110 converts an electric output signal into an acoustic output signal transmitted from the commu nication device 100 to be heard by the listener of the communication device 100 The keypad 115 allows the user of the communication device 100 to enter data such as phone numbers and text memos The display 120 provides visual information by displaying data such as one or more com munication messages phone numbers caller identifications graphic images and the like The sensor 125 utilizes one or more sensing mechanisms such as a temperature sensing mechanism a proximity sensing mechanism an acoustic pressure sensing mechanism an
12. for determining a position of the communication device in relation to a device user a user interface for receiving user inputs from the device user and a lighting mechanism for illuminating the user interface when the position determined by the sensor is greater than a predetermined distance 2 A communication device as recited in claim 1 further comprising a microphone wherein the sensor is proximately located with the microphone 3 A communication device as recited in claim 1 further comprising an earpiece wherein the sensor is proximately located with the earpiece 4 communication device as recited in claim 1 wherein the user interface comprises a keypad and further wherein the lighting mechanism comprises a keypad lighting mecha nism for illuminating at least a portion of the keypad 5 A communication device as recited in claim 1 further comprising display for providing visual information wherein the lighting mechanism comprises a display lighting mechanism for illuminating the display 6 Acommunication device as recited in claim 5 wherein the display is activated when the position determined by the sensor is greater than a predetermined distance 7 communication device as recited in claim 1 wherein the sensor utilizes one or more sensing mechanisms selected from a group consisting of a temperature sensing mecha nism a proximity sensing mechanism and a acoustic pres sure sensing mechanism 8
13. ighting upon completion of communication such as a telephone call 0007 One drawback to timer operation of the lighting capability and the automatic turning off of the lighting operation in response to various functions of the communi cation device is that when this occurs in a dimly lit or dark environment the user may not be able to see the display or keypad i e detracting from the original purpose of the lighting Users may need the lighted keypad during a call to look at the display to find a button to terminate the call and the like To reactivate the lighting the device user blindly presses a button on the keypad Dependent upon the opera tion of the button pressed undesirable operations can be unintentionally implemented For example during a tele phone call in order to reactivate the lighting the device user may unintentionally press the end button or create an undesirable tone s the party on the other end of the call will hear Nov 25 2004 0008 Further included in the operational features of many communication devices is display capability The display can be for example a liquid crystal display utilized to display text graphics and the like In an effort to save battery life of the portable electronic device and to prevent a phenomenon called burn in display screen savers are utilized Many screen savers completely blank the display area by removing all signals from the display resulting in a
14. ion management application 255 into the communication device 100 It will be further appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that operation management application 255 can be hardware circuitry within the communication device 100 Nov 25 2004 0030 The operation management application 255 oper ates using a plurality of user preferences which can be manually set by the user of the communication device 100 or can be preprogrammed into the communication device 100 Preferably the plurality of user preferences can be changed as desired by the user of the communication device 100 The plurality of user preferences preferably includes lighting functionality preferences and display activation preferences The operation management application 255 further utilizes the sensing information received from the sensor 125 via the processor 230 to determine whether the display lighting 265 the keypad lighting 270 the display 120 and other functional blocks should be in an active or inactive state For example the user preferences can be set such that when the communication device 100 is near the device user s ear i e based on the received sensor signal the display 120 the display backlight 265 and the keypad lighting 270 can be turned off for a predetermined period of time Such operation improves battery life by reducing overall current drain Similarly when the communication device 100 is taken away from the user s ear i e based on
15. mer value can be set when the call is initiated In Step 320 when the timer has timed out the various lighting mechanisms and the display are turned off For example dependent upon the user preferences set within the communication device 100 all lighting or a subset of lighting and or the display 120 can be turned off by the processor 230 in response to a command from the operation management application 255 0034 When the communication device 100 is not proxi mate to the device user in Step 310 or when the timer has not timed out in Step 315 the process continues with Step 325 At Step 325 the process determines whether or not the surrounding environment is dark enough to require lighting For example the processor 230 compares the lighting signal received from the lightness detector 290 to a preset light level When the environmental light is not below the preset light level i e it is not dark outside the process continues to Step 320 When the environmental light is darker than the preset light level the process continues with Step 330 in which the various lighting and or the display 120 are either turned on or remain in an active condition if already turned on For example the user preferences can include which lighting or other functional blocks should remain active The processor 230 can activate such operational blocks in response to a command from the operation management application 255 Next in Step 335 or after Step 320 i
16. nt part of people s daily lives Device users utilize such communication devices at all times of the day or night and in all types of locations 0005 Included in the operational features of many com munication devices are lighting capabilities such as display backlighting and keypad lighting Such lighting gives the device user the ability to interact with the communication device in various situations including dark locations such as at night and in a darkened room Upon pressing of a button on the keypad initiating or receiving a communication signal or other similar user interactions the lighting of the display and or the keypad is activated The various lighting operations available to the device user are typically pre programmed by the manufacturer and stored in the commu nication device Some communication devices today also provide for device user manual programming of lighting operations Conventional lighting includes illumination of one or more light emitting diodes LEDs or lamps indi vidually or in conjunction with a control button Other lighting options include the use of electroluminescent tech nology 0006 One negative effect of the lighting capability is the drain on battery life associated therewith Accordingly many communication devices include timers which selec tively turn off the lighting after a predetermined period of operation Similarly many communication devices are pro grammed to turn off the device l
17. s completed the process determines whether or not the current call has ended When the call has not ended the process cycles back to Step 310 and checks for proximity of the communication device 100 to the device user When the call has ended in Step 335 the process cycles back to Step 300 in which the communication device 100 is in standby mode 0035 This disclosure is intended to explain how to fashion and use various embodiments in accordance with the invention rather than to limit the true intended and fair scope and spirit thereof The foregoing description is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed Modifications or variations are pos sible in light of the above teachings The embodiment s was chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical application and to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modi fications as are suited to the particular use contemplated AII such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims as may be amended during the pendency of this application for patent and all equivalents thereof when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly legally and equitably entitled Nov 25 2004 What is claimed is 1 A communication device comprising sensor
18. ssor 230 For example the lighting mechanism 260 can include a keypad lighting mechanism 270 for illuminating at least a portion of the keypad 115 as needed to facilitate the utilization of the keypad 115 in dark environments 0023 The transmitter 220 is coupled to the processor 230 and is responsive to commands from the processor 230 When the transmitter 220 receives a command from the processor 230 the transmitter 220 sends a signal via the second antenna 210 to the communication system 0024 In an alternative embodiment not shown the communication device 100 includes one antenna performing the functionality of the first antenna 205 and the second antenna 210 Further the communication device 100 alter natively includes a transceiver circuit not shown perform ing the functionality of the receiver 215 and the transmitter 220 It will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that other similar electronic block diagrams of the same or alternate type can be utilized for the communication device 100 US 2004 0233153 A1 0025 In accordance with the present invention the com munication device 100 includes the sensor 125 coupled to the processor 230 The sensor 230 detects the communica tion device s proximity to the device user The sensor 125 for example can be a microphone proximately located at the earpiece 110 of the communication device 100 or alterna tively can be a microphone connected via a transmission lin
19. the art that other similar alerting means as well as any combination of the audible vibratory and visual alert outputs described can be used for the alert circuit 240 0021 Upon receipt and processing of a message or a received call the processor 230 preferably also generates a command signal to the display 120 to generate a visual notification The display can be a liquid crystal display a cathode ray tube display one or more organic light emitting diodes one or more LEDs a plasma display or an equiva lent To facilitate utilization and visualization of the infor mation on the display 120 the lighting mechanism 260 including display lighting mechanisms is coupled to the processor 230 For example the lighting mechanism 260 can include a display lighting mechanism 265 for illuminating the display 120 0022 Preferably the user interface 250 is coupled to the processor 130 The user interface 250 can include the keypad 115 such as one or more buttons used to generate a button press or a series of button presses The user interface 250 can also include a voice response system or other similar method of receiving a manual input initiated by the device user The processor 230 in response to receiving a user input via the user interface 250 performs commands as required To facilitate utilization and visualization of the user interface 250 the lighting mechanism 260 including user interface lighting mechanisms is coupled to the proce
20. the received sensor signal the display 120 the display lighting 265 and the keypad lighting 270 can be automati cally activated and turned on a predetermine period of time allowing the user to clearly see the display 120 and the keypad 115 without having to blindly press any buttons The operation management application 255 further utilizes the lightness information from the lightness detector 290 to determine whether or not lighting is necessary based on the surrounding lighting of the environment It will be appreci ated by one of ordinary skill in the art that the user preferences can include separate settings for each of the operational blocks of the communication device 100 For example the display 120 can be set for one operation and the display lighting 265 another 0031 utilizing the sensor information as described above the operation management application 255 provides the device user a more controlled operational environment For example controlling the operation of the display 120 and the lighting mechanism 260 allows the device user to successfully end a call by taking the communication device 100 away from their ear and pressing the appropriate button by clearly seeing the illuminated display 120 and the keypad 115 Similarly while still on a call the device user will be able to briefly look at the display 120 e g to determine battery status signal strength etc of the communication device 100 without having
21. to press any buttons and create any undesirable tones the party on the other end of the call will hear 0032 3 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of the operation of the communication device 100 in accor dance with the present invention Specifically FIG 3 illus trates an exemplary embodiment of the management of the various lighting and display operations of the communica tion device 100 in relation to the proximity of the commu nication device 100 to the device user 0033 The process begins with Step 300 in which the communication device 100 is in standby mode Standby mode runs the communication device 100 with minimal power to conserve battery life Next in Step 305 the process periodically checks if the communication device 100 is communicating within a call When the communication device 100 is not in a call the process returns to the standby US 2004 0233153 A1 mode of Step 300 When the communication device 100 is communicating within a call in Step 305 the process con tinues with Step 310 in which the process determines whether or not the communication device 100 is proximate to the device user For example the processor 230 checks the signal from the sensor 125 to determine the distance between the communication device 100 and the device user In Step 315 when the communication device 100 is proxi mate to the device user the process determines whether a preset timer has timed out For example a ti
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