U.S. patent application number 12/852056 was filed with the patent office on 2012-02-09 for intelligent management for an electronic device.
Invention is credited to Kelsey Y. Ho, Nima Parivar.
Application Number | 20120032894 12/852056 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44584639 |
Filed Date | 2012-02-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120032894 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Parivar; Nima ; et
al. |
February 9, 2012 |
INTELLIGENT MANAGEMENT FOR AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE
Abstract
An electronic device is disclosed. The electronic device
includes a first input device; a second input device capable of
operating in a first operating mode; and a system management module
in communication with the first input device and the second input
device. The system management module is configured for switching
the second input device to a second operating mode in response to
detecting, by the first input device, a presence of a user without
receiving any operation-specific input from the user.
Inventors: |
Parivar; Nima; (South San
Francisco, CA) ; Ho; Kelsey Y.; (Los Altos,
CA) |
Family ID: |
44584639 |
Appl. No.: |
12/852056 |
Filed: |
August 6, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
345/173 ;
345/156; 713/100 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 1/3215 20130101;
G06F 1/3231 20130101; Y02D 70/00 20180101; G06F 3/041 20130101;
Y02D 10/00 20180101; Y02D 30/70 20200801; Y02D 10/173 20180101;
H04W 52/027 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
345/173 ;
713/100; 345/156 |
International
Class: |
G06F 3/041 20060101
G06F003/041; G09G 5/00 20060101 G09G005/00; G06F 1/24 20060101
G06F001/24 |
Claims
1. An electronic device comprising: a first input device; a second
input device capable of operating in a first operating mode; and a
system management module in communication with the first input
device and the second input device, wherein the system management
module is configured for switching the second input device to a
second operating mode in response to detecting, by the first input
device, a presence of a user without receiving any
operation-specific input from the user.
2. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising a display
configured for operating in the first operating mode, wherein the
system management module is further configured such that the
presence of the user detected by the first input device without
receiving any operation-specific input from the user prevents the
display from being switched to the second operating mode, and
wherein the system management module is further configured for
switching the display to the second operating mode in response to a
detected absence of a user for a predetermined period of time.
3. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the first operating
mode of the display is a full-power mode; and the second operating
mode of the display is one of a power-saving mode, dim mode, and
off mode.
4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first input device
comprises a first proximity sensor.
5. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein the first input device
is one of a keyboard, mouse, trackpad, and touch screen.
6. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein the second input
device comprises a second touch sensor, and wherein the first
operating mode of the second input device is a full-power operation
mode and the second operating mode of the second input device is
one of a low-power mode and an off mode.
7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device
is a handheld device, the first input device is a proximity sensor
and the second input device is a touch screen, and wherein the
first operating mode of the second input device is a touch-enabled
mode and the second operating mode of the second input device is a
touch-disabled mode.
8. A handheld device comprising: a touch screen; one or more
proximity sensors separate from the touch screen, the one or more
proximity sensors positioned to detect whether a user is holding
the handheld device with both hands; a system management module in
communication with the touch screen and the one or more proximity
sensors, wherein the system management module is configured for
turning off the touch screen in response to the one or more
proximity sensors detecting a user holding the handheld device with
both hands.
9. The handheld device of claim 8, further comprising a display,
wherein the system management module is further configured for
keeping the display in a normal operating mode in response to the
one or more proximity sensors detecting a user holding the handheld
device without making any operation-specific input.
10. The handheld device of claim 8, further comprising a wireless
antenna, wherein the system management module is further configured
for turning off the wireless antenna in response to the one or more
proximity sensors detecting a user holding the handheld device
without making any operation-specific input.
11. The handheld device of claim 8, further comprising an
accelerometer, wherein the system management module is further
configured for turning off the accelerometer in response to an
absence of touches detected by the one or more proximity sensors
indicating a user holding the handheld device.
12. A method for managing an operating mode of an electronic
device, comprising: detecting a user's presence with a proximity
sensor of the electronic device; maintaining the electronic device
in a first operating mode when the user's presence is detected; and
switching the electronic device to a second operating mode when the
user is detected as being absent, wherein the user's presence is
detected without receiving any operation-specific user input.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first operation mode is a
full power mode of the electronic device.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein the proximity sensor comprises
a touch sensor and detecting the user's presence comprises
detecting the user touching the electronic device.
15. The method of claim 12, wherein switching to a second operating
mode comprising changing an operating mode of at least one
component of the electronic device.
16. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for
performing a method comprising: detecting a user's presence with a
sensor of the electronic device; maintaining the electronic device
in a first operating mode when the user's presence is detected; and
switching the electronic device to a second operating mode when the
user is detected as being absent, wherein the user's presence is
detected without receiving any operation-specific user input.
17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein
switching to a second operating mode comprising changing the
operating mode of at least one component of the electronic
device.
18. A method for managing an application running on an electronic
device, comprising: detecting a type of interaction between a user
and the device; determining whether an application is in an idle
mode in response to the detected type of interaction between the
user and the device; and suspending the application if the
application is determined to be in the idle mode.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein suspending the application
comprises allocating less resources of the electronic device to the
applications.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the resources of the electronic
device comprise an area of a display of the electronic device.
21. The method of claim 19, wherein determining whether an
application is in an idle mode further comprises determining
whether the user is likely to interact with the application with
the detected type of interaction between the user and the
device.
22. A computer-readable medium storing instructions for performing
a method for managing an application running on an electronic
device, the method comprising: detecting a type of interaction
between the user and the device; determining whether an application
is in an idle mode in response to the detected type of interaction
between the user and the device; suspending the application if the
application is determined to be in the idle mode.
23. The computer-readable medium of claim 22, wherein suspending
the application comprises allocating less resources of the
electronic device to the applications.
24. The computer-readable medium of claim 22, wherein the resources
of the electronic device comprise an area of a display of the
electronic device.
25. The computer-readable medium of claim 22, wherein determining
whether an application is in an idle mode further comprises
determining whether the user is likely to interact with the
application with the detected type of interaction between the user
and the device.
Description
FIELD
[0001] This relates generally to managing the operating mode of an
electronic device, and more specifically, to detecting user
presence and/or behavior using one or more sensors of an electronic
device and managing the operating mode of the device based on the
detected user presence and/or behavior.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Many modern electronic devices are designed to automatically
adjust their operating mode based on the presence or absence of
user activities detected by the devices. For example, a computer
may dim its screen, display a screensaver, or switch to a sleep/low
power mode if no user activity is detected for a predetermined
period of time. This can be done using an internal timer which
tracks the duration of the idle state of the computer. Conversely,
a user-initiated input event such as a movement of the mouse, a
stroke on the keyboard, or a gesture detected on a touch pad may
cause the computer to switch back to a full operating mode and be
responsive to the various user inputs.
[0003] However, this timer-based management system is not flawless.
For example, this type of system assumes that the system can switch
to a power-saving mode when no user interaction is detected via the
system's input devices. That may not be true, for example, when a
user is reading from a device with a large screen that can display
large amount of content without requiring the user to scroll up and
down frequently. Another example is when a user is watching a movie
on a handheld device. In this case, although the user is not
actively interacting with the device (e.g., typing or moving the
cursor around), the device should preferably remain in normal
operation mode. If the device automatically displays a screen
saver, dims the screen, or goes into sleep mode based on the
idle-duration timer, it may become an inconvenience for the user
who has to make some type of input every so often to switch the
device back to its normal operating mode so that he can resume
watching the movie.
[0004] In addition, existing device management systems are designed
to manage the operating mode of the device as a whole, but not the
operating mode of the individual component or applications running
on the device. That is, there are often only a limited number of
operating modes available for a particular device. For example, a
desktop computer may only have four different operating modes: a
normal mode, screensaver mode, sleep mode (i.e., low-power mode),
and off mode. A handheld device such as a MP3 player or a cellular
phone may have a normal mode, a dim mode (i.e., low-power mode),
and an off mode. There is typically one setting for each of the
available modes in terms of which components of the device are left
on and which ones can be turned off. As a result, it is difficult
to achieve optimal efficiency given the limited number of operating
modes available.
[0005] As electronic devices become more and more sophisticated,
they may include more hardware components such as a touch pad,
touch screen, accelerometer, camera, etc, each of which can be a
source of power consumption. Similarly, multiple software
applications can run on a device and demand limited system
resources such as memory and processor power at the same time.
Thus, an internal management system that can intelligently manage
the device at a component level and/or application level based on
user presence and behavior is highly desirable.
SUMMARY
[0006] This generally relates to detecting a user's presence and/or
behavior using one or more sensors of an electronic device, and
managing the operating mode of the device at a
component/application level based on the detected presence and/or
behavior to improve usability and efficiency of the device.
[0007] To prevent unwanted interruptions that can be detrimental to
user experience, a device management module of an electronic device
can be programmed to detect the presence of a user even in the
absence of any operation-specific user input. In various
embodiments, this can be achieved using one or more sensors of the
same or different types embedded in the one or more input
devices.
[0008] For example, the device management module can use both an
idle-duration timer and non-operation-specific proximity data from
the input devices to determine whether to switch the device to a
different operation mode. The device can start off operating in a
normal operating mode which requires at least most of the
components of the device to be powered up and fully operational. If
the device has not been idle for more than a predetermined period
of time, the device management module can take no actions and keep
the device in its normal operating mode. If the device management
module determines that the device has been idle for more than the
predetermined period of time, it can then check to see if proximity
data is being received by any of the input devices. Because the
system is in an idle state, the received proximity data can be
interpreted as a continued presence of the user even though no
substantive input from the user is being received. Thus, the device
management module can again maintain the normal operating mode of
the system. In contrast, if none of the input devices senses a
touch, the device management module can then switch the system to a
power-saving mode, a screen saver mode, some other mode or even a
shutdown mode because it may be unlikely that the user is still
present and actively engaged in the use of the system.
[0009] In another embodiment, the device management module can do
more than maintaining or switching the operating mode of the device
based on the presence or the lack of proximity data while the
system is idle. The device management module can also manage the
mode of individual components of the system and/or the status of
one or more applications running on the system. In another
embodiment, the device management module can also manage the
allocation of system resources among multiple applications running
on the system.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 illustrates the exemplary components of a computer
system including a device management module according to
embodiments of the disclosure.
[0011] FIG. 2a illustrates a keyboard including at least one touch
panel adapted to detect a user touch according to embodiments of
the disclosure.
[0012] FIG. 2b illustrates a mouse including a touch surface
adapted to detect a user touch according to embodiments of the
disclosure.
[0013] FIG. 2c illustrates a trackpad including a touch surface
adapted to detect a user touch according to embodiments of the
disclosure.
[0014] FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps in a
process to manage the operating model of a device according to
embodiments of the disclosure.
[0015] FIG. 4 illustrates the exemplary components of a tablet
personal computer (PC) including a device management module
according to embodiments of the disclosure.
[0016] FIGS. 5a and 5b are the front and back view of an embodiment
of the tablet PC of FIG. 4 according to embodiments of the
disclosure.
[0017] FIG. 6a illustrates an exemplary digital media player that
can incorporate device management according to embodiments of the
disclosure.
[0018] FIG. 6b illustrates an exemplary mobile telephone that can
incorporate device management according to embodiments of the
disclosure.
[0019] FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary computing system that can
incorporate device management according to embodiments of the
disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] In the following description, reference is made to the
accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which it is
shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the
disclosure can be practiced. It is to be understood that other
embodiments can be used and structural changes can be made without
departing from the scope of the embodiments of this disclosure.
[0021] This generally relates to detecting a user's presence and/or
behavior using one or more sensors of an electronic device, and
managing the operating mode of the device at a
component/application level based on the detected presence and/or
behavior to improve usability and efficiency of the device.
[0022] In one embodiment, the electronic device can be a desktop or
laptop computer system. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the computer
system 100 can include a display 102, a central processing unit
(CPU) 104, a memory 106, a device management module 108, one or
more input devices such as a keyboard 110, mouse 112, trackpad 114,
and camera 116, all in communication with each other via, for
example, internal buses, external wires, wireless protocols, or any
other means known in the art 118. Although the keyboard, mouse, and
track pad are all shown in FIG. 1, it should be understood that a
particular desktop or laptop may not be equipped with all three. A
desktop or laptop computer system can also include input devices
other than the three shown in FIG. 1. A user can interact with the
computer system 100 via each of the input devices. Typically, as
mentioned above, if the computer system 100 receives no user input
from any of its input devices for a certain period of time, the
device management module may switch the system 100 from a full
operating mode to a power-saving mode. This may not be ideal if the
user is in fact still reading an article or watching a movie from
the display 102 or generally being attentive to the system, even
though no operation-specific input such as a mouse click or a
gesture on the trackpad is being received from the user.
[0023] To prevent unwanted interruptions that can be detrimental to
user experience, the device management module 108 can be programmed
to detect the presence of a user even in the absence of any
operation-specific user input. In various embodiments, this can be
achieved using one or more sensors of the same or different types
embedded in the one or more input devices.
[0024] One type of sensor that can be found in many electronic
devices today is a touch sensor. For example, touch sensors can be
incorporated into input devices such as touchpads, touch screens,
keyboards (e.g., FingerWorks' Touchstream keyboard), mice (e.g.,
the Apple Magic Mouse), and trackpads (e.g., the Apple Magic
Trackpad). FIGS. 2a-c illustrate an exemplary touch-based keyboard,
mouse, and trackpad, respectively. The keyboard 200 of FIG. 2a can
include touch sensors at the palm-resting location 204. The keys
202 of the keyboard 200 can also include touch sensors.
Accordingly, the keyboard 200 can detect touches and/or hovering
(near-touches) (collectively, proximity detection) by a user's
fingers and/or palms even when the user is just resting his hands
on or over the keyboard without pressing any keys or making any
meaningful inputs.
[0025] The mouse 206 of FIG. 2b can similarly include touch sensors
overlapping at least part of its surface to form a touch surface
208. The touch surface 208 can allow a user to perform various
simple and complicated gestures as input to the system. When the
user is simply resting his hand over the mouse (e.g., holding the
mouse) or making minor negligible movements without performing any
gestures or other meaningful input, the touch surface can still
capture the resulting touch data.
[0026] FIG. 2c illustrates a touch-based trackpad 210 including a
similar touch surface 212 capable of detecting touches and/or
near-touches and gestures from a user. The user can also rest or
hover his fingers or other parts of his hands on the touch surface
212. The touch or near-touch by the user's resting fingers or hand
can be captured without generating any meaningful input to the
system to which the trackpad 210 is connected.
[0027] Referring back to FIG. 1, the keyboard 110, mouse 112, and
trackpad 114 of the computer system 100 can be the touch-based
keyboard 200, mouse 206, and trackpad 210 of FIGS. 2a-c,
respectively. In addition, the display 102 can be a touch screen.
The device management module can utilize the proximity data
received from any of the keyboard 110, mouse 112, track pad 114,
and the touch screen of the display 102 to determine whether a user
is present even when the proximity data does not correspond to any
meaningful input (i.e., input that can trigger a specific operation
to be performed). If it is determined that the user is present
based on the fact that the touch surface of any of these input
devices 102, 110, 112, 114 indicates the detection a touch or
near-touch, the device management module 108 can maintain the
current operating mode of the computer system by simply taking no
actions and postponing the activation of the screen saver or
power-saving mode or other mode. This can provide a more seamless
user experience for the user who may be reading or watching a movie
from the display 110 and resting his hands on one of the
touch-based input devices 102, 110, 112, 114.
[0028] FIG. 3 illustrates the steps of an exemplary process that
can be carried out by the device management module 108 to manage
the operating mode of the device 100. In this example, the device
management module 108 can use both an idle-duration timer and
non-operation-specific proximity data from the input devices to
determine whether to switch the device to a different operation
mode. As illustrated, the device can start off operating in a
normal operating mode which requires at least most of the
components of the device to be powered up and fully operational
(step 300). If the device has not been idle for more than a
predetermined period of time, the device management module can take
no actions and keep the device in its normal operating mode (step
301). If the device management module determines that the device
has been idle for more than the predetermined period of time, it
can then check to see if proximity data is being received by any of
the input devices (step 302). Because the system is in an idle
state, the received proximity data can be interpreted as a
continued presence of the user even though no substantive input
from the user is being received. Thus, the device management module
can again maintain the normal operating mode of the system. In
contrast, if none of the input devices senses a touch, the device
management module can then switch the system to a power-saving
mode, a screen saver mode, some other mode or even a shutdown mode
because it may be unlikely that the user is still present and
actively engaged in the use of the system (step 303).
[0029] To more accurately determine if a user is indeed present,
other types of sensors such as the camera 116 of FIG. 1 can also
collect data regarding the user's presence. The image data captured
by the camera can supplement the proximity data collected by the
touch-based input devices, or vice versa, to verify the user's
presence. Thus, embodiments of the disclosure can utilize the
proximity data to better manage the operating mode of the device to
provide an improved experience for the user.
[0030] In another embodiment, the device management module can do
more than maintaining or switching the operating mode of the device
based on the presence or the lack of proximity data while the
system is idle. The device management module can also manage the
mode of individual components of the system and/or the status of
one or more applications running on the system. For example, if the
keyboard 110 of the computer system 100 of FIG. 1 detects proximity
data reflecting that the user has both of his hands resting on the
palm rest of the keyboard, the device management module 108 can
remotely turn off the mouse 112 and/or the trackpad 114 (or switch
them to a low-power mode) because when the user has both hands
resting on the keyboard, it is highly unlikely that the mouse
and/or the track pad would also be in use at the same time.
Similarly, if the user is holding the mouse 112 or resting his hand
on the trackpad 114, the device management module 108 can turn off
the keyboard 110. By managing the operating mode of each individual
component, such as the keyboard 110, mouse 112, and trackpad 114,
the device management module 108 can reduce the overall power
consumption by the system without negatively affecting the
usability of the system.
[0031] In another embodiment, the device management module 108 can
also manage the allocation of system resources among multiple
applications running on the system 100. For example, if one of the
applications is a word processor application but there is no touch
or near-touch detected by the keyboard 110, the mouse 112, and the
trackpad 114, the device management module 108 can temporarily
suspend the word processor application by, for example, moving it
to the background behind other applications or minimizing it so
that more screen space on the display can be allocated to other
applications. Alternatively or additionally, the device management
module 108 can devote less CPU cycles and/or memory to the word
processor application. The extra resources can be given to other
applications running on the system. If a touch is detected on the
keyboard or the mouse, the word processor application can
automatically be reactivated or moved to the foreground. Other
types of applications can be managed similarly to increase the
efficiency of the overall computer system. As another example, a
game application may be suspended if none of the devices being used
to play the game is receiving any user input or even detecting the
presence of a user.
[0032] The concept disclosed in the embodiment above with respect
to a desktop or laptop computer system can also be applied to other
electronic devices such as the tablet PC of FIG. 4. FIG. 4
illustrates various example components of tablet PC 400 including a
display 402, CPU 404, memory 406, device management module 408,
touch screen 410, one or more secondary proximity sensors or panels
412 having one or more touch and/or near-touch sensors,
accelerometer 414, and other input devices 416, all in
communication with each other via, for example, internal buses,
external wires, wireless protocols, or any other means known in the
art 418. Although the touch screen 410, secondary touch and/or
near-touch sensors or panels 412, accelerometer 414, and other
input devices 416 are all shown in FIG. 1, it should be understood
that a particular tablet PC may not be equipped with all these
components.
[0033] Typically, if the touch screen 410 does not detect any touch
input from a user for a certain period of time, the tablet PC 400
can enter a dim mode in which the backlight of the display 402 is
dimmed to reduce power consumption by the display 402.
Alternatively or additionally, the entire device can be switched to
a low-power mode such as a sleep mode or an off mode if the touch
screen does not receive any input from the user. However, as
previously discussed, the absence of any touch or near-touch on the
touch screen 410, which can be the main input device of the tablet
PC 400, does not necessarily mean that the user is no longer using
the tablet PC 400. He or she may still be reading or watching a
movie from the display. According to the same concepts disclosed in
the embodiments above, other types of user input can be used to
determine whether a user is still present but simply not
interacting with the touch screen 410.
[0034] FIGS. 5a and 5b illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the
tablet PC which includes one or more secondary touch and/or
near-touch sensors or panels in addition to the main touch screen
interface. FIG. 5a illustrates the front view of the exemplary
tablet PC 500. The secondary touch and/or near-touch sensor or
panel 512 can be placed along both edges of the tablet PC 500 where
a user is most likely to be holding the device 500. Although not
shown in FIG. 5a, additional or alternative touch and/or near-touch
sensors or panels can also be incorporated, for example, along the
top and bottom edges of the device to detect a user holding the
tablet PC in a landscape orientation.
[0035] FIG. 5b provides a rear view of the same exemplary tablet PC
500. As shown, additional or alternative secondary touch and/or
near-touch sensors or panels 512' can also be placed on the
backside of the tablet PC 500 at locations which would allow
detection of a user holding the tablet PC 500. In other
embodiments, the secondary touch and/or near-touch sensors or
panels can wrap around the side of the tablet PC 500 so long as a
user touch or near-touch can be detected when the user is holding
the device even though no input is being entered via the touch
screen 510. In one embodiment, the secondary touch and/or near
touch sensors or panels 512, 512' of FIGS. 5a and 5b can have less
touch and/or near-touch resolution or capability then the touch
screen 510 because all that the secondary touch panels 512, 512'
are needed for is to detect user's hands holding the tablet PC 500
without further recognizing any particular movement or gesture.
[0036] Referring back to FIG. 4, the exemplary secondary touch
and/or near-touch sensors or panels 412 of tablet PC 400 can be
those shown in FIGS. 5a and 5b. Accordingly, the device management
module 408 can determine based on proximity data received from the
secondary touch and/or near-touch panels 412 whether the user is
holding the tablet PC 400. If so, the device management module 408
can prevent the tablet PC 400 to be switched into a dim mode or any
power-saving mode or other mode even though user input has not been
detected on the touch screen 410 for a period of time. However, if
no touch and/or near-touch is detected by either the touch screen
410 or the secondary touch and/or near-touch sensors or panels 412
for a predetermined period of time, the device management module
408 can then switch the device into a lower power or off mode to
conserve battery. Other types of input devices such as the
accelerometer 414 can also assist in determining whether a user is
present and using the device.
[0037] In addition, the device management module 408 can also
manage the operating mode of individual components and/or
applications of the tablet PC 400. For example, if the only user
input is being detected by the secondary touch and/or near-touch
sensors or panels 412 at both edges of tablet PC 400, the touch
sensor panel of the touch screen 410 can then be turned off to
conserve battery power because the proximity data from the
secondary touch panels 412 can be interpreted as indicating that
the tablet PC 400 is being held by the user with both of his/her
hands. Other components such as the wireless antenna (not shown),
which is also likely not being used when the user is holding the
tablet PC with both of his hands, can also be turned off. As
another example, if the accelerometer 414 detects movement of the
tablet PC 400, the secondary touch and/or near-touch sensors or
panels 414 can be switched off because the movement alone can be
sufficient enough to show that the user is actively using the
device. Similarly, the accelerometer 414 can be turned off if the
secondary touch and/or near-touch sensors or panels detect no
touches by the user--indicating that the device is not being held
by the user. By managing the operating mode of individual
components, the device management module 408 can reduce power
consumption by those components not in use and thus allow the
device to have a longer battery life.
[0038] The device management module 408 can similarly manage the
applications running on the tablet PC 400. For example, if the
secondary touch and/or near-touch sensors or panels 412 detect that
the user is holding the tablet PC 400 with both of his hands, any
type of virtual input graphic user interface (GUI) such as a
virtual keyboard or a virtual scroll wheel being displayed on the
display 402 can be hidden. As soon as the touch or near-touch is no
longer detected by at least one of the secondary touch and/or
near-touch sensors or panels 412, the virtual keyboard or virtual
scroll wheel can reappear on the display 418 so that the user can
manipulate them using the touch screen 410. Again, these methods
for intelligently managing the applications may improve user
experience significantly.
[0039] Although FIGS. 4, 5a and 5b illustrates a tablet PC, similar
features disclosed in the embodiments above can be easily
incorporated into other types of handheld electronic devices such
as MP3 players and cellular phones to achieve the same goal. For
example, FIG. 6A illustrates exemplary digital media player 610
that can include device management according to embodiments of the
disclosure. FIG. 6B illustrates exemplary mobile telephone 620 that
can include device management according to embodiments of the
disclosure.
[0040] In fact, the disclosed concept of managing operating mode of
a device at a component and/or application level can be useful to
any electronic devices capable of detecting user presence and/or
behavior to improve usability and efficiency of the device and
reduce power consumption.
[0041] The device management module of the above-disclosed
embodiments can be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or
a combination of any of the three. For example, the device
management module can be implemented in firmware stored in memory
and executed by a processor The firmware can also be stored and/or
transported within any computer-readable storage medium for use by
or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus,
or device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing
system, or other system that can fetch the instructions from the
instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the
instructions. In the context of this document, a "computer-readable
storage medium" can be any medium that can contain or store the
program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution
system, apparatus, or device. The computer readable storage medium
can include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic,
optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,
apparatus or device, a portable computer diskette (magnetic), a
random access memory (RAM) (magnetic), a read-only memory (ROM)
(magnetic), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM)
(magnetic), a portable optical disc such a CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD,
DVD-R, or DVD-RW, or flash memory such as compact flash cards,
secured digital cards, USB memory devices, memory sticks, and the
like.
[0042] The firmware can also be propagated within any transport
medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution
system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system,
processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch the
instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or
device and execute the instructions. In the context of this
document, a "transport medium" can be any medium that can
communicate, propagate or transport the program for use by or in
connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or
device. The transport readable medium can include, but is not
limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic or
infrared wired or wireless propagation medium.
[0043] The various operating modes of a device or components of a
device can include, but is not limited to, a full operating mode in
which the device (or component) can be in a full power mode, an
idle mode in which some of the components of the device may not
operating at normal speed, a sleep mode in which the device can be
set to power-saving mode in which all but the most essential
components can be turned off; and a power-down mode in which the
device can be essentially turned-off completely. In other
embodiments, the different modes can dictate processor speed and
the allocation of other resource distribution of the device among
the various components and applications.
[0044] As described above, touch-based input devices such as touch
screens and touch panels can be one type of device used for
determining user presence and behavior. These touch-based input
devices can use any existing touch technologies including, but not
limited to, capacitive, resistive, in infrared and acoustic touch
technologies. FIG. 7 illustrates exemplary computing system 700
according to embodiments of the disclosure. The system 700 can
include one or more touch sensor panels according to the
embodiments of the disclosure described above. Computing system 700
can include one or more panel processors 702 and peripherals 704,
and panel subsystem 706. Peripherals 704 can include, but are not
limited to, random access memory (RAM) or other types of memory or
storage, watchdog timers and the like. Panel subsystem 706 can
include, but is not limited to, one or more sense channels 708,
channel scan logic 710 and driver logic 714. Channel scan logic 710
can access RAM 712, autonomously read data from the sense channels
and provide control for the sense channels. In addition, channel
scan logic 710 can control driver logic 714 to generate stimulation
signals 716 at various frequencies and phases that can be
selectively applied to drive lines of touch sensor panel 724. In
some embodiments, panel subsystem 706, panel processor 702 and
peripherals 704 can be integrated into a single application
specific integrated circuit (ASIC).
[0045] Touch sensor panel 724 can include a capacitive sensing
medium having a plurality of drive lines and a plurality of sense
lines, although other sensing media can also be used. Either or
both of the drive and sense lines can be coupled to a thin glass
sheet according to embodiments of the disclosure. Each intersection
of drive and sense lines can represent a capacitive sensing node
and can be viewed as picture element (pixel) 726, which can be
particularly useful when touch sensor panel 724 is viewed as
capturing an "image" of touch. (In other words, after panel
subsystem 706 has determined whether a touch event has been
detected at each touch sensor in the touch sensor panel, the
pattern of touch sensors in the multi-touch panel at which a touch
event occurred can be viewed as an "image" of touch (e.g. a pattern
of fingers touching the panel).) Each sense line of touch sensor
panel 724 can drive sense channel 708 (also referred to herein as
an event detection and demodulation circuit) in panel subsystem
706.
[0046] Computing system 700 can also include host processor 728 for
receiving outputs from panel processor 702 and performing actions
based on the outputs that can include, but are not limited to,
moving an object such as a cursor or pointer, scrolling or panning,
adjusting control settings, opening a file or document, viewing a
menu, making a selection, executing instructions, operating a
peripheral device coupled to the host device, answering a telephone
call, placing a telephone call, terminating a telephone call,
changing the volume or audio settings, storing information related
to telephone communications such as addresses, frequently dialed
numbers, received calls, missed calls, logging onto a computer or a
computer network, permitting authorized individuals access to
restricted areas of the computer or computer network, loading a
user profile associated with a user's preferred arrangement of the
computer desktop, permitting access to web content, launching a
particular program, encrypting or decoding a message, and/or the
like. Host processor 728 can also perform additional functions that
may not be related to panel processing, and can be coupled to
program storage 732 and display device 730 such as an LCD panel for
providing a UI to a user of the device. Display device 730 together
with touch sensor panel 724, when located partially or entirely
under the touch sensor panel, can form touch screen 718.
[0047] Although embodiments of this disclosure have been fully
described with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be
noted that various changes and modifications will become apparent
to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are to
be understood as being included within the scope of embodiments of
this disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
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