Enhancing user experience relative to peripheral devices

• US 10,261,568 B2
• Filed: 09/16/2015
• Issued: 04/16/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Jensen, Michael, Jasinski, Peter, Thuvara, Vineet
• Primary Examiner(s): Syed, Nabil H
• Application Number:
  US14/856,508
• Publication Number:
  US 20170075405A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,308 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/325 Power saving in peripheral device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3259 Power saving in cursor control device, e.g. mouse, joystick, trackball
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3296 by lowering the supply or operating voltage
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

The description relates to enhancing user experience with devices, such as host and peripheral devices. One example relates to devices that can automatically power down when packaged for shipping and power up when opened by the user. Another example allows automatic, secure pairing between sets of host and peripheral devices without any affirmative user actions.

Claims

1. A device, comprising:

an accelerometer configured to sense an acceleration event of the device, the accelerometer being active while the device is positioned in a protective shipping packaging;

a magnetometer configured to sense a magnet in the protective shipping packaging;

a processor configured to receive the acceleration event from the accelerometer and compare the acceleration event with a defined threshold, to poll the magnetometer after receiving the acceleration event above the defined threshold from the accelerometer, to transition the device to a low power shipping state when an output from the magnetometer indicates that the device is positioned in the protective shipping packaging, and to transition the device to a high power active state when the output from the magnetometer indicate that the device is removed from the protective shipping packaging; and

a receiver and a transmitter configured to wirelessly communicate with a host device in response to the device being removed from the protective shipping packaging and transitioning to the high power active state.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the magnetometer is configured to sense proximity to the magnet included in the protective shipping packaging as an indication of whether the device is positioned in or removed from the protective shipping packaging.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein, in response to the device being removed from the protective shipping packaging and transitioning from the low power shipping state to the high power active state, the device is configured to attempt to wirelessly communicate with the host device by engaging in a pairing process with the host device in accordance with a wireless protocol.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the device comprises a wearable device, a stylus, a mouse, a controller, or a keyboard.

17. The device of claim 3, wherein the transmitter is configured to send an identification of the device to the host device during the pairing process.

5. A device, comprising:

a battery;

an acceleration sensor configured to sense an acceleration event of the device;

a magnetic sensor configured to sense proximity to a magnet attached to a shipping package when the device is positioned in the shipping package; and

power management circuitry configured to implement a relatively low power shipping state in which the use of the battery is relatively low when the magnetic sensor senses proximity of the magnet and to implement a relatively high power active state in which the use of the battery is relatively high when the magnetic sensor does not sense proximity to the magnet,

wherein, when in the relatively low power shipping state, the power management circuitry is configured to receive a signal associated with the acceleration event of the device from the acceleration sensor, and responsive to receiving the signal from the acceleration sensor, the power management circuitry is responsively configured to poll the magnetic sensor to determine whether the device is still proximate to the magnet.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the power management circuitry is further configured to cause a user-perceptible signal to be generated by the device when implementing the relatively low power shipping state responsive to sensing proximity to the magnet.

7. The device of claim 6, further comprising a light and wherein the power management circuitry is further configured to generate the user-perceptible signal by sequentially activating and deactivating the light.

8. The device of claim 5, wherein the power management circuitry is further configured to cause the device to enter a wireless protocol compliant advertising mode in response to the magnetic sensor not sensing proximity to the magnet.

9. The device of claim 5, wherein the magnetic sensor comprises a hall effect sensor.

10. The device of claim 5, wherein the magnetic sensor comprises a magnetoresistive sensor.

11. The device of claim 5, wherein the acceleration event is calibrated to be similar to a human picking up the device.

12. The device of claim 5, comprising a stylus, a mouse, a keyboard, a wearable, or a game controller.

13. The device of claim 5, wherein the power management circuitry is implemented as a processor, an ASIC, or an FPGA.

14. The device of claim 5, wherein the device is configured as a host wireless device or a peripheral wireless device.

18. The device of claim 8, further comprising:

a wireless transceiver configured to send an identification of the device to a host device while the device is in the wireless protocol compliant advertising mode.

15. A method, comprising:

maintaining a peripheral device in a lower power shipping state in response to detecting that the peripheral device is positioned in a protective shipping package;

detecting an acceleration event of the peripheral device;

sensing whether the peripheral device is proximate to a magnet attached to the protective shipping package in response to detecting the acceleration even;

transitioning the peripheral device into a higher power active state in response to sensing that the peripheral device is removed from the protective shipping package; and

communicating wirelessly with a host device in response to the peripheral device being transitioned from the lower power shipping state to the higher power active state.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein communicating wirelessly comprises pairing with the host device in accordance with a wireless protocol.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the pairing comprises wirelessly sending an identification of the peripheral device to the host device.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the acceleration event corresponds to a person picking up the peripheral device.