Switching between watches or other accessories

• US 10,419,595 B2
• Filed: 12/14/2018
• Issued: 09/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Donley, David C., Poumailloux, Julien A., De Filippis, Pierre J., Hawkins, Tyler D., Dooley, Craig P., Pollack, Daniel B., Grandy, James C., Novick, Gregory B., Shortlidge, Todd A., Pahwa, Aroon, Wilson, David T., Yang, Yan, Circosta, Nicholas Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Rachedine, Mohammed
• Application Number:
  US16/221,200
• Publication Number:
  US 20190141177A1
• Time in Patent Office: 277 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/35 communicating wirelessly
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/445 by mutual authentication, e.g. between devices or programs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2107 File encryption
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/014 Hand-worn input/output arrangements, e.g. data gloves
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/67 by electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/6018 Subscriber or terminal logon/logoff
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/6054 Biometric subscriber identification
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/02 including a Bluetooth interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/0025 synchronizing potentially movable access points
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals

Abstract

Systems, methods and non-transitory computer readable media for allowing a user to switch between wearable items that have been paired with an electronic device, such as a smartphone, are described. In one embodiment, the wearable items automatically detect a removal of a first wearable item from a user'"'"'s body and an attachment of a second wearable item to the user'"'"'s body. Messages from the wearable items are transmitted to the electronic device to allow the electronic device to switch the active wearable item from the first wearable item to the second wearable item. The switch can occur while the electronic device is in a locked state, and the electronic device can synchronize the second wearable item with data received from the first wearable item. Other embodiments are also described.

Claims

1. A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing executable program instructions which when executed by a data processing system cause the data processing system to perform operations comprising:

receiving, at an electronic device, data from a first wearable item that is associated with the electronic device, the first wearable item being an active wearable item when the data is received;

storing received data in a first store of the electronic device; and

storing the received data in a second store of the electronic device, the received data in the second store for use in synchronizing a second wearable item with the electronic device when the second wearable item becomes the active wearable item and the first wearable item is no longer the active wearable item.

2. The non-transitory machine-readable medium as in claim 1, the operations further comprising:

transmitting at least a portion of the data in the second store to the second wearable item in response to the second wearable item becoming the active wearable item.

3. The non-transitory machine-readable medium as in claim 2, wherein the second wearable item decrypts the portion of the data in response to unlocking the second wearable item and wherein the first store and the second store are different databases.

4. The non-transitory machine-readable medium as in claim 2, wherein the first wearable item or the second wearable item is one of or a combination of two or more of:

a watch;

a GPS tracker;

a fitness tracker;

glasses;

a head mounted display;

jewelry;

shoes;

clothing;

a heart monitor;

a health sensor;

a glucose monitor; and

an audio accessory.

5. The non-transitory machine-readable medium as in claim 4, wherein the data comprises health data and the electronic device is one of either a smartphone, a tablet computer, or another consumer electronic device.

6. The non-transitory machine-readable medium as in claim 5, wherein the first wearable item transmits an associated on-body state when the first wearable item is the active wearable item and the second wearable item transmits an associated on-body state in a Bluetooth advertisement message.

7. The non-transitory machine-readable medium as in claim 6, wherein the data is stored in the first store in an encrypted state.

8. The non-transitory machine-readable medium as in claim 7, wherein when the electronic device is unlocked from a locked state, the health data in the second store is updated with at least synchronization anchors for use in synchronizing inactive wearable items.

9. The non-transitory machine-readable medium as in claim 7, wherein the health data in the second store does not include synchronization anchors.

10. The non-transitory machine-readable medium as in claim 7, wherein access to data in the first store is prevented when the electronic device is locked by discarding a key used to decrypt the data.

11. The non-transitory machine-readable medium as in claim 7, wherein the electronic device is locked when the data is stored in the second store and when the at least a portion of the data in the second store is transmitted to the second wearable item.

12. The non-transitory machine-readable medium as in claim 11, wherein the electronic device is unlocked from a locked state by a user'"'"'s security input, which is one of:

a password;

a numeric passcode;

a 2-D gesture on a touch screen;

or a biometric input.

13. The non-transitory machine-readable medium as in claim 1, wherein the first wearable item or the second wearable item is paired with the electronic device.

14. A data processing system comprising:

a non-transitory machine-readable medium to store instructions;

one or more processors to execute the instructions, the instructions to cause the one or more processors to;

receive, at an electronic device, data from a first wearable item that is associated with the electronic device, wherein the first wearable item is an active wearable item when the data is received;

store received data in a first store of the electronic device; and

store the received data in a second store of the electronic device, the received data in the second store for use to synchronize a second wearable item with the electronic device when the second wearable item becomes the active wearable item and the first wearable item is no longer the active wearable item.

15. The data processing system as in claim 14, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

transmit at least a portion of the data in the second store to the second wearable item when the second wearable item becomes the active wearable item, wherein the second wearable item is to decrypt the portion of the data in response to an unlock of the second wearable item and wherein the first store and the second store are different databases.

16. The data processing system as in claim 15, wherein the first wearable item or the second wearable item is one of or a combination of two or more of:

a watch;

a GPS tracker;

a fitness tracker;

glasses;

a head mounted display;

jewelry;

shoes;

clothing;

a heart monitor;

a health sensor;

a glucose monitor; and

an audio accessory.

17. The data processing system as in claim 16 wherein the data comprises health data, the electronic device is one of a smartphone, a tablet computer, or another consumer electronic device and the first wearable item transmits an associated on-body state when first wearable item is the active wearable item and the second wearable item transmits an associated on-body state in a Bluetooth advertisement message.

18. The data processing system as in claim 17, wherein the data is stored in the first store in an encrypted state.

19. The data processing system as in claim 18, wherein when the electronic device is unlocked from a locked state, the health data in the second store is updated with at least synchronization anchors for use in synchronizing inactive watches.

20. The data processing system as in claim 18, wherein the health data in the second store does not include synchronization anchors.

21. The data processing system as in claim 18, wherein access to data in the first store is prevented when the electronic device is locked by discarding a key used to decrypt the data.

22. The data processing system as in claim 18, wherein the electronic device is locked when the data is stored in the second store and when the at least a portion of the data in the second store is transmitted to the second wearable item.

23. The data processing system as in claim 22, wherein the electronic device is unlocked from a locked state by a user'"'"'s security input, which is one of:

a password;

a numeric passcode;

a 2-D gesture on a touch screen;

or a biometric input.

24. The data processing system as in claim 14, wherein the first wearable item or the second wearable item is paired with the electronic device.