Crowd-sourced brightness for a display

• US 10,446,115 B2
• Filed: 01/03/2017
• Issued: 10/15/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Ropo, Kari Jussi, Kallio, Samu, Huffman, Katherine Blair, Berrendonner, Jocelyn, Donahue, Tyler
• Primary Examiner(s): Merouan, Abderrahim
• Application Number:
  US15/397,670
• Publication Number:
  US 20180190240A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0606 Manual adjustment
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0626 for control of overall brightness
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/144 the light being ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/042 for monitor identification
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/20 for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/10 Intensity circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/30 Control of display attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/391 Resolution modifying circuits, e.g. variable screen formats

Abstract

Computing devices and methods for adjusting light output of a display in a user computing device are disclosed. In one example, user-adjusted brightness settings are received from a plurality of computing devices. For each brightness setting, a corresponding environment brightness level determined contemporaneously with execution of the user-adjusted brightness setting is also received. At least one crowd-sourced brightness curve is generated using the user-adjusted brightness settings and the corresponding environment brightness levels. When a trigger event occurs, the at least one crowd-sourced brightness curve is distributed to the user computing device.

Claims

1. A method for adjusting light output of a display in a user computing device, the method comprising:

receiving a plurality of user-adjusted brightness settings from each of a plurality of computing devices;

for each of the user-adjusted brightness settings, receiving a corresponding environment brightness level that is determined contemporaneously with an execution of the user-adjusted brightness setting;

using the plurality of user-adjusted brightness settings and the corresponding environment brightness levels, generating at least one crowd-sourced brightness curve;

determining that a trigger event associated with the user computing device has occurred; and

based at least in part on the occurrence of the trigger event, distributing the at least one crowd-sourced brightness curve to the user computing device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving device characteristic data identifying at least one device characteristic of each of the plurality of computing devices, and wherein generating the at least one crowd-sourced brightness curve further comprises generating a first crowd-sourced brightness curve associated with a first device characteristic, and generating a second crowd-sourced brightness curve associated with a second device characteristic.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein distributing the at least one crowd-sourced brightness curve to the user computing device further comprises distributing the first crowd-sourced brightness curve based at least in part on identifying the first device characteristic in the user computing device.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the first device characteristic comprises a device type.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the first device characteristic comprises a size of the display.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the first device characteristic comprises a resolution of the display.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the first device characteristic comprises a reflectance of the display.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein the user computing device is a current user computing device that comprises the second device characteristic, the method further comprising:

identifying a user-specific brightness curve for a prior user computing device that comprises the first device characteristic;

generating a weighted value based on a difference between the first crowd-sourced brightness curve and the second crowd-sourced brightness curve;

wherein generating the at least one crowd-sourced brightness curve further comprises modifying the user-specific brightness curve using the weighted value; and

distributing the at least one crowd-sourced brightness curve further comprises distributing the modified user-specific brightness curve to the current user computing device.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving device context data identifying at least one context for each of the plurality of computing devices, and wherein generating the at least one crowd-sourced brightness curve further comprises generating a first crowd-sourced brightness curve associated with a first device context, and generating a second crowd-sourced brightness curve associated with a second device context.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of user-adjusted brightness settings comprises a plurality of user-adjusted brightness settings received from the user computing device, and the at least one crowd-sourced brightness curve is generated from at least the plurality of user-adjusted brightness settings received from the user computing device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the user computing device is not one of the plurality of computing devices.

12. A computing device, comprising:

a display;

a light sensor;

a processor; and

a display adjustment program executable by the processor, the display adjustment program configured to;

receive a crowd-sourced brightness curve from a crowd-sourcing computing device, wherein the crowd-sourced brightness curve is generated using (1) a plurality of user-adjusted brightness settings from each of a plurality of other computing devices, and (2) a corresponding environment brightness level for each of the user-adjusted brightness settings, wherein each of the corresponding environment brightness levels is determined contemporaneously with an execution of the user-adjusted brightness setting; and

adjust a brightness of the display using the crowd-sourced brightness curve and an ambient light level from the light sensor.

13. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the display adjustment program is further configured to send device characteristic data identifying a device characteristic of the computing device to the crowd-sourcing computing device, and wherein the crowd-sourced brightness curve is associated with the first device characteristic.

14. The computing device of claim 13, wherein the device characteristic comprises a device type of the computing device.

15. The computing device of claim 13, wherein the device characteristic comprises a size of the display.

16. The computing device of claim 13, wherein the device characteristic comprises a resolution of the display.

17. The computing device of claim 13, wherein the device characteristic comprises a technology type of the display.

18. The computing device of claim 13, wherein the device characteristic comprises a reflectance of the display.

19. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the plurality of user-adjusted brightness settings further comprises a plurality of user-adjusted brightness settings from the computing device, and the crowd-sourced brightness curve is generated from at least the plurality of user-adjusted brightness settings from the user computing device.

20. A computing device, comprising:

a processor; and

a brightness curve program executable by the processor, the brightness curve program configured to;

receive a plurality of user-adjusted brightness settings from each of a plurality of computing devices;

for each of the user-adjusted brightness settings, receive a corresponding environment brightness level that is determined contemporaneously with an execution of the user-adjusted brightness setting;

using the plurality of user-adjusted brightness settings and the corresponding environment brightness levels, generate at least one crowd-sourced brightness curve;

determine that a trigger event associated with a user computing device has occurred; and

based at least in part on the occurrence of the trigger event, distribute the at least one crowd-sourced brightness curve to the user computing device.