Proximity detection
First Claim
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1. An electronic device comprising an ultrasound transmitter, an ultrasound receiver, and a processing system, the electronic device being arranged to:
- transmit an ultrasonic sine-wave signal from the ultrasound transmitter;
receive the ultrasonic sine-wave signal, through air, at the ultrasound receiver;
detect when the frequency of the ultrasonic sine-wave signal as transmitted by the electronic device and a frequency of the ultrasonic sine-wave signal as received by the electronic device satisfy a predetermined difference criterion;
transmit a second ultrasonic signal from the ultrasound transmitter, the second ultrasonic signal having a wider bandwidth than the transmitted sine-wave signal;
receive ultrasonic signals, through air, at the ultrasound receiver, arising from the second ultrasonic signal;
use the received signals arising from the second ultrasonic signal to determine data representative of a distance to an acoustically-reflective surface spaced away from the electronic device; and
use said distance data and the detection of the predetermined difference criterion to determine whether to disable a touch or touchless input on the electronic device, or to determine whether to enable a touch or touchless input on the electronic device.
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Abstract
An electronic device (1) such as a cell phone, or a proximity detector for an electronic device (1), has an ultrasound transmitter (5), an ultrasound receiver (6), and a processing system. It transmits an ultrasonic sine-wave signal from the transmitter (5), and receives the ultrasonic sine-wave signal, through air, at the receiver (6). It detects when the frequency of the transmitted signal and a frequency of the received signal satisfy a predetermined difference criterion, and uses this to determine whether to disable or enable a touch or touchless input (2) on the device (1).
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. An electronic device comprising an ultrasound transmitter, an ultrasound receiver, and a processing system, the electronic device being arranged to:
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transmit an ultrasonic sine-wave signal from the ultrasound transmitter; receive the ultrasonic sine-wave signal, through air, at the ultrasound receiver; detect when the frequency of the ultrasonic sine-wave signal as transmitted by the electronic device and a frequency of the ultrasonic sine-wave signal as received by the electronic device satisfy a predetermined difference criterion; transmit a second ultrasonic signal from the ultrasound transmitter, the second ultrasonic signal having a wider bandwidth than the transmitted sine-wave signal; receive ultrasonic signals, through air, at the ultrasound receiver, arising from the second ultrasonic signal; use the received signals arising from the second ultrasonic signal to determine data representative of a distance to an acoustically-reflective surface spaced away from the electronic device; and use said distance data and the detection of the predetermined difference criterion to determine whether to disable a touch or touchless input on the electronic device, or to determine whether to enable a touch or touchless input on the electronic device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of controlling an electronic device, comprising:
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transmitting an ultrasonic sine-wave signal from the electronic device; receiving the ultrasonic sine-wave signal, reflected off an object, through air, at the electronic device; detecting that the frequency of the ultrasonic sine-wave signal as transmitted by the electronic device and a frequency of the ultrasonic sine-wave signal as received by the electronic device satisfy a predetermined difference criterion; transmitting a second ultrasonic signal from the electronic device, the second ultrasonic signal having a wider bandwidth than the transmitted sine-wave signal; receiving ultrasonic signals, through air, at the electronic device, arising from the second ultrasonic signal; using the received signals arising from the second ultrasonic signal to determine data representative of a distance to an acoustically-reflective surface spaced away from the electronic device; using said distance data and the detection of the predetermined difference criterion to determine whether to disable, a touch or touchless input on the electronic device, or to determine whether to enable a touch or touchless input on the electronic device; and disabling or enabling the touch or touchless input. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer software which, when executed on a processing system in an electronic device, causes the electronic device to:
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transmit an ultrasonic sine-wave signal from an ultrasound transmitter of the electronic device; receive the ultrasonic sine-wave signal, through air, at an ultrasound receiver of the electronic device; detect that the frequency of the ultrasonic sine-wave signal as transmitted by the electronic device and a frequency of the ultrasonic sine-wave signal as received by the electronic device satisfy a predetermined difference criterion; transmit a second ultrasonic signal from the ultrasound transmitter, the second ultrasonic signal having a wider bandwidth than the transmitted sine-wave signal; receive ultrasonic signals, through air, at the ultrasound receiver, arising from the second ultrasonic signal; use the received signals arising from the second ultrasonic signal to determine data representative of a distance to an acoustically-reflective surface spaced away from the electronic device; use said distance data and the detection of the predetermined difference criterion to determine whether to disable a touch or touchless input on the electronic device, or to determine whether to enable a touch or touchless input on the electronic device.
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Specification