USING AMBIENT LIGHT SENSOR TO AUGMENT PROXIMITY SENSOR OUTPUT

• US 20080167834A1
• Filed: 01/07/2007
• Published: 07/10/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Yepez, Roberto G., Westerman, Wayne C., Hotelling, Steven P., Herz, Scott M.
• Granted Patent: US 7,957,762 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/150
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3231 Monitoring the presence, absence or movement of users
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

Apparatuses and methods to sense proximity of an object and operate a proximity sensor of a portable device. In some embodiments, a method includes receiving an ambient light sensor (ALS) output, and altering, based on the ALS output, an effect of a proximity sensor output on control of a proximity determination. The ALS sensor and the proximity sensor may be located adjacent to an earpiece of a portable device. In some cases, the proximity determination may be a proximity of an object to the proximity sensor, and altering the effect may include changing the proximity of the object from a proximity greater than a first threshold to a proximity less than the first threshold. Other apparatuses and methods and data processing systems and machine readable media are also described.

Claims

1. A method of sensing proximity, the method comprising:

receiving an ambient light sensor (ALS) output;

altering, based on the ALS output, an effect of a proximity sensor output on control of a proximity determination.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the ALS output is a visible light level of ambient light received by an ALS sensor adjacent to a proximity sensor that provides the proximity sensor output, and the ALS sensor and the proximity sensor are located adjacent to an earpiece of a portable device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the proximity determination is a proximity of an object to the proximity sensor, and altering the effect comprises changing the proximity of the object from a proximity greater than a first threshold to a proximity less than the first threshold.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the proximity sensor output is one of a power level and a rate of change of a power level of emitted IR light reflected by an object and received by the proximity sensor, and the ALS output is one of a power level and a rate of change of ambient light incident upon the sensor.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the ALS level is a change in ALS level and the change causes the proximity determination to change.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the rate of change of ALS output exceeding the threshold occurs simultaneously with the rate of change of proximity sensor output.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising one of:

turning off a backlight of a display, automatically, based on the proximity determination, and disabling processing of inputs received at an input device, automatically based on the proximity determination.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the proximity sensor output is a power level that exceeds a first threshold but does not exceed a second threshold, the second threshold determining a proximity of an object;

wherein the ALS output is a rate of decrease of ambient light less than a third threshold;

and the proximity determination is a determination determining the proximity of the object.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the power level of the proximity sensor output occurs simultaneously with the rate of change of the ALS output.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein a portion of the ALS output is light (back light) emitted by a display and reflected by the object into the ALS, and the portion is a (pedestal) value subtracted from the ALS output prior to basing the altering on the ALS output.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an accelerometer output; and

wherein altering further comprises altering, automatically based on the accelerometer output, the effect of the proximity sensor output on the proximity determination.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the accelerometer output comprises strong movement recorded by an accelerometer.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a blob detect output; and

wherein altering further comprises altering, automatically based on the blob detect output, the effect of the proximity sensor output on the proximity determination.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein receiving blob detection output further comprises:

receiving a plurality of simultaneous capacitive input detections to a plurality of input locations of an input device; and

wherein altering further comprises altering, automatically based on the capacitive detection inputs, the effect of the proximity sensor output on the proximity determination.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the blob detection comprises an irregular location pattern or shape of the plurality of input detections.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a far-field recognition output; and

wherein altering further comprises altering, automatically based on the far-field recognition output, the effect of the proximity sensor output on the proximity determination.

17. A machine readable medium containing executable program instructions which when executed cause a method of operating a data processing system, the method comprising:

receiving an ambient light sensor (ALS) output;

altering, based on the ALS output, an effect of a proximity sensor output on control of a proximity determination.

18. The machine readable medium of claim 17, wherein the ALS output is a visible light level of ambient light received by an ALS sensor adjacent to a proximity sensor that provides the proximity sensor output, and the ALS sensor and the proximity sensor are located adjacent to an earpiece of a portable device.

19. The machine readable medium of claim 17, wherein the proximity determination is a proximity of an object to the proximity sensor, and altering the effect comprises changing the proximity of the object from a proximity greater than a first threshold to a proximity less than the first threshold.

20. The machine readable medium of claim 19, wherein the proximity sensor output is one of a power level and a rate of change of a power level of emitted IR light reflected by an object and received by the proximity sensor, and the ALS output is one of a power level and a rate of change of ambient light incident upon the sensor.

21. The machine readable medium of claim 20, wherein the ALS level is a change in ALS level and the change causes the proximity determination to change.

22. The machine readable medium of claim 20, wherein the rate of change of ALS output exceeding the threshold occurs simultaneously with the rate of change of proximity sensor output.

23. The machine readable medium of claim 17, the method further comprising one of:

turning off a backlight of a display, automatically, based on the proximity determination, and disabling processing of inputs received at an input device, automatically based on the proximity determination.

24. A portable data processing device comprising:

a means for receiving an ambient light sensor (ALS) output;

a means for altering, based on the ALS output, an effect of a proximity sensor output on control of a proximity determination.

25. A method of operating a portable device, the method comprising:

receiving an ambient light sensor level;

automatically altering a proximity determination based on the ambient light sensor level.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the ALS level is a change in ALS level and the change causes the proximity determination to change.

27. The method of claim 25, further comprising altering a setting of one of a display of the portable device and an input device of the portable device, automatically based on the proximity determination.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein altering a setting further comprises one of:

turning off a backlight of a display and disabling processing of inputs received at an input device.

29. A method of operating a portable device, the method comprising:

receiving a light sensor output;

altering, automatically according to the light sensor output, a proximity determination based on a proximity sensor output.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the light sensor output includes a change to a light sensor output level that exceeds a threshold limit, and the proximity sensor output is altered to exceed a threshold limit that the output level does not exceed prior to altering.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein the change to the light sensor output is one of a rate of change of an ambient light level and an amount of change of an ambient light level, and the proximity sensor level is one of a rate of change of a proximity and an amount of change of a proximity of an object.

32. The method of claim 29, further comprising altering a setting of one of a display of the portable device and an input device of the portable device, automatically based on the proximity determination.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein altering a setting further comprises one of:

turning off a backlight of a display and disabling processing of inputs received at an input device.

34. The method of claim 29, wherein the ALS level is a change in ALS level and the change causes the proximity determination to change.

35. A machine readable medium containing executable program instructions which when executed cause a method of operating a data processing system, the method comprising:

using a light sensor output to change a proximity determination.

36. The machine readable medium of claim 35, wherein the proximity determination comprises a determination based on a proximity sensor output.

37. The machine readable medium of claim 35, wherein a change in the light sensor output automatically causes a change in control of the proximity sensor on the proximity determination.

38. The machine readable medium of claim 35, wherein a change in the light sensor output that exceeds a threshold automatically causes a change in the proximity determination that exceeds a threshold.

39. The machine readable medium of claim 35, wherein the light sensor output comprises an output from a light sensor, the proximity sensor output comprise an output from a proximity sensor, and the light sensor is proximate to the proximity sensor.

40. The machine readable medium of claim 35, wherein the proximity sensor is adjacent to an earpiece of a portable device.