Tablet Computer Equipped with Microphones

• US 20100066665A1
• Filed: 08/10/2009
• Published: 03/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo PC International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Nishino, Hironari, Yoneda, Masaharu, Mori, Hidetoshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,174,547 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/162 changing, e.g. reversing, the face orientation of the screen with a two degrees of freedom mechanism, e.g. for folding into tablet PC like position or orienting towards the direction opposite to the user to show to a second user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 345/901 Electronic book with display
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 345/903 Modular display
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 345/905 Display device with housing structure

Abstract

A tablet PC capable of providing continuous utilization of a sound signal collected from a microphone without requiring any user intervention when a use mode thereof has been changed from a PC use mode to a tablet use mode is disclosed. The tablet PC includes a set of microphones to form a microphone array. The tablet PC is able to operate in a sound emphasis mode wherein sound signals collected from the microphones are processed while forming an emphasis space, and to operate in a non-processing mode wherein the sound signals are processed without forming the emphasis space. When a user manipulates a chassis orientation of the tablet PC from a PC use mode to a tablet use mode, the tablet PC operates to process the emphasis space so that the sound signals collected by the microphones can be utilized in the tablet use mode.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

providing a convertible tablet computer with a plurality of microphones to form a microphone array capable of operating in a sound emphasis mode during which sound signals collected by said microphones are processed while forming an emphasis space and capable of operating in a non-processing mode during which sound signals collected by said microphones are processed without forming said emphasis space;

allowing said tablet computer in a PC use mode to operate in said sound emphasis mode;

determining whether or not a user mode of said tablet computer has been changed from said PC use mode to a tablet use mode; and

in response to a determination that said tablet computer has been changed from said PC use mode to said tablet use mode, processing said emphasis space to allow sound signals collected by said microphones to be utilized in said tablet use mode.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said processing includes transitioning to said non-processing mode from said sound emphasis mode.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said method further includes in response to a determination that said tablet computer has been changed from said tablet use mode to said PC use mode, transitioning to said sound emphasis mode from said non-processing mode.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said processing includes setting both or either one of an axis of directivity and a directivity coverage angle of said emphasis space to a value different from those in said PC use mode.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising

detecting, by said tablet computer, a direction of a display screen in said tablet use mode;

and

changing a direction of said axis of directivity according to said detected direction of said display screen.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising

detecting, by said tablet computer, a tilt angle of said tablet computer;

and

changing a direction of said axis of directivity according to said detected tilt angle.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising

detecting, by said tablet computer, a jolting of said tablet computer;

and

in response to said detected jolt, setting a magnitude of said directivity coverage angle of said emphasis space to be greater than the value in said PC use mode.

8. A convertible tablet computer comprising:

a plurality of microphones forming a microphone array;

sound data creation module for generating sound data from sound signals collected by said plurality of microphones;

sound processing module for forming an emphasis space to process sound data received from said sound data creation module;

mode detection module for detecting said tablet computer being in a PC use mode or in a tablet use mode;

sound utilization module for receiving and utilizing sound data from said sound data creation module or said sound processing module; and

control module for controlling said sound processing module to allow said sound utilization module to receive sound data from said sound data creation module or said sound processing module, in response to said mode detection module detecting said tablet use mode when said sound utilization module is receiving sound data from said sound processing module in said PC use mode.

9. The tablet computer of claim 8, wherein said control module supplies said sound data from said sound data creation module to said sound utilization module in response to said mode detection module detecting said tablet use mode.

10. The tablet computer of claim 9, wherein said control module supplies said sound data from said sound processing module to said sound utilization module in response to said mode detection module detecting said PC use mode.

11. The tablet computer of claim 8, wherein said control module controls said sound processing module to set both or either one of an axis of directivity and a directivity coverage angle of said emphasis space to a value different from those in said PC use mode.

12. The tablet computer of claim 11, wherein said control module changes a direction of said axis of directivity according to information representing said direction of said screen received from a displaying direction detecting module.

13. The tablet computer of claim 11, wherein said control module changes said direction of said axis of directivity according to a tilt angle information received from a tilt angle measuring module.

14. The tablet computer of claim 13, wherein said control module sets a magnitude of said directivity coverage angle to be greater than said value in said PC use mode, in response to a jolting of said tablet computer detected based on said tilt angle information that is periodically received from a tilt angle measuring module.

15. A computer readable medium having a computer program product for permitting a convertible tablet computer having a plurality of microphones to form a microphone array capable of operating in a sound emphasis mode during which sound signals collected by said microphones are processed while forming an emphasis space and capable of operating in a non-processing mode during which sound signals collected by said microphones are processed without forming said emphasis space, said computer readable medium comprising:

computer program code for allowing said tablet computer in a PC use mode to operate in said sound emphasis mode;

computer program code for determining whether or not a user mode of said tablet computer has been changed from said PC use mode to a tablet use mode; and

computer program code for, in response to a determination that said tablet computer has been changed from said PC use mode to said tablet use mode, processing said emphasis space to allow sound signals collected by said microphones to be utilized in said tablet use mode.