METHOD OF WAKING UP AND A PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE CONFIGURED TO PERFORM THE SAME

• US 20110080349A1
• Filed: 10/02/2009
• Published: 04/07/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: HOLBEIN, Marc Edward, ORR, Kevin Howard, PARCO, Adam Louis, GRANT, Christopher James, PAPO, Aleksandar Sasha
• Granted Patent: US 8,970,507 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method of waking a portable electronic device and a portable electronic device configured to perform the same. In accordance with one embodiment, there is provided a method of conserving power on a portable electronic device, the portable electronic device having a device housing which comprises a touch-sensitive display, an accelerometer, and a force sensing transducer, the method comprising: causing the portable electronic device to enter a sleep mode in response to a trigger condition, wherein the touch-sensitive display is deactivated in the sleep mode and the force sensing transducer measures forces applied to the touch-sensitive display at a reduced rate relative to a rate of a full power mode when in the sleep mode; detecting an inertial event using the accelerometer; causing the force sensing transducer to measure forces applied to the touch-sensitive display at the rate of the full power mode in response to detection of an inertial event; detecting forces applied to the touch-sensitive display using the force sensing transducer at the rate of the full power mode; causing the touch-sensitive display to be reactivated in response to detection of a force which is greater than a predetermined wake force threshold; detecting touch events on the touch-sensitive display; and causing the portable electronic device to wake from the sleep mode in response to detection of a touch event within a first predetermined duration of the detection of the force which is greater than a predetermined wake force threshold.

Claims

1. A method of conserving power on a portable electronic device, the portable electronic device having a device housing which comprises a touch-sensitive display, an accelerometer, and a force sensing transducer, the method comprising:

causing the portable electronic device to enter a sleep mode in response to a trigger condition, wherein the touch-sensitive display is deactivated in the sleep mode and the force sensing transducer measures forces applied to the touch-sensitive display at a reduced rate relative to a rate of a full power mode when in the sleep mode;

detecting an inertial event using the accelerometer;

causing the force sensing transducer to measure forces applied to the touch-sensitive display at the rate of the full power mode in response to detection of an inertial event;

detecting forces applied to the touch-sensitive display using the force sensing transducer at the rate of the full power mode;

causing the touch-sensitive display to be reactivated in response to detection of a force which is greater than a predetermined wake force threshold;

detecting touch events on the touch-sensitive display; and

causing the portable electronic device to wake from the sleep mode in response to detection of a touch event within a first predetermined duration of the detection of the force which is greater than a predetermined wake force threshold.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein causing of the portable electronic device to wake from the sleep mode only occurs when the touch event exceeds a second predetermined duration and the predetermined wake force threshold is exceeded for the second predetermined duration.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the second predetermined duration exceeds a duration of inertial events comprising taps.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

causing movement of the touch-sensitive display relative to the device housing which simulates the collapse of a dome-type switch.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the portable electronic device comprises at least one piezoelectric element resiliently biased and located beneath a back side of the touch-sensitive display opposite to a touch-sensitive overlay of the touch-sensitive display, the movement of the touch-sensitive display being caused by modulating a charge of the piezoelectric element thereby providing haptic feedback which simulates the collapse of a dome-type switch.

13. The method of claim 12, comprising a plurality of piezoelectric elements resiliently biased and located beneath the back side of the touch-sensitive display opposite to the touch-sensitive overlay of the touch-sensitive display, the movement of the touch-sensitive display being caused by modulating the charge of the piezoelectric elements thereby providing haptic feedback which simulates the collapse of a dome-type switch.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the plurality of piezoelectric elements comprise four piezoelectric disks, each piezoelectric disk being located near a respective corner of the touch-sensitive display.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the force sensing transducer is located beneath a back side of the touch-sensitive display opposite to a touch-sensitive overlay of the touch-sensitive display, the force sensing transducer measuring forces applied to the touch-sensitive overlay of the touch-sensitive display.

16. The method of claim 15, comprising a plurality of force sensing transducers, wherein a sum of force data measured by the force sensing transducers is used to determine whether an applied force is greater than the predetermined wake force threshold.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the force sensing transducers are force sensing resistors.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the force sensing transducers comprise four force sensing resistors, each force sensing resistor being located near a respective corner of the touch-sensitive display.

4. A method of conserving power on a portable electronic device, the portable electronic device having a device housing which comprises a touch-sensitive display and a force sensing transducer, the method comprising:

causing the portable electronic device to enter a sleep mode in response to a trigger condition, wherein the touch-sensitive display is deactivated in the sleep mode;

detecting forces applied to the touch-sensitive display using the force sensing transducer;

causing the touch-sensitive display to be reactivated in response to detection of a force which is greater than a predetermined wake force threshold;

detecting touch events on the touch-sensitive display; and

causing the portable electronic device to wake from the sleep mode in response to detection of a touch event within a first predetermined duration of the detection of the force which is greater than a predetermined wake force threshold.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the force sensing transducer measures forces applied to the touch-sensitive display at a reduced rate relative to a rate of a full power mode when in the sleep mode.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

causing the force sensing transducer to measure forces applied to the touch-sensitive display at the rate of the full power mode in response to detection of a force which is greater than the predetermined wake force threshold.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the force sensing transducer is powered-off in the sleep mode, wherein the force sensing transducer is powered-on to measure forces applied to the touch-sensitive display at the rate of the full power mode in response to detection of a force which is greater than the predetermined wake force threshold.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein causing of the portable electronic device to wake from the sleep mode only occurs when the touch event exceeds a second predetermined duration and the predetermined wake force threshold is exceeded for the second predetermined duration.

9. A method of conserving power on a portable electronic device, the portable electronic device having a device housing which comprises a touch-sensitive display, an accelerometer, and a force sensing transducer, the method comprising:

causing the portable electronic device to enter a sleep mode in response to a trigger condition, wherein the touch-sensitive display is deactivated in the sleep mode and the force sensing transducer measures forces applied to the touch-sensitive display at a reduced rate relative to a rate of a full power mode when in the sleep mode;

detecting an inertial event using the accelerometer;

causing the force sensing transducer to measure forces applied to the touch-sensitive display at the rate of the full power mode in response to detection of an inertial event;

detecting forces applied to the touch-sensitive display using the force sensing transducer at the rate of the full power mode; and

causing the touch-sensitive display to be reactivated and causing the portable electronic device to wake from the sleep mode in response to detection of a touch event within a first predetermined duration of the detection of the force which is greater than a predetermined wake force threshold.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein causing the touch-sensitive display to be reactivated and causing of the portable electronic device to wake from the sleep mode only occurs when the predetermined wake force threshold is exceeded for a second predetermined duration.

19. A method of conserving power on a portable electronic device, the portable electronic device having a device housing which comprises a touch-sensitive display and an accelerometer, the method comprising:

causing the portable electronic device to enter a sleep mode in response to a trigger condition, wherein the touch-sensitive display is deactivated in the sleep mode;

detecting an inertial event using the accelerometer;

causing the touch-sensitive display to be reactivated in response to detection of an inertial event;

detecting touch events on the touch-sensitive display; and

causing the portable electronic device to wake from the sleep mode in response to detection of a touch event within a predetermined duration of the detection of inertial event.

20. A portable electronic device, comprising:

a housing;

a processor received within the housing;

a touch-sensitive display connected to the processor and exposed by the housing, the touch-sensitive display having a touch-sensitive overlay detecting touch events;

an accelerometer received within the housing connected to the controller and measuring inertial events;

at least one force sensing transducer located below the touch-sensitive display on an opposite side to the touch-sensitive overlay, the at least one force sensing transducer being connected to the controller and measuring forces applied to the touch-sensitive display;

wherein the controller is configured for;

causing the portable electronic device to enter a sleep mode in response to a trigger condition, wherein the touch-sensitive display is deactivated in the sleep mode and the force sensing transducer measures forces applied to the touch-sensitive display at a reduced rate relative to a rate of a full power mode when in the sleep mode;

detecting an inertial event using the accelerometer;

causing the force sensing transducer to measure forces applied to the touch-sensitive display at the rate of the full power mode in response to detection of an inertial event;

detecting forces applied to the touch-sensitive display using the force sensing transducer at the rate of the full power mode;

causing the touch-sensitive display to be reactivated in response to detection of a force which is greater than a predetermined wake force threshold;

detecting touch events on the touch-sensitive display; and

causing the portable electronic device to wake from the sleep mode in response to detection of a touch event within a first predetermined duration of the detection of the force which is greater than a predetermined wake force threshold.