VIBRATOR MOTOR SPEED DETERMINATION IN A MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE

• US 20110301870A1
• Filed: 06/04/2010
• Published: 12/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Tam, Ching Yu John, Du Bois, Ryan Jeffrey, Tran, Chanh-Duy Nguyen
• Granted Patent: US 8,793,094 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/34
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 25/032 Reciprocating, oscillating or vibrating motors
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/24 Arrangements for testing

Abstract

One embodiment relates to testing and verifying vibrator motor operation during manufacturing of a device and during in-the-field use. The test relies on an integrated motion sensor or other mechanical measurement circuitry, such as, for example, an accelerometer. In one embodiment, a speed determination for a vibrator motor performance during initial manufacture of the device. Subsequently, when vibration is detected during the in-the-field use, the vibration may be sampled using the integrated mechanical measurement circuitry. Once sampled, a speed may be determined based on a resonance of the sampled signal. Over time, the various speed determinations for the vibrator motor may be analyzed to determine an overall health of the vibrator motor. A threshold for detecting when the overall health of the vibration motor over time has degraded may be predetermined. A notification of a degradation of vibrator motor performance is sent to either a manufacturer or user of the mobile communications device. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Claims

1. A method within a mobile communications device, comprising:

sampling an output data of mechanical measurement circuitry that is integrated in the mobile communications device while a vibrator motor is running;

analyzing the sampled output data to detect vibration caused by the running motor and to determine a speed of the vibrator motor;

storing the determined speed of the vibrator motor within a non-volatile memory of the mobile communications device;

analyzing stored speeds of the vibrator motor to detect when vibrator motor performance has degraded during in-the-field use; and

reporting a detected degradation of vibrator motor performance.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

measuring, during manufacturing of the mobile communications device, a baseline rotational speed of the vibrator motor, according to a resonance of the running vibrator motor, based on a predetermined sampling rate;

computing a rotational speed performance threshold range, according to the baseline rotational speed, to provide a predetermined speed performance threshold range for the vibrator motor of the mobile communications device; and

storing the predetermined speed performance threshold range within a non-volatile memory of the mobile communications device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

notifying a user to service the mobile communications device if vibrator motor performance over a predetermined period of time falls outside a predetermined speed performance threshold range.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the rotational speed further comprises:

determining an amplitude of vibration of the running vibrator motor according to sampling of detected vibration from the running vibrator motor; and

computing a rotational speed of the vibrator motor according to the detected amplitude of vibration of the vibrator motor.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the sampled output data comprises:

computing a predetermined number of vibrator motor resonance measurements, based on a predetermined sampling rate, using the integrated mechanical measurement circuitry of the mobile communications device;

performing a frequency transformation on the point measurements to obtain a frequency spectrum of the vibration; and

determining a revolution per minutes value as a rotational speed of the vibrator motor according to the determined vibrator motor frequency,

wherein the predetermined sampling rate is greater than a sampling rate of the integrated mechanical measurement circuitry during normal operation of the mobile communications device, the predetermined sampling rate selected to complete the determination of a rotational speed of the vibrator motor within a predetermined, reduced amount of time.

6. A mobile communications device comprising:

a vibrator motor;

mechanical measurement circuitry coupled to the vibrator motor;

control circuitry coupled to the mechanical measurement circuitry, the control circuitry is to sample a data output of the mechanical measurement circuitry while the vibrator motor is running, the control circuitry to analyze the sampled output data to detect vibration caused by the running motor and to determine a speed of the vibrator motor, the control circuitry is further to analyze stored speeds of the vibrator motor to detect when vibrator motor performance has degraded during in-the-field use, and then to report the degradation of vibrator motor performance; and

a non-volatile memory, coupled to the control circuitry, to store the determined speed of the vibrator motor.

7. The mobile communications device of claim 6, wherein the mechanical measurement circuitry is an accelerometer.

8. The mobile communications device of claim 6, further comprising:

communications circuitry coupled to the control circuitry, wherein the communications circuitry is to send a quantitative measurement of vibrator motor performance, over a predetermined period of time of in-the-field use, to a service center.

9. The mobile communications device of claim 6, further comprising:

communications circuitry coupled to the control circuitry, wherein the communications circuitry is to notify a user to service the mobile communications device if vibrator motor performance over a predetermined period of time falls outside a predetermined performance threshold.

10. The mobile communications device of claim 6, further comprising:

communications circuitry coupled to the control circuitry, wherein the degradation of vibrator motor performance is reported to a manufacturer of the mobile communications device using the communications circuitry to establish a wireless network connection.

11. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a machine-readable storage medium that stores instructions which, when executed by a processor in a mobile communications device, perform a method, comprising;

during a vibration event, using a motion sensor that is integrated within the mobile communications device to measure vibration from a vibrator motor causing the event;

computing a speed of the vibrator motor based on the measured vibration from the vibrator motor and then storing the computed speed within a non-volatile memory of the mobile communications device;

analyzing stored speeds of the vibrator motor to detect when vibrator motor performance has degraded during in-the-field use; and

based upon analyzation, sending a notification of the degradation of vibrator motor performance.

12. The article of manufacture of claim 11, wherein the processor further performs a method comprising:

analyzing a rotational speed computed for the vibrator motor during manufacturing of the mobile communications device;

computing a rotational speed performance threshold range, according to the rotational speed, to provide a predetermined performance threshold range for the vibrator motor of the mobile communications device; and

storing the computed speed performance threshold range within the mobile communications device within a non-volatile memory of the mobile communications device.

13. The article of manufacture of claim 11, while the processor further performs a method comprising:

analyzing rotational speed values for the vibrator motor to establish a quantitative measurement of vibrator motor performance over a predetermined period of time of in-the-field use; and

notifying a user to service the mobile communications device if the quantitative measurement of vibrator motor performance over the predetermined period of time falls outside a predetermined speed performance threshold range.

14. The article of manufacture of claim 11, wherein computing the speed of the vibrator motor comprises:

computing a predetermined number of vibrator motor measurements, based on a predetermined sampling rate, using an accelerometer of the mobile communications device;

performing a frequency transformation on the point measurements to obtain a frequency spectrum of the vibration and to determine a vibrator motor frequency; and

determining a revolution per minute value as a rotational speed of the vibrator motor according to the determined vibrator motor frequency.

15. The article of manufacture of claim 11, wherein computing the speed of the vibrator motor comprises:

sampling a detected vibration of the vibrator motor within the mobile communications device, according to a predetermined sampling rate, using an accelerometer of the mobile communications device; and

determining a rotational speed of the vibrator motor according to the sampling of the detected vibration, wherein the predetermined sampling rate is greater than a sampling rate of the accelerometer during a normal operation to complete computing the rotational speed for the vibrator motor within a predetermined, reduced amount of time.

16. The article of manufacture of claim 11, wherein the degradation of vibrator motor performance is reported to a user of the mobile communications device.

17. The article of manufacture of claim 11, comprising:

notifying a manufacturer, via a wireless network connection, to service the mobile communications device if vibrator motor performance over a predetermined period of time falls outside a predetermined speed performance threshold range.

18. A method within a mobile communications device, comprising:

during a vibration event, using a motion sensor that is integrated within the mobile communications device to measure resonance from a linear vibrator motor causing the event; and

using the measured resonance to control a frequency of a drive motor of the linear vibrator.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein using the motion sensor further comprises:

sweeping a drive frequency of a vibrator driver of the motor during the vibration event; and

performing a frequency transformation on resonance measurements to obtain a frequency spectrum of the vibration and to determine a vibrator motor drive frequency.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein using the measured resonance further comprises:

calculating an average resonance frequency from the measured resonance of the linear vibrator motor; and

driving the linear vibrator motor according to the average resonance frequency to achieve a predetermined vibration force.