PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND UNLOCKING METHOD THEREOF

• US 20120026665A1
• Filed: 09/17/2010
• Published: 02/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chi Mei Communication Systems Incorporated (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Chi Mei Communication Systems Incorporated (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: HUANG, PO-TAI, WENG, CHUN-FANG
• Granted Patent: US 8,248,773 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 361/679.26
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer

Abstract

A method executes an altimeter function to unlock a portable electronic device. A user can move the portable electronic device in an up-down direction to set a predetermined changed height for unlocking the portable electronic device. In an unlock procedure, an altimeter detects a changed height of the portable electronic device and outputs detected information of the portable electronic device. If the changed height is the same as the predetermined changed height, the locked portable electronic device is unlocked.

Claims

1. A portable electronic device, comprising:

a storage unit;

a display unit;

at least one processor;

an altimeter operable to detect a height of the portable electronic device;

one or more programs stored in the storage system and being executable by the at least one processor, the one or more programs comprising;

a setting module operable to set a predetermined changed height and a predetermined time period for unlocking the portable electronic device;

a receiving module operable to receive the height of the portable electronic device and a changed height of the portable electronic device and save the height and the changed height to the storage unit;

a checking module operable to determine whether the changed height stored in the storage unit changed within a predetermined time period;

a determination module operable to determine whether the changed height is the same as a predetermined changed height if the changed height changed within the predetermined time period; and

an unlocking module operable to unlock the portable electronic device if the changed height is the same as the predetermined changed height.

2. The portable electronic device of claim 1, the one or more programs further comprises:

a transmission module operable to transmit the changed height to the display unit.

3. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the unlocking module unlocks the portable electronic device by unlocking a screen lock or a key lock.

4. An computer-implemented method for unlocking a portable electronic device, the portable electronic device comprising a storage unit, a display unit and at least one processor, the method comprising:

detecting a height of the portable electronic device;

receiving the height and saving it as an original height to the storage unit;

detecting the height of portable electronic device by an altimeter continually;

receiving the detected height from the altimeter, calculating a changed height by the processor and saving the changed height to the storage unit;

determining whether the changed height stored in the storage unit changed within a predetermined time period;

determining whether the changed height is the same as a predetermined changed height if the changed height changed within the predetermined time period; and

unlocking the portable electronic device if the changed height is the same as the predetermined changed height.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

transmitting the changed height of the portable electronic device to the display unit.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of unlocking the portable electronic device is by unlocking a screen lock or a key lock.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

setting the predetermined time period for unlocking the portable electronic device and saving the predetermined time period to the storage unit.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising the following steps to set the predetermined changed height for unlocking the portable electronic device:

moving the portable electronic device in an up-down direction;

detecting the height of the portable electronic device by the altimeter;

receiving the height and saving it as an original height to the storage unit;

detecting the height of portable electronic device by the altimeter continually; and

calculating the predetermined changed height by a processor and saving it to the storage unit.