AUTOMATIC ANSWERING OF A MOBILE PHONE
First Claim
1. A computer-readable storage having instructions thereon for executing a method of answering a mobile phone, the method comprising:
- detecting that the mobile phone is receiving a call;
checking whether a proximity sensor detects a presence of a first object that is within a predetermined distance of the proximity sensor;
if the proximity sensor detects the presence of the first object, checking that the proximity sensor changes state to not detecting the presence of the first object;
if the proximity sensor changes state to not detecting the presence of the first object, checking whether the proximity sensor changes state to detecting another object, which is a second object, different than the first object; and
if the proximity sensor changes state to detecting the second object, then automatically answering the call.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present disclosure relates to a mobile phone and a method for answering such a phone automatically without user input. In one embodiment, the mobile phone detects that a call is being received. A proximity sensor is then used to detect the presence of a nearby object. For example, this allows a determination to be made whether the mobile phone is within a pocket of the user while the phone is ringing. Then a determination is made whether the proximity sensor changes states. For example, if a user removes the phone from their pocket, the proximity sensor switches from detecting something proximal to detecting that the phone is no longer in the user'"'"'s pocket. Next, a determination is made whether the proximity sensor is again next to an object, such as an ear. If so, the mobile phone can be automatically answered without further user input.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A computer-readable storage having instructions thereon for executing a method of answering a mobile phone, the method comprising:
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detecting that the mobile phone is receiving a call; checking whether a proximity sensor detects a presence of a first object that is within a predetermined distance of the proximity sensor; if the proximity sensor detects the presence of the first object, checking that the proximity sensor changes state to not detecting the presence of the first object; if the proximity sensor changes state to not detecting the presence of the first object, checking whether the proximity sensor changes state to detecting another object, which is a second object, different than the first object; and if the proximity sensor changes state to detecting the second object, then automatically answering the call. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A computer-readable storage having instructions thereon for executing a method of answering a phone, the method comprising:
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detecting that the phone is receiving a call; checking, as a first check, whether a proximity sensor detects a presence of a first object while the call is being received; if the proximity sensor detects the presence of the first object, checking, as a second check, that the proximity sensor changes state to not detecting the presence of the first object for at least a predetermined period of time; if the proximity sensor, as the second check, changes state to not detecting the presence of the first object, then checking, as a third check, whether the proximity sensor changes to a state of detecting a second object; and automatically answering the call if the first, second, and third checks all occur during a process of answering the call on the phone. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for answering a mobile phone, comprising:
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detecting that the mobile phone is receiving an incoming call; detecting that the phone is in a pocket or handbag when the incoming call is received on the mobile phone using a proximity sensor; if the proximity sensor detects that the mobile phone is in the pocket or handbag, detecting, while the incoming call is still being received, that the mobile phone is no longer in the pocket or handbag using the proximity sensor indicating that a user has removed the mobile phone from the pocket or handbag so as to answer the mobile phone; in response to the detection that the mobile phone is no longer in the pocket or handbag, detecting that the mobile phone is within a predetermined distance to the user'"'"'s ear while the incoming call is still being received indicating that the user desires to answer the mobile phone; and automatically answering the incoming call in response to the detection that the mobile phone is within the predetermined distance to the user'"'"'s ear. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification