CONCURRENT DATA STREAMING USING VARIOUS PARAMETERS FROM THE SAME SENSOR

• US 20140023087A1
• Filed: 03/13/2013
• Published: 01/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Czompo, Joseph
• Granted Patent: US 9,462,632 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/465
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 25/005 initial alignment, calibration or starting-up of inertial devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1614 Image rotation following screen orientation, e.g. switching from landscape to portrait mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1637 Sensing arrangement for detection of housing movement or orientation, e.g. for controlling scrolling or cursor movement on the display of an handheld computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/00 Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72403 with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/024 Guidance services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

Embodiments implement a device having a sensor optimizer, where a source data stream from a sensor module may be used by the sensor optimizer to create multiple sensor data streams having different data stream parameters (e.g. data rate, calibration, scaling, etcetera) from the source data stream. Such a sensor optimizer may intercept requests for sensor data from applications running on a mobile device processor, and concurrently provide data streams having different data stream parameters to applications executed by the processor.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, at a sensor optimizer, a first request from a processor for sensor data from a first sensor element, the first request for sensor data identifying a first set of data stream parameters;

receiving, at the sensor optimizer, a second request for sensor data from the first sensor element, the second request identifying a second set of data stream parameters that are different from the first set of data stream parameters;

requesting, by the sensor optimizer, a source data stream from the first sensor element, using a source set of parameters based on the first set of data stream parameters and the second set of data stream parameters;

creating, by the sensor optimizer, a first sensor data stream from the source data stream, wherein the first sensor data stream conforms to the first set of data stream parameters;

creating, by the sensor optimizer, a second sensor data stream from the source data stream, wherein the second sensor data stream conforms with the second set of data stream parameters; and

concurrently communicating the first sensor data stream and the second sensor data stream to the processor.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first request for sensor data comprises including a request for calibrated data;

wherein the first sensor data stream conforms to the first set of data stream parameters and comprises the calibrated data.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the second request for sensor data comprises a request for uncalibrated data;

wherein the second sensor data stream conforms with the second set of data stream parameters and comprises the uncalibrated data.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the first request for sensor data is received from a first application operating on the processor and wherein the second request for sensor data is received from the first application operating on the processor.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the first request for sensor data is received from a first application operating on the processor and wherein the second request for sensor data is received from a second application operating on the processor.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the first application comprises a camera application and the second application comprises a navigation application.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the first sensor element comprises a gyroscope.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein the first sensor element comprises an accelerometer.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the first application comprises a user interface orientation control application and wherein the second application comprises a navigation application.

10. The method of claim 3 wherein the first request for sensor data is received from a first application operating on the processor and wherein the second request for sensor data is received from a second application operating on a second processor within a mobile device that comprises the processor.

11. The method of claim 5 wherein creating the first sensor data stream and the second sensor data stream comprises:

receiving the source data stream from the first sensor element at a signal multiplexing module of the sensor optimizer;

outputting the first sensor data stream from the signal multiplexing module to a first output register of the sensor optimizer; and

outputting the second sensor data stream from the signal multiplexing module to a second output register of the sensor optimizer.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein concurrently communicating the first sensor data stream to the first application and the second sensor data stream to the second application comprises:

communicating the first sensor data stream from the first output register to the first application of the processor via a sensor addressing module beginning at a first time and ending at a second time; and

communicating the second sensor data stream from the second output register to the second application of the processor via the sensor addressing module beginning at a third time and ending at a fourth time, wherein the third time is later than the first time and the third time is earlier than the second time.

13. A device comprising:

a first sensor module comprising a first sensor element;

a sensor optimizer coupled to the first sensor module; and

a processor coupled to the first sensor module via the sensor optimizer;

wherein the sensor optimizer receives a source sensor data stream from the first sensor module and concurrently outputs to the processor at least two sensor data streams derived from the source sensor data stream.

14. The device of claim 13 wherein the sensor optimizer comprises:

a plurality of digital filters coupled to the first sensor element by a signal multiplexing module;

a plurality of output registers, each output register coupled to one corresponding digital filter of the plurality of digital filters; and

a sensor addressing module coupled to the plurality of output registers.

15. The device of claim 14 wherein the sensor optimizer further comprises a first calibration module;

wherein the plurality of digital filters comprises a first digital filter and a second digital filter;

wherein the processor executes a plurality of applications, each application of the plurality of applications providing a set of data stream parameters to the processor for communication to the sensor addressing module as part of a request for sensor data by each application of the plurality of applications;

wherein the plurality of output registers comprises a first output register coupled to the first digital filter and a second output register coupled to the second digital filter; and

wherein the first digital filter is coupled to the first output register via the first calibration module

16. A device comprising:

means for intercepting a source sensor data stream from a sensor module;

means for creating at least two different sensor data streams derived from the source sensor data stream; and

means for concurrently outputting the at least two different sensor data streams to a processor.

17. The device of claim 16 further comprising:

means for intercepting requests for sensor data streams from the processor to the sensor module; and

means for adjusting a set of sensor stream parameters for each sensor data stream to match requested sensor stream parameters from the intercepted requests for sensor data streams.

18. The device of claim 16 further comprising:

means for intercepting a second source data stream from a second sensor module;

means for creating second at least two different sensor data streams derived from the second source sensor data stream; and

means for concurrently outputting the second at least two different sensor data streams to the processor.

19. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising computer readable instructions that, when executed by a processor coupled to the storage medium, cause a device to perform a method comprising:

communicating from the processor to a sensor optimizer, a first request for sensor data from a first sensor element, the first request for sensor data identifying a first set of data stream parameters;

communicating from the processor to the sensor optimizer, a second request for sensor data from the first sensor element, the second request identifying a second set of data stream parameters that are different from the first set of data stream parameters;

requesting, by the sensor optimizer, a source data stream from the first sensor element, using a source set of parameters based on the first set of data stream parameters and the second set of data stream parameters;

creating, by the sensor optimizer, a first sensor data stream from the source data stream, wherein the first sensor data stream conforms to the first set of data stream parameters;

creating, by the sensor optimizer, a second sensor data stream from the source data stream, wherein the second sensor data stream conforms with the second set of data stream parameters; and

concurrently receiving at the processor the first sensor data stream and the second sensor data stream.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 19 wherein the method further comprises:

executing, by the processor, a first application that initiates the first request for sensor data; and

executing, by the processor, a second application concurrent with the execution of the first application, wherein the second application initiates the second request for sensor data.