TOUCHSCREEN WITH DYNAMICALLY-DEFINED AREAS HAVING DIFFERENT SCANNING MODES

• US 20140125620A1
• Filed: 01/13/2014
• Published: 05/08/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fitbit, Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Fitbit, Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Panther, Heiko Gernot Albert, Axley, Andrew Cole, Yuen, Shelten Gee Jao, Glick, Sara Yael, Carvalho, Shimona Avelina, Park, James
• Granted Patent: US 8,781,791 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0214 of power generation or supply
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0242 adapted to measure environmental factors, e.g. temperature, pollution
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0219 Inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt switches
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02055 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular condition and temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/021 Measuring pressure in heart or blood vessels A61B5/0205 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/024 Detecting, measuring or recording pulse rate or heart rate A61B5/0205, A61B5/021 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1112 Global tracking of patients, e.g. by using GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1118 Determining activity level
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/222 combined with detection or measurement of physiological parameters, e.g. heart rate
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4809 Sleep detection, i.e. determining whether a subject is asleep or not
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4812 Detecting sleep stages or cycles
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4815 Sleep quality
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6838 Clamps or clips
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7264 Classification of physiological signals or data, e.g. using neural networks, statistical classifiers, expert systems or fuzzy systems neural networks per se G06N3/00; expert systems per se G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/743 Displaying an image simultaneously with additional graphical information, e.g. symbols, charts, function plots
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/744 Displaying an avatar, e.g. an animated cartoon character
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7475 User input or interface means, e.g. keyboard, pointing device, joystick
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 22/006 Pedometers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3231 Monitoring the presence, absence or movement of users
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 : Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 : Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/30 : relating to physical therapies or activities, e.g. physiotherapy, acupressure or exercising
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 : for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 : for remote operation

Abstract

Methods, devices, and computer programs are presented for managing power consumption by a display. One method includes an operation for identifying one or more possible inputs for an activity monitoring device based on a state of the activity monitoring device. The one or more possible inputs are defined to be entered via a touchscreen of the activity monitoring device. Further, the method identifies a first region and a second region in the touchscreen, the first region being associated with the one or more possible inputs, and the second region being defined outside the first region. Further, the method includes operations for establishing in the first region a first touchscreen setting for scanning the first region for touch, and for establishing in the second region a second touchscreen setting for scanning the second region, where the first touchscreen setting defines higher processing than the second touchscreen setting.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

identifying one or more possible inputs for an activity monitoring device based on a state of the activity monitoring device, the one or more possible inputs being defined to be entered via a touchscreen of the activity monitoring device;

identifying a first region and a second region in the touchscreen, the first region being associated with the one or more possible inputs, the second region being defined outside the first region;

establishing in the first region a first touchscreen setting for scanning the first region for touch; and

establishing in the second region a second touchscreen setting for scanning the second region, wherein the first touchscreen setting defines higher processing than the second touchscreen setting, wherein operations of the method are executed by a processor.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein identifying one or more possible inputs further includes:

detecting an external event, the external event being originated at or detected by a second device; and

detecting the one or more possible inputs selectable by touch in response to the external event.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the first region is associated with an input to respond to the external event.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the touchscreen includes a plurality of rows, a plurality of columns, and a plurality of sensing cells at intersections of rows and columns.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, further including:

identifying a first group of sensing cells as all sensing cells within the first region; and

scanning the first group of sensing cells for touch simultaneously.

6. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the first region includes a rectangle about a center of the touchscreen when the activity monitoring device has not been used for a predetermined amount of time.

7. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the first region includes sensing cells in a chessboard pattern for detecting a touch on the touchscreen.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the first region includes one or more buttons defined in a graphical user interface.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the first touchscreen setting scans for touch with a higher frequency than the second touchscreen setting, wherein the higher processing defined in the first region requires higher power consumption than the second touchscreen setting.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the second touchscreen setting is associated with skipping scanning for touch in the second region.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the first touchscreen setting scans for touch with a frequency greater than 5 times a second and the second touchscreen setting scans for touch with a frequency less than or equal to 5 times a second.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, further including:

tracking a motion history of the activity monitoring device, where the motion history may include one or more positions; and

setting a third touchscreen setting for scanning the touchscreen based on the motion history.

13. The method as recited in claim 1, further including:

setting the touchscreen with a third touchscreen setting for scanning the touchscreen after a predetermined period without touch on the touchscreen.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, further including:

detecting a partial touch gesture on the touchscreen;

predicting a trajectory of a rest of the touch gesture; and

increasing scan rate in an area of the touchscreen associated with the trajectory.

15. The method as recited in claim 1, further including:

determining that a user is asleep; and

setting the touchscreen with a fourth touchscreen setting for scanning the touchscreen after determining that the user is asleep.

16. A method comprising:

identifying an input expected for the activity monitoring device based on a state of the activity monitoring device, the input being defined to be entered via a touchscreen of the activity monitoring device;

identifying a first region and a second region in the touchscreen, the first region being associated with an area of the touchscreen associated with the input, the second region being defined outside the first region;

establishing in the first region a first touchscreen setting for scanning the first region for touch; and

suppressing scanning for touch in the second region, wherein operations of the method are executed by a processor.

17. The method as recited in claim 16, further including:

establishing a second touchscreen setting after a predetermined amount of time when the input expected is not received.

18. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein the first region includes one or more buttons defined in a graphical user interface.

19. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein operations of the method are performed by a computer program when executed by one or more processors, the computer program being embedded in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.

20. An activity monitoring device comprising:

a motion sensor;

a display with a touchscreen;

a memory having a computer program for a display driver that drives the display; and

a processor for identifying one or more possible inputs to be entered via the touchscreen based on a state of the activity monitoring device, the processor identifying a first region and a second region in the touchscreen, the first region being associated with the one or more possible inputs, the second region being defined outside the first region, wherein the processor establishes in the first region a first touchscreen setting for scanning the first region for touch, wherein the processor establishes in the second region a second touchscreen setting for scanning the second region, wherein the first touchscreen setting defines higher processing than the second touchscreen setting.

21. The activity monitoring device as recited in claim 20, wherein the touchscreen further includes:

a plurality of rows with electrical conductors; and

a plurality of columns with electrical conductors, wherein a plurality of sensing cells are defined at intersections of rows and columns, wherein a touch on a sensing cell creates an electrical coupling between a respective row and respective column.

22. The activity monitoring device as recited in claim 21, wherein the touchscreen is defined to scan for touch by applying an electrical voltage to one or more columns and check the plurality of rows for the electrical voltage indicating a touch.

23. The activity monitoring device as recited in claim 22, wherein the first region is a rectangle in the touchscreen including a first plurality of sensing cells.

24. The activity monitoring device as recited in claim 23, wherein the applies the electrical voltage to columns associated with the first region, and wherein the processor reads simultaneously the rows associated with the first region to detect the electrical voltage.

25. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program for managing power consumption in an activity monitoring device that is configured to accompany a user, the computer-readable storage medium comprising:

program instructions for identifying one or more possible inputs for an activity monitoring device based on a state of the activity monitoring device, the one or more possible inputs being defined to be entered via a touchscreen of the activity monitoring device;

program instructions for identifying a first region and a second region in the touchscreen, the first region being associated with the one or more possible inputs, the second region being defined outside the first region;

program instructions for establishing in the first region a first touchscreen setting for scanning the first region for touch; and

program instructions for establishing in the second region a second touchscreen setting for scanning the second region, wherein the first touchscreen setting defines higher processing than the second touchscreen setting.

26. The computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 25, wherein identifying one or more possible inputs further includes:

detecting an external event; and

detecting the one or more possible inputs selectable by touch in response to the external event.

27. The computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 26, wherein the first region is associated with an input to respond to the external event.

28. The computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 25, wherein the touchscreen includes a plurality of rows, a plurality of columns, and a plurality of sensing cells at intersections of rows and columns.

29. The computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 28, further including:

identifying a first group of sensing cells as all sensing cells within the first region; and

scanning the first group of sensing cells for touch simultaneously.

30. The computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 28, wherein the first region includes a rectangle about a center of the touchscreen when the activity monitoring device has not been used for a predetermined amount of time.