Portable communication device and corresponding method of operation

• US 6,992,580 B2
• Filed: 07/25/2002
• Issued: 01/31/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kotzin, Michael D., Klapman, Matthew H., Alberth, William P. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, PHUNG
• Application Number:
  US10/206,503
• Publication Number:
  US 20040017300A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,286 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.11, 340/573.1, 340/539.12, 340/539.13, 340/572.1, 340/825.49, 340/825.69, 340/573.4, 455/66.1
• US Class Current: 340/539.11
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0242 adapted to measure environmental factors, e.g. temperature, pollution
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0453 worn on the body to detect health condition by physiological monitoring, e.g. electrocardiogram, temperature, breathing detecting, measuring or recording for diagnostic purposes A61B5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/02 Automatically-operated arrangements

Abstract

A portable communication device (100) includes at least one sensing circuit (101) and a processor (104), and operates in accordance with a corresponding method of operation. The sensing circuit detects (205) either a characteristic of an external environment containing the portable communication device (e.g., a chemical in the air or acceleration of the device) or a characteristic of the portable communication device user (e.g., heart rate or blood sugar content), and generates a signal (207) representative of a feature of the sensed characteristic. The processor receives the signal and initiates an event based at least on the feature of the sensed characteristic as represented by the signal. Events include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: alerting the device user, transmitting a signal (e.g., an emergency call) to a remote communication device, re-sensing the characteristic or sensing another characteristic, and modifying a setting or profile of the device.

Claims

1. A method of altering a biometric sensing and environmental sensing process in a portable communication device comprising:

receiving a command over a wireless communication path;

initiating a first sensor measurement of a sensed characteristic in response to said command;

establishing an algorithm in said portable communication device in response to said command or said sensor measurement meeting a first criteria; and

initiating a second sensor measurement using said algorithm.

2. The method of claim 1, further including the step of powering up the portable communication device in response to said command.

3. The method of claim 1, further including the step of determining a location of said portable communication device in response to said command.

4. The method of claim 3, further including the step of executing a power up algorithm in response to said location meeting a first criteria.

5. The method of claim 1, further including the step of sending a command in response to initiating a sensor measurement to a second portable communication device.

6. The method of claim 1, further including the step of initiating a sensor measurement in response to a predetermined program sequence prior to receiving said command.

7. The method of claim 6, requesting a command from a second device in response to said sensor measurement meeting a sensor measurement criteria.

8. The method of claim 1 prior to establishing said algorithm, determining if said algorithm is valid.

9. The method of claim 1 receiving said command from said wireless communication path over a RF communication path.

10. A method of context sensing for a portable communication device comprising:

taking a first measurement with a first sensor coupled to said portable communication device; and

initiating a second measurement with a second sensor not the same as said first sensor of said portable communication device in response to said first measurement.

11. The method of claim 10, taking an environmental measurement with an environmental sensor coupled to said portable communication device.

12. The method of claim 11, initiating a biosensing measurement in response to said taking said environmental measurement.

13. The method of claim 11, altering a biosensing algorithm in response to taking said environmental measurement.

14. The method of claim 10, taking a biosensing measurement with a biosensing sensor coupled to said portable communication device.

15. The method of claim 14, initiating an environmental measurement in response to said taking said biosensing measurement.

16. The method of claim 14, altering an environmental measurement algorithm in response to taking said biosensing measurement.

17. The method of claim 10, taking a location measurement of said portable communication device with a GPS coupled to said portable communication device.

18. The method of claim 17, initiating a biosensing measurement in response to said location measurement.

19. The method of claim 17, altering a biosensing algorithm in response to said location measurement.

20. The method of claim 17, initiating an environmental measurement in response to said location measurement.

21. The method of claim 17, altering an environmental algorithm in response to said location measurement.

22. A portable communication device for sensing biometrics and environmental characteristics, comprising:

a transceiver to receive a command;

a first sensor to sense a first contextual characteristic;

a second sensor to sense a second contextual characteristic; and

a controller coupled to said transceiver and said first sensor and said second sensor, said processor operable to dynamically determine a sensing sequence of said first and said second sensors by establishing an algorithm in response to the step of receiving a command or in response to the first measurement meeting a first criteria, and initiating a second sensor measurement using the algorithm.

23. The portable communication device of claim 22 wherein said command alters the operation of said portable communication device.

24. The portable communication device of claim 23 wherein said command is received from a wide area network communication link.

25. The portable communication device of claim 23 wherein said command is received from a second portable communication device over a wireless communication link.

26. The portable communication device of claim 23 wherein said controller is responsive to said command to initiate said second sensor to sense a sensed characteristic.

27. The portable communication device of claim 22, wherein said first sensor is an environmental sensor and wherein said second sensor is a biometric sensor.

28. The portable communication device of claim 27 wherein said environmental sensor is a temperature sensor.

29. The portable communication device of claim 27 wherein said environmental sensor is a location sensor.

30. The portable communication device of claim 27 wherein said environmental sensor is a photo sensor.

31. The portable communication device of claim 27 wherein said biometric sensor is a heart rate sensor.

32. The portable communication device of claim 27 wherein said biometric sensor is a blood pressure sensor.