Wireless mobile communication device having a speaker vibration alert and method of using same
First Claim
1. A mobile wireless communication device having a vibration alert, the mobile wireless communication device comprising:
- a housing;
a speaker attached to the housing, the speaker selected from a plurality of different speakers, wherein each speaker is constructed to vibrate at a different mechanical vibration resonant frequency;
sweep circuitry configured to produce a sweeping signal for the plurality of different speakers;
drive circuitry responsive to the sweeping signal, the drive circuitry coupled to the sweep circuitry and to the speaker and configured to drive each of the plurality of different speakers at a sweeping frequency that causes each of the speakers to vibrate; and
control circuitry selectively activating the sweep circuitry.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A mobile wireless communication device has a speaker that functions as a vibration alert in addition to an audio output device. The speaker is selected from a group of speakers having variation in mechanical vibration resonant frequency. A drive signal sweeps back and forth across a sweep frequency range including the varient speaker mechanical vibration resonant frequencies. The drive signal drives the speaker causing it to vibrate at the mechanical vibration resonant frequency and in turn causing the mobile wireless communication device to vibrate, thereby alerting the user. In this manner, the same drive signal can be used to vibrate each speaker at the speaker'"'"'s mechanical vibration resonant frequency despite the variation in mechanical vibration resonant frequencies among the group of speakers.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A mobile wireless communication device having a vibration alert, the mobile wireless communication device comprising:
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a housing; a speaker attached to the housing, the speaker selected from a plurality of different speakers, wherein each speaker is constructed to vibrate at a different mechanical vibration resonant frequency; sweep circuitry configured to produce a sweeping signal for the plurality of different speakers; drive circuitry responsive to the sweeping signal, the drive circuitry coupled to the sweep circuitry and to the speaker and configured to drive each of the plurality of different speakers at a sweeping frequency that causes each of the speakers to vibrate; and control circuitry selectively activating the sweep circuitry. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A vibrator for a wireless phone, comprising:
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a speaker selected from a plurality of different speakers, wherein each speaker is constructed to resonate at a different mechanical vibration resonant frequency. a driver coupled to the speaker and constructed to generate a drive signal in a predetermined frequency range for the plurality of different speakers, wherein the mechanical vibration resonant frequency for each speaker is within the predetermined frequency range and the drive signal sweeps back and forth across the predetermined frequency range at a sweep frequency; and control circuitry selectively activating the driver thereby causing each speaker to vibrate in the excitation frequency range for the plurality of different speakers. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of generating a vibration alert on a mobile wireless communication device, comprising the steps of:
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determining a range of mechanical vibration resonant frequencies for a plurality of different speakers; determining a sweep range and a sweep frequency for the range of mechanical vibration resonant frequencies for the plurality of different speakers; receiving and detecting a call signal; determining if a vibration mode of the mobile wireless communication device is active; activating a driver to drive each speaker with a drive signal; sweeping the drive signal across the sweep range and at the sweep frequency thereby causing each speaker to vibrate in the speaker'"'"'s excitation frequency range; determining if the phone has been answered or the call has timed out; and deactivating the driver. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of receiving a vibration alert from a mobile wireless communicate device, wherein the mobile wireless communications device includes a speaker selected from a group of different speakers, wherein the plurality of different speakers have a predetermined range of mechanical vibration resonant frequencies, the mobile wireless communications device further including a driver having a predetermined sweep range and a predetermined sweep frequency, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving and detecting a call signal; generating a drive signal in response to the call signal to drive each of the different speakers, wherein the drive signal sweeps across the predetermined range of vibration frequencies at the sweep frequency thereby causing each of the different speakers to vibrate; and alerting the user with the vibrations of the speaker. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification