Methods and apparatus for an environmental and behavioral adaptive wireless communication device

• US 7,675,414 B2
• Filed: 01/25/2007
• Issued: 03/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Ray, Rajarshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Pope; Daryl
• Application Number:
  US11/627,293
• Publication Number:
  US 20080036591A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,139 Days
• Field of Search: 340/506, 340/517, 340/521, 340/539.1, 340/539.22, 340/539.26, 340/825.36, 340/825.49
• US Class Current: 340/539.26
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/677 Preventing the dialling or sending of predetermined telephone numbers or selected types of telephone numbers, e.g. long distance numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0258 controlling an operation mode according to history or models of usage information, e.g. activity schedule or time of day
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Methods, devices, apparatus and systems are provided for adaptation of a wireless communication device based on current environmental conditions, historical environmental condition patterns and/or historical usage patterns. In this regard, the device senses such environmental conditions as light, sound, motion, temperature and the like and, automatically or at user discretion, adjusts functionality on the device that is affected by these conditions. Additionally, by determining environmental and usage patterns the device can adapt to the patterns by providing certain functionality and/or applications to the user at prescribed times of the day, week, month, etc. By being able to automatically adapt the functionality of a wireless communication device, the user of such a device experiences greater ease in using the device and an overall heightened user experience.

Claims

1. A method for adapting a wireless communication device, comprising:

detecting one or more environmental conditions at a wireless communication device, wherein the one or more environmental conditions comprise wireless communication device motion;

determining if the one or more detected environmental conditions warrant adjustment to one or more wireless communication device functions, wherein the one or more wireless communication device functions comprise a voice-activated dialer function; and

determining an adjustment action for the one or more wireless device functions if the one or more detected environmental conditions is determined to warrant adjustment.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting the one or more wireless communication device functions based on the determined adjustment action.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein adjusting the one or more wireless communication device functions further comprises adjusting, automatically, the one or more wireless device functions based on the determined adjustment action.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein automatic adjustment of the one or more wireless device functions occurs based on user pre-configuration.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein adjusting the one or more wireless communication device functions further comprises determining if a user of the wireless communication device accepts the determined adjustment action.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting one or more environmental conditions further comprises detecting ambient light intensity at the wireless communication device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the one or more wireless communication device functions are further defined as chosen from the group consisting of display brightness and display contrast.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting one or more environmental conditions further comprises detecting an ambient noise level at the wireless communication device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the one or more wireless communication device functions are further defined as chosen from the group consisting of ring tone volume, ring tone frequency, vibration intensity;

vibration frequency and speaker volume.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting one or more environmental conditions further comprises detecting ambient temperature at the wireless communication device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more wireless communication device functions are further defined as chosen from the group consisting of a power-clown function and a limited-use function.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein determining if the one or more detected environmental conditions warrant adjustment further comprises comparing the detected environmental conditions to one or more predetermined thresholds.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein determining if the one or more detected environmental conditions warrant adjustment further comprises implementing at least one of a heuristic simulation and predetermined algorithm to determine if adjustment is warranted.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein determining an adjustment action further defines the adjustment action as chosen from the group consisting of a function parameter alteration, a function activation and a function deactivation.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

logging user actions and temporal information associated with the user actions;

determining a usage pattern based on the logged user actions and the temporal information; and

wherein determining an adjustment action is further based on the usage pattern.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising adjusting at least one function of the wireless communication device based on the corresponding adjustment action.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein logging user actions further comprises logging user actions chosen from the group consisting of communication calls made, communication calls received, applications accessed and functionality implemented.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising logging geographic location information associated the user actions and wherein determining a usage pattern further comprises determining a usage pattern based on the logged user actions, the temporal information and the geographic location information.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising logging environmental conditions associated with the user actions and wherein determining a usage pattern further comprises determining a usage pattern based on the logged user actions, the temporal information and the environmental conditions.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein determining an adjustment action further comprises determining at least one adjustment chosen from the group consisting of function parameter adjustment, function activation and function deactivation.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein determining a usage pattern based on the logged user actions and the temporal information further comprises comparing the user actions to predetermined usage pattern thresholds to determine a usage pattern.

22. The method of claim 15, wherein determining a usage pattern based on the logged user actions and the temporal information further comprises implementing at least one of a heuristic simulation and a predetermined algorithm to determine a usage pattern.

23. The method of claim 15, further comprising automatically adjusting at least one function of the wireless communication device based on the corresponding adjustment action based on the usage pattern.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein automatically adjusting is based on a user pre-configuration.

25. The method of claim 15, further comprising proposing the adjustment action to a device user for acceptance prior to an adjusting of the one or more functions, and wherein the adjusting comprises adjusting based on a user acceptance of the proposed adjustment action.

26. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

detecting one or more environmental conditions at a wireless communication device;

logging the one or more environmental conditions and associated temporal information;

determining an environmental condition pattern based on the logged environmental conditions and the associated temporal information; and

wherein determining an adjustment action is further based on the environmental condition pattern.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising adjusting at least one function of the wireless communication device based on the corresponding adjustment action.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein logging the one or more environmental conditions further comprises logging environmental conditions chosen from the group consisting of ambient light intensity, ambient noise level, ambient temperature and wireless device motion.

29. The method of claim 26, further comprising logging geographic location information associated with the environmental conditions and wherein determining an environmental condition pattern further comprises determining an environmental condition pattern based on the environmental conditions, the temporal information and the geographic location information.

30. The method of claim 26, wherein determining an adjustment action further comprises determining at least one adjustment action chosen from the group consisting of function parameter adjustment, function activation and function deactivation.

31. The method of claim 26, wherein determining an environmental condition pattern further comprises determining an environmental pattern based on at least one of a heuristic simulation, a predetermined algorithm and a comparison to a predetermined environmental pattern threshold.

32. The method of claim 26, wherein determining an adjustment action based on the environmental condition pattern further comprises determining based on at least one of a heuristic simulation, a predetermined algorithm and a comparison to a predetermined environmental threshold.

33. The method of claim 26, further comprising automatically adjusting one or more functions based on the determined adjustment action.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein automatically adjusting is further based on a user pre-configuration.

35. The method of claim 26, further comprising proposing the adjustment action to a device user for acceptance prior to an adjusting of the one or more functions.

36. At least one processor configured to perform the actions of:

detecting one or more environmental conditions at a wireless communication device, wherein the one or more environmental conditions comprise wireless communication device motion;

determining if the one or more detected environmental conditions warrant adjustment to one or more wireless communication device functions, wherein the one or more wireless communication device functions comprise a voice-activated dialer function; and

determining an adjustment action for the one or more wireless device functions if the one or more detected environmental conditions is determined to warrant adjustment.

37. The at least one processor of claim 36, further configured to perform the actions of

logging user actions and temporal information associated with the user actions;

determining a usage pattern based on the logged user actions and the temporal information; and

wherein determining an adjustment action is further based on the usage pattern.

38. The at least one processor of claim 36, further configured to perform the actions of:

detecting one or more environmental condition at a wireless communication device;

logging the environmental conditions and associated temporal information;

determining an environmental condition pattern based on the logged environmental conditions and the associated temporal information; and

wherein determining the adjustment action is further based on the environmental condition pattern.

39. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer-readable medium comprising;

a first set of codes for causing a computer to detect one or more environmental conditions at a wireless communication device, wherein the one or more environmental conditions comprise wireless communication device motion;

a second set of codes for causing the computer to determine if the one or more detected environmental conditions warrant adjustment to one or more wireless communication device functions, wherein the one or more wireless communication device functions comprise a voice-activated dialer function; and

a third set of codes for causing the computer to determine an adjustment action for the one or more wireless device functions if the one or more detected environmental conditions is determined to warrant adjustment.

40. The computer program product of claim 39, wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises:

a fourth set of codes for causing a computer to log user actions and temporal information associated with the user actions;

a fourth set of codes for causing the computer to determine a usage pattern based on the logged user actions and the temporal information; and

wherein the third set of codes for causing the computer to determine the adjustment action is further based on the usage pattern.

41. The computer program product of claim 39, wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises:

a fourth set of codes for causing a computer to detect one or more environmental conditions at a wireless communication device;

a fifth set of codes for causing the computer to log the one or more environmental conditions and associated temporal information;

a sixth set of codes for causing the computer to determine an environmental condition pattern based on the logged environmental conditions and the associated temporal information; and

wherein the third set of codes for causing the computer to determine the adjustment action is further based on the environmental condition pattern.

42. A wireless communication device, comprising:

a computer platform including a processor and a memory;

at least one sensor device in communication with the processor and operable for sensing an environmental condition, wherein the at least one sensor device further comprises an accelerometer operable for sensing motion in the wireless communication device; and

a function adjustment module stored in the memory and executable by the processor, wherein the function adjustment module comprises;

adjustment determination logic operable for determining if the sensed environmental condition warrants adjustment to one or more wireless communication device functions and determining an adjustment action for the one or more wireless device functions if the detected environmental condition is determined to warrant adjustment, wherein the adjustment determination logic is further operable for determining if the sensed environmental condition warrants adjustment to a voice-activated dialer function; and

adjustment logic operable for adjusting the one or more wireless communication device functions based on the determined adjustment action.

43. The wireless communication device of claim 42, wherein the at least one sensor device further comprises a photo sensor operable for sensing light intensity.

44. The wireless communication device of claim 43, wherein adjustment determination logic is further operable for determining if the sensed environmental condition warrants adjustment to one or more wireless communication device functions, which are chosen from the group consisting of display brightness and display contrast.

45. The wireless communication device of claim 42, wherein the at least one sensor device further comprises an audio level sensor operable for sensing noise level.

46. The wireless communication device of claim 45, wherein adjustment determination logic is further operable for determining if the sensed environmental condition warrants adjustment to one or more wireless communication device functions, which are chosen from the group consisting of ring tone volume, ring tone frequency, vibration intensity, vibration frequency and speaker volume.

47. The wireless communication device of claim 42, wherein the at least one sensor device further comprises a temperature sensor operable for sensing temperature.

48. The wireless communication device of claim 47, wherein adjustment determination logic is further operable for determining if the sensed environmental condition warrants adjustment to one or more wireless communication device functions, which are chosen from the group consisting of a power-down function and a limited-use function.

49. The wireless communication device of claim 42, wherein the adjustment determination logic is further operable for comparing a sensed environmental condition determining value to a predetermined threshold to determine if adjustment is warranted to one or more wireless communication device functions.

50. The wireless communication device of claim 42, wherein the adjustment determination logic is further operable for implementing a predetermined algorithm to determine if adjustment is warranted to one or more wireless communication device functions.

51. The wireless communication device of claim 42, further comprising:

an environmental condition log stored in the memory operable for storing environmental conditions and associated temporal information; and

wherein the function adjustment module further comprises;

environmental condition pattern logic operable for determining an environmental condition pattern based on the logged environmental conditions and the temporal information; and

wherein the adjustment determination logic is further operable for determining the adjustment action further based on the environmental condition pattern.

52. The wireless communication device of claim 51, wherein the user actions comprise at least one of a communication call made, a communication call received, an application accessed and a functionality implemented.

53. The wireless communication device of claim 51, further comprising a location determining device in communication with the processor and wherein the environmental log further stores geographic location information associated with the environmental condition actions and wherein the environmental condition pattern logic is further operable for determining an environmental condition pattern based on the logged environmental conditions, the temporal information and the geographic location information.

54. The wireless communication device of claim 51, wherein the adjustment determination logic is further operable for determining at least one function adjustment chosen from the group consisting of function parameter adjustment, function activation and function deactivation.

55. The wireless communication device of claim 51, wherein the adjustment determination logic comprises a predetermined algorithm, and wherein the adjustment action is based on the predetermined algorithm.

56. The wireless communication device of claim 51, wherein the adjustment logic is further operable for automatically adjusting based on the environmental condition pattern.

57. The wireless communication device of claim 56, wherein the adjustment logic is further operable for automatically adjusting based on a user pre-configuration associated with the environmental condition pattern.

58. The wireless communication device of claim 51, wherein the adjustment logic is further operable for proposing the adjustment action to a device user for acceptance prior to adjusting the one or more functions.

59. The wireless communication device of claim 42, wherein the adjustment logic is further operable for adjusting, automatically, the one or more wireless device functions based on the determined adjustment action.

60. The wireless communication device of claim 59, wherein the adjustment logic is further operable to provide for automatic adjustment of the one or more wireless device functions occurs based on user pre-configuration.

61. The wireless communication device of claim 42, wherein the adjustment-logic is further operable for determining if a user of the wireless communication device accepts the determined adjustment action.

62. The wireless communication device of claim 42, further comprising:

a user action log stored in the memory operable for storing user actions and associated temporal information; and

wherein the function adjustment module further comprises;

usage pattern logic operable for determining a usage pattern based on the logged user actions and the temporal information; and

wherein the adjustment determination logic is further operable for determining the adjustment action further based on the usage pattern.

63. The wireless communication device of claim 62, wherein the user actions comprise at least one of a communication call made, a communication call received, an application accessed and a functionality implemented.

64. The wireless communication device of claim 62, further comprising a location determining device in communication with the processor and wherein the user action log further stores geographic location information associated with the user actions and wherein the usage pattern logic is further operable for determining a usage pattern based on the logged user actions, the temporal information and the geographic location information.

65. The wireless communication device of claim 62, further comprising one or more environmental sensing devices in communication with the process and wherein the user action log further stores one or more environmental conditions associated with a user action and wherein the usage pattern logic is further operable for determining a usage pattern based on the logged user actions, the temporal information and the environmental conditions.

66. The wireless communication device of claim 62, wherein the adjustment action is chosen from the group consisting of function parameter adjustment, function activation and function deactivation.

67. The wireless communication device of claim 62, wherein the adjustment determination logic further comprises a predetermined algorithm and wherein the adjustment action is based on the predetermined algorithm.

68. The wireless communication device of claim 62, wherein the adjustment logic is further operable adjusting, automatically, one or more functions associated with the usage pattern.

69. The wireless communication device of claim 68, wherein the adjustment logic is further operable for adjusting, automatically based on a user pre-configuration associated with the usage pattern.

70. The wireless communication device of claim 62, wherein the adjustment logic is further operable for proposing the one or more function adjustments to a device user for acceptance prior to adjusting the one or more functions.

71. A wireless communication device, comprising:

means for detecting one or more environmental conditions at the wireless communication device, wherein the one or more environmental conditions comprise wireless communication device motion;

means for determining if the one or more detected environmental conditions warrant adjustment to one or more wireless communication device functions, wherein the one or more wireless communication device functions comprise a voice-activated dialer function; and

means for determining an adjustment action for the one or more wireless device functions if the one or more detected environmental condition is determined to warrant adjustment.

72. The wireless communication device of claim 71, further comprising:

means for logging user actions and temporal information associated with the user actions;

means for determining a usage pattern based on the logged user actions and the temporal information;

wherein the means for determining the adjustment action further determines based on the usage pattern; and

means for adjusting the one or more wireless communication device functions based on the corresponding adjustment action.

73. The wireless communication device of claim 71, further comprising:

means for detecting one or more environmental conditions at a wireless communication device;

means for logging the one or more environmental conditions and associated temporal information;

means for determining an environmental condition pattern based on the logged environmental conditions and the associated temporal information; and

wherein the means for determining the adjustment action further determines based on the environmental condition pattern.