Vibrator motor speed determination in a mobile communications device

• US 8,793,094 B2
• Filed: 06/04/2010
• Issued: 07/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Tam, Ching Yu John, Du Bois, Ryan Jeffrey, Tran, Chanh-Duy Nguyen
• Primary Examiner(s): Teixeira Moffat, Jonathan C
• Assistant Examiner(s): VO, HIEN XUAN
• Application Number:
  US12/794,542
• Publication Number:
  US 20110301870A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,516 Days
• Field of Search: 455/423, 702/113, 702/116, 702/145, 702/56, 702/183, 702/185
• US Class Current: 702/113
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 25/032 Reciprocating, oscillating or vibrating motors
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/24 Arrangements for testing

Abstract

One embodiment relates to testing and verifying vibrator motor operation during manufacturing of a device and during in-the-field use. The test relies on an integrated motion sensor or other mechanical measurement circuitry, such as, for example, an accelerometer. In one embodiment, a speed determination for a vibrator motor performance during initial manufacture of the device. Subsequently, when vibration is detected during the in-the-field use, the vibration may be sampled using the integrated mechanical measurement circuitry. Once sampled, a speed may be determined based on a resonance of the sampled signal. Over time, the various speed determinations for the vibrator motor may be analyzed to determine an overall health of the vibrator motor. A threshold for detecting when the overall health of the vibration motor over time has degraded may be predetermined. A notification of a degradation of vibrator motor performance is sent to either a manufacturer or user of the mobile communications device. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Claims

1. A method within a mobile communications device, comprising:

sampling an output data of mechanical measurement circuitry that is integrated in the mobile communications device while a linear vibrator motor is running;

analyzing the sampled output data to detect vibration caused by the running linear vibrator motor and to determine a speed of the linear vibrator motor;

storing the determined speed of the linear vibrator motor within a non-volatile memory of the mobile communications device;

analyzing a plurality of stored speeds of the linear vibrator motor that have been determined over time during in-the-field use of the device, to detect when the linear vibrator motor performance has degraded;

performing a frequency domain transform upon the sampled output data to obtain frequency spectra while sweeping a drive frequency of the linear vibrator motor from low to high and from high to low;

analyzing the frequency spectra to detect a rising resonance frequency and a falling resonance frequency; and

reporting a detected degradation of vibrator motor performance by one of a) notifying a user at the mobile communications device of the detected degradation of vibrator motor performance and b) transmitting a message to a manufacturer of the mobile communications device via a wireless network connection with the mobile device, to indicate the detected degradation of vibrator motor performance.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

measuring, during manufacturing of the mobile communications device, a baseline rotational speed of the linear vibrator motor, according to a resonance of the running linear vibrator motor, based on a predetermined sampling rate;

computing a rotational speed performance threshold range, according to the baseline rotational speed, to provide a predetermined speed performance threshold range for the linear vibrator motor of the mobile communications device; and

storing the predetermined speed performance threshold range within a non-volatile memory of the mobile communications device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

notifying a user to service the mobile communications device if vibrator motor performance over a predetermined period of time falls outside a predetermined speed performance threshold range.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the speed further comprises:

determining an amplitude of vibration of the running linear vibrator motor according to sampling of detected vibration from the running linear vibrator motor; and

computing a rotational speed of the linear vibrator motor according to the determined amplitude of vibration of the linear vibrator motor.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the sampled output data comprises:

performing a frequency transformation on point measurements from the sampled output data that were obtained at a predetermined sampling rate, to obtain a frequency spectrum of the vibration; and

determining a revolutions per minute value as a rotational speed of the linear vibrator motor,

wherein the predetermined sampling rate is greater than a sampling rate of the integrated mechanical measurement circuitry during normal operation of the mobile communications device, the predetermined sampling rate selected to complete the determination of a rotational speed of the linear vibrator motor within a predetermined, reduced amount of time.

6. A mobile communications device comprising:

a linear vibrator motor;

mechanical measurement circuitry coupled to the vibrator motor;

a control circuitry configured to;

sample output data of the mechanical measurement circuitry while the vibrator motor is running;

analyze the sampled output data to detect vibration caused by the running motor and to determine a speed value of the vibrator motor;

determine whether the speed value matches an entry containing a time stamp and pre-existing speed value in storage;

in response to the speed value matching the entry, over-writing the entry and if not then creating a new entry for the speed value;

analyze stored speed values in said storage to detect when vibrator motor performance has degraded during in-the-field use;

report the degradation of vibrator motor performance to one of a manufacturer of the device and a user of the device;

perform a frequency domain transform upon the sampled output data to obtain frequency spectra while sweeping a drive frequency of the linear vibrator motor from low to high and from high to low; and

analyze the frequency spectra to detect a rising resonance frequency and a falling resonance frequency; and

a non-volatile memory, coupled to the control circuitry, to store the determined speed values of the vibrator motor.

7. The mobile communications device of claim 6, wherein the mechanical measurement circuitry is an accelerometer.

8. The mobile communications device of claim 6, further comprising:

communications circuitry coupled to the control circuitry, wherein the communications circuitry is to send a quantitative measurement of vibrator motor performance, over a predetermined period of time of in-the-field use, to a service center.

9. The mobile communications device of claim 6, further comprising:

communications circuitry coupled to the control circuitry, wherein the degradation of vibrator motor performance is reported to a manufacturer of the mobile communications device using the communications circuitry to establish a wireless network connection.

10. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium that stores instructions which, when executed by a processor in a mobile communications device, is configured to;

measure vibration from a linear vibrator motor using a motion sensor that is integrated within the mobile communications device;

compute a speed of the linear vibrator motor based on the measured vibration and then store the computed speed within a non-volatile memory of the mobile communications device;

analyze stored speeds of the linear vibrator motor in the non-volatile memory to detect when vibrator motor performance has degraded during in-the-field use;

perform a frequency domain transform upon the sampled output data to obtain frequency spectra while sweeping a drive frequency of the linear vibrator motor from low to high and from high to low;

analyze the frequency spectra to detect a rising resonance frequency and a falling resonance frequency; and

based upon the analysis, send a notification of the degradation of vibrator motor performance to a manufacturer of the mobile device using a wireless network connection with the mobile device.

11. The article of manufacture of claim 10, comprising further instructions that when executed by the processor in the mobile communications device is configured to:

analyze stored speed values for the linear vibrator motor to establish a quantitative measurement of vibrator motor performance over a predetermined period of time of in-the-field use of the device; and

notify a user of the device to service the mobile communications device if the quantitative measurement of vibrator motor performance over the predetermined period of time falls outside a predetermined speed performance threshold range.

12. The article of manufacture of claim 10, comprising further instructions that when executed by the processor in the mobile communications device is configured to access a previously computed and stored speed performance threshold range from the non-volatile memory of the device, and compare the threshold range to the computed vibrator motor speed.

13. The article of manufacture of claim 12, wherein degradation is detected when vibrator motor performance over a predetermined period of time falls outside of the stored speed performance threshold range.

14. The article of manufacture of claim 10, wherein the stored instructions for computing the speed of the linear vibrator motor causes the processor to:

detect vibration of the linear vibrator motor within the mobile communications device, according to a predetermined sampling rate, using an accelerometer of the mobile communications device; and

determine a speed of the linear vibrator motor according to the detected vibration,

wherein the predetermined sampling rate is greater than a sampling rate of the accelerometer during a normal operation so as to complete the determination of the speed of the linear vibrator motor within a predetermined, reduced amount of time.

15. The article of manufacture of claim 10, further comprising instructions that cause the processor to report the degradation of vibrator motor performance to a user of the mobile communications device.

16. A method within a mobile communications device, comprising:

during a vibration event, measuring a rising resonance of a linear vibrator motor that is causing the event, by sweeping a drive frequency of a vibrator driver of the linear motor during the vibration event from low to high, and measuring a falling resonance of the linear motor during a vibration event by sweeping the drive frequency from high to low; and

using the measured falling and rising resonances to control the drive frequency of the vibrator driver.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein using the measured falling and rising resonances comprises computing an average of the falling and rising resonances, wherein the drive frequency is controlled according to said average.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein measuring the rising and falling resonances comprises performance a frequency transform upon sampled output data from a motion sensor in the mobile device, to obtain a frequency spectrum of vibration caused by the linear motor during a vibration event.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein measuring the rising and falling resonances comprises performing a frequency transform upon sampled output data from a motion sensor in the mobile device, to obtain a frequency spectrum of vibration caused by the linear motor during a vibration event.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

sampling an output data of mechanical measurement circuitry that is integrated in the mobile communications device while a linear vibrator motor is running;

analyzing the sampled output data to detect vibration caused by the running linear vibrator motor and to determine a speed of the linear vibrator motor;

storing the determined speed of the linear vibrator motor within a non-volatile memory of the mobile communications device;

analyzing a plurality of stored speeds of the linear vibrator motor that have been determined over time during in-the-field use of the device, to detect when the linear vibrator motor performance has degraded; and

reporting a detected degradation of vibrator motor performance by one of a) notifying a user at the mobile communications device of the detected degradation of vibrator motor performance and b) transmitting a message to a manufacturer of the mobile communications device via a wireless network connection with the mobile device, to indicate the detected degradation of vibrator motor performance.