Method and device with customizable power management

• US 9,186,077 B2
• Filed: 02/16/2012
• Issued: 11/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Ma, Jeong J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Thomson, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): JIAN, SHIRLEY XUEYING
• Application Number:
  US13/398,099
• Publication Number:
  US 20130217978A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,370 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0209 adapted for power saving
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02438 with portable devices, e.g. worn by the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1118 Determining activity level
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4809 Sleep detection, i.e. determining whether a subject is asleep or not
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6802 Sensor mounted on worn items
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/681 Wristwatch-type devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7275 Determining trends in physiological measurement data; Predicting development of a medical condition based on physiological measurements, e.g. determining a risk factor

Abstract

A wireless communication device (200) and method (300) customizable power management. The method (300) can include: providing (310) a wireless communication device including an energy storage device; sensing (320) heart rate data of a user; and configuring (330) the wireless communication device'"'"'s functionality based on the sensed heart rate data. Advantageously, the device (200) and method (300) can provide a real-time attribute of a user, which can be used to configure the functionality of a device and conserve power.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

sensing, by a first sensor of a wearable device, a heart rate of a user wearing the wearable device;

determining, by a processor of the wearable device and based on the heart rate of the user, a user activity range;

responsive to determining, by the processor of the wearable device, that the heart rate of the user indicates a low user activity range, configuring, by the wearable device, the wearable device to provide a first set of features;

responsive to determining, by the processor of the wearable device, that the heart rate of the user indicates a medium user activity range, configuring, by the wearable device, the wearable device to provide a second set of features, wherein the second set of features is different from the first set of features; and

responsive to determining, by the processor of the wearable device, that the heart rate of the user indicates a high user activity range, configuring, by the wearable device, the wearable device to provide a third set of features, wherein the third set of features is different from each of the first set of features and the second set of features.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

outputting, by the wearable device, a user interface configured based on whether the wearable device is currently configured to provide the first set of features, the second set of features, or the third set of features.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sensing, by a second sensor of the wearable device, at least one of a body temperature, a blood pressure, a glucose level, a respiratory rate, a sweat level, a moisture level or location of the user; and

determining, by the processor of the wearable device, based at least in part on the heart rate of the user and the at least one of the body temperature, the blood pressure, the glucose level, the respiratory rate, the sweat level, the moisture level, or the location, whether to configure the wearable device with one of the first set of features, the second set of features, or the third set of features.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising outputting, by a display of the wearable device, an amount of time remaining before the wearable device needs to be recharged.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising outputting, by a display of the wearable device, a graphical user interface including options to minimize power drain including at least one of:

disabling data, enabling airplane mode, reducing display brightness, restricting application processor speed, disabling an application, enabling and disabling wireless connectivity, enabling and disabling location tracking, disabling segments of a wireless communication device, or reducing an application update rate.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of features includes fewer features than the second set of features and the second set of features includes fewer features than the third set of features.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of features includes first user configurable features, the second set of features includes second user configurable features and the third set of features includes third user configurable features.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising outputting, by a display of the wearable device, an indication that the wearable device is operating in a power conserving mode.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising configuring, by the processor of the wearable device, based on historical user data, functionality of the wearable device.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

predicting, by the processor of the wearable device, based on the historical user data, a future activity of the user; and

configuring, by the processor of the wearable device, based on the future activity of the user, the wearable device to provide one of the first set of features, the second set of features, or the third set of features.

11. A wearable device, comprising:

a housing;

a controller coupled to the housing, the controller configured to control the operations of the wearable device;

a heart rate sensor coupled to the housing, the heart rate sensor configured to sense a heart rate of a user wearing the wearable device; and

a power management module configured to;

determine, based on the heart rate of the user, a user activity range;

responsive to determining that the heart rate of the user indicates a low user activity range, configure the wearable device to provide a first set of features;

responsive to determining that the heart rate of the user indicates a medium user activity range, configure the wearable device to provide a second set of features, wherein the second set of features is different from the first set of features; and

responsive to determining that the heart rate of the user indicates a high user activity range, configure the wearable device to provide a third set of features, wherein the third set of features is different from each of the first set of features and the second set of features.

12. The wearable device of claim 11, further comprising:

a display configured to display a graphical user interface including options to minimize power drain including at least one of;

disabling data, enabling airplane mode, reducing display brightness, restricting application processor speed, disabling an application, enabling and disabling wireless connectivity, enabling and disabling location tracking, disabling segments of a wireless communication device, or reducing an application update rate.

13. The wearable device of claim 11, further comprising:

a display configured to display a graphical user interface configured based on whether the wearable device is currently configured to provide the first set of features, the second set of features, or the third set of features.

14. The wearable device of claim 11, further comprising:

a sensor module configured to sense at least one of a body temperature, a blood pressure, a glucose level, a respiratory rate, a sweat level, a moisture level or location of the user,

wherein the power management module is configured to determine, based at least in part on the heart rate of the user and the at least one of the body temperature, the blood pressure, the glucose level, the respiratory rate, the sweat level, the moisture level, or the location, whether to configure the wearable device with one of the first set of features, the second set of features, or the third set of features.

15. The wearable device of claim 11, wherein the power management module is further configured to configure, based on historical user data, functionality of the wearable device.

16. The wearable device of claim 15, wherein the power management module is further configured to:

predict, based on the historical user data, a future activity of the user; and

configure, based on the future activity of the user, the wearable device to provide one of the first set of features, the second set of features, or the third set of features.