System and method for context aware usability management of human machine interfaces

• US 9,313,319 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2015
• Issued: 04/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Aurongzeb, Deeder M., Walline, Erin K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Duc M
• Application Number:
  US14/634,003
• Publication Number:
  US 20150172446A1
• Time in Patent Office: 410 Days
• Field of Search: 455/569.1, 455/569.2, 455/570, 455/350, 455/355
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/103 Formatting, i.e. changing of presentation of documents automatic justification G06F40/189; automatic line break hyphenation G06F40/191
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/109 Font handling; Temporal or kinetic typography
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44 Arrangements for executing specific programs
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/045 Zooming at least part of an image, i.e. enlarging it or shrinking it
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/145 related to small screens
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2021/02166 Microphone arrays; Beamforming
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/02 Speech enhancement, e.g. noise reduction or echo cancellation reducing echo effects in line transmission systems H04B3/20; echo suppression in hands-free telephones H04M9/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0266 for a display module assembly
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6016 in the receiver circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2203/12 Beamforming aspects for stereophonic sound reproduction with loudspeaker arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/11 Transducers incorporated or for use in hand-held devices, e.g. mobile phones, PDA's, camera's

Abstract

A method includes determining by a sensor of a mobile device that a first ambient sound level represents a quiet context for the mobile device, providing a audio signal to a speaker of the mobile device in response to determining that the first ambient sound level represents a quiet context, determining, by the sensor, that a second ambient sound level represents a first noisy context for the mobile device, wherein the second ambient sound level is louder than the first ambient sound level, modifying the audio signal into a beam forming audio signal in response to determining that the second ambient sound level represents the first noisy context, and providing the beam forming audio signal to the speaker.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining, by a sensor of a mobile device, that a first ambient sound level represents a quiet context for the mobile device;

providing an audio signal to a speaker of the mobile device in response to determining that the first ambient sound level represents a quiet context;

determining, by the sensor, that a second ambient sound level represents a first noisy context for the mobile device, wherein the second ambient sound level is louder than the first ambient sound level;

modifying the audio signal into a beam forming audio signal in response to determining that the second ambient sound level represents the first noisy context; and

providing the beam forming audio signal to the speaker.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by a context selector module of the mobile device, the determination that the first ambient sound level represents a quiet context, and the determination that that the second ambient sound level represents a noisy context;

wherein modifying the audio signal is in response to a the context selector module receiving the determination that that the second ambient sound level represents a noisy context.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

sending, from the context selector module, an instruction to an application programming interface; and

sending, from the application programming interface, the instruction to a software stack of the mobile device;

wherein the audio signal is modified by the software stack.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the software stack comprises an operating system of the mobile device.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the software stack comprises an application program of the mobile device.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

sending, from the context selector module, an instruction to an audio adjuster;

wherein the audio signal is modified by the audio adjuster.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the sensor, that a third ambient sound level ambient represents a second noisy context for the mobile device, wherein the third ambient sound level is louder than the second ambient sound level;

modifying the audio signal into a noise cancelling audio signal in response to determining that the third ambient sound level represents the second noisy context; and

providing the noise cancelling audio signal to the speaker.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

determining, by the sensor, that a fourth ambient sound level ambient represents a third noisy context for the mobile device, wherein the fourth ambient sound level is louder than the third ambient sound level;

modifying the audio signal into a white noise audio signal in response to determining that the fourth ambient sound level represents the third noisy context; and

providing the white noise audio signal to the speaker.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable medium including code for performing a method, the method comprising:

determining that a first ambient sound level represents a quiet context for the mobile device;

providing an audio signal to a speaker of the mobile device in response to determining that the first ambient sound level represents a quiet context;

determining that a second ambient sound level represents a first noisy context for the mobile device, wherein the second ambient sound level is louder than the first ambient sound level;

modifying the audio signal into a beam forming audio signal in response to determining that the second ambient sound level represents the first noisy context; and

providing the beam forming audio signal to the speaker.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, the method further comprising:

receiving, by a context selector module of the mobile device, the determination that the first ambient sound level represents a quiet context, and the determination that that the second ambient sound level represents a noisy context;

wherein modifying the audio signal is in response to a the context selector module receiving the determination that that the second ambient sound level represents a noisy context.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, the method further comprising:

sending, from the context selector module, an instruction to an application programming interface; and

sending, from the application programming interface, the instruction to a software stack of the mobile device;

wherein the audio signal is modified by the software stack.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, the method further comprising:

sending, from the context selector module, an instruction to an audio adjuster;

wherein the audio signal is modified by the audio adjuster.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, the method further comprising:

determining, by the sensor, that a third ambient sound level ambient represents a second noisy context for the mobile device, wherein the third ambient sound level is louder than the second ambient sound level;

modifying the audio signal into a noise cancelling audio signal in response to determining that the third ambient sound level represents the second noisy context; and

providing the noise cancelling audio signal to the speaker.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, the method further comprising:

determining, by the sensor, that a fourth ambient sound level ambient represents a third noisy context for the mobile device, wherein the fourth ambient sound level is louder than the third ambient sound level;

modifying the audio signal into a white noise audio signal in response to determining that the fourth ambient sound level represents the third noisy context; and

providing the white noise audio signal to the speaker.