Low power management of multiple sensor integrated chip architecture

• US 9,354,722 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2013
• Issued: 05/31/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Burca, Gabriel B, Moore, Daniel T, Lautner, Douglas A, Debates, Scott P, Hor-Lao, Mary K, Hefner, Eric J, Jones, Ryan D, Wiegand, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): WANG, ALBERT C
• Application Number:
  US13/930,473
• Publication Number:
  US 20140351558A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,068 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/324 by lowering clock frequency
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3293 by switching to a less power-consuming processor, e.g. sub-CPU
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/80 comprising an array of processing units with common control, e.g. single instruction multiple data processors G06F15/82 takes precedence ; for correlation function computation G06F17/15
• 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: H04W 52/0251 using monitoring of local events, e.g. events related to user activity
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A method, device, system, or article of manufacture is provided for low-power management of multiple sensor chip architecture. In one embodiment, a method comprises, at a computing device that includes a first processor, a second processor and a third processor, receiving, by the first processor operating at a first clock rate, first sensor data from a first sensor operating at a first data rate; determining, by the first processor, a movement of the computing device using the first sensor data; in response to determining the movement of the computing device, performing, by the first processor, a first motion state algorithm to determine whether a modality of the computing device is a first motion state; and, in response to determining that the modality of the computing device is not the first motion state, changing, by the first processor, at least one of the first processor to operate at a second clock rate sufficient to perform a second motion state algorithm and changing the first sensor to operate at a second data rate sufficient to perform the second motion state algorithm, wherein the second motion state algorithm is used to determine whether the modality of the computing device is a second motion state.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

at a computing device that includes a first processor, a second processor and a third processor,

receiving, by the first processor operating at a first clock rate, first sensor data from a first sensor operating at a first data rate;

determining, by the first processor, a movement of the computing device using the first sensor data;

in response to determining the movement of the computing device, performing, by the first processor, a first motion state algorithm to determine whether a modality of the computing device is a first motion state;

in response to determining that the modality of the computing device is not the first motion state, changing, by the first processor, at least one of the first processor to operate at a second clock rate sufficient to perform a second motion state algorithm and changing the first sensor to operate at a second data rate sufficient to perform the second motion state algorithm, wherein the second motion state algorithm is used to determine whether the modality of the computing device is a second motion state;

determining, by the first processor, that the modality of the computing device is the second motion state; and

sending, by the first processor, the modality to at least one of the second processor and the third processor.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least the second processor and the third processor are in a low power mode.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to determining that the modality of the computing device is the second motion state, activating, by the first processor, at least one of the second processor and the third processor.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second clock rate is greater than the first clock rate.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second clock rate is about fifty percent (50%) greater than the first clock rate.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the second data rate is greater than the first data rate.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the second data rate is about fifty percent (50%) greater than the first data rate.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first motion state is associated with the computing device being stationary and the second motion state is associated with the computing device moving at a walking speed.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first motion state is associated with the computing device moving at a walking speed and the second motion state is associated with the computing device moving at a running speed.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first motion state is associated with the computing device moving at a running speed and the second motion state is associated with the computing device moving at a vehicle speed.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first sensor is an accelerometer.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first processor is a sensor hub.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the second processor is a low power processor (LPC).

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the third processor is an application processor.

15. A method, comprising:

at a computing device that includes a first processor, a second processor and a third processor,

receiving, by the first processor operating at a first clock rate, first sensor data from a first sensor operating at a first data rate;

determining, by the first processor, a movement of the computing device using the first sensor data;

in response to determining the movement of the computing device, performing, by the first processor, a first motion state algorithm to determine whether a modality of the computing device is a first motion state;

in response to determining that the modality of the computing device is not the first motion state, changing, by the first processor, at least one of the first processor to operate at a second clock rate sufficient to perform a second motion state algorithm and changing the first sensor to operate at a second data rate sufficient to perform the second motion state algorithm, wherein the second motion state algorithm is used to determine whether the modality of the computing device is a second motion state;

determining, by the first processor, that the modality of the computing device is not the second motion state; and

in response to determining that the modality of the computing device is not the second motion state, changing, by the first processor, at least one of the first processor to operate at the first clock rate sufficient to perform the first motion state algorithm and changing the first sensor to operate at the first data rate sufficient to perform the first motion state algorithm.

16. A method, comprising:

at a computing device that includes a first processor, a second processor and a third processor,

receiving, by the first processor operating at a first clock rate, first sensor data from a first sensor operating at a first data rate;

determining, by the first processor, a movement of the computing device using the first sensor data;

in response to determining the movement of the computing device, performing, by the first processor, a first motion state algorithm to determine whether a modality of the computing device is a first motion state;

in response to determining that the modality of the computing device is not the first motion state, changing, by the first processor, at least one of the first processor to operate at a second clock rate sufficient to perform a second motion state algorithm and changing the first sensor to operate at a second data rate sufficient to perform the second motion state algorithm, wherein the second motion state algorithm is used to determine whether the modality of the computing device is a second motion state; and

in response to determining the movement of the computing device, changing, by the first processor, at least one of the first processor to operate at a third clock rate sufficient to perform the first motion state algorithm and the first sensor to operate at a third data rate sufficient to perform the first motion state algorithm.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the third clock rate is greater than the first clock rate.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the third clock rate is and less than the second clock rate.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the third data rate is greater than the first data rate and less than the second data rate.