Method for controlling mobile phone to be mute through flip and mobile phone

• US 9,497,310 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2013
• Issued: 11/15/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Columbia Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Huizhou TCL Mobile Communication Company Limited (TCL Technology Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Yu, Bin
• Primary Examiner(s): Agosta, Steve D
• Application Number:
  US14/398,363
• Publication Number:
  US 20150133093A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,236 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414.1, 455/550.1, 455/575.1, 455/575.3, 455/575.8, 455/417, 455/418, 379/437, 379/451, 379/433.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10004 Still image; Photographic image
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0245 using open/close detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/042 with variable loudness of the ringing tone, e.g. variable envelope or amplitude of ring signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/52 including functional features of a camera constructional features concerning the integration of cameras in portable phones H04M1/0264
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/00 Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/667 Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes

Abstract

A method for controlling a mobile phone to be mute through flip, and a mobile phone are provided. The method comprises, when a mobile phone receives a call, detecting a situational pattern of the mobile phone. If the situational pattern is a ringing pattern, the method includes controlling a front-facing camera to acquire image data every preset time and if the current image data is representative of an all-black image and image data acquired in the previous time is not representative of an all-black image, switching the situational pattern of the mobile phone into a mute pattern and controlling the front-facing camera to stop acquiring image data. By means of the present invention, a user can conveniently and quickly switch a situational pattern of a mobile phone into a mute pattern by simply flipping over the user'"'"'s mobile phone.

Claims

1. A method for enabling mute through flip functionality on a mobile phone such that flipping the mobile phone onto a supporting surface switches a situational pattern of the mobile phone into a mute pattern that turns off an incoming ring tone and a vibrate alert of the mobile phone, the method comprising:

detecting the situational pattern of the mobile phone when a mobile phone receives a call;

if the situational pattern is in a ringing pattern, controlling a front-facing camera, placed on a plane where the main operation interface of the mobile phone is located, to acquire image data based on a preset time;

transmitting the image data to a mobile phone base band chip using a frame synchronization signal generated from the front-facing camera to trigger the front-facing camera to transmit the image data to the mobile phone base band chip; and

using the mobile phone base band chip to determine whether the image data is all-black and caching a determination result;

if a current image data is determined to be all-black and the determination result indicates that image data acquired in a previous time is not all-black, concluding that the current image data corresponds to the supporting surface and switching the situational pattern of the mobile phone from the ringing pattern into the mute pattern, and controlling the front-facing camera to stop acquiring image data;

wherein determining whether the image data is all-black comprises determining whether each pixel in the image data is black; and

when detecting that one of the pixels is not black, determining that the image data is not all-black;

wherein determining whether each pixel in the image data is black comprises;

if a transmitting format of the image data is YUV, then determining whether all of the pixels of the image data satisfy Y=0, U=128 and V=128 one by one;

if yes, then determining that the respective pixel is black;

if the transmitting format of the image data is RGB, then determining whether all of the pixels of the image data satisfy R=0, G=0 and B=0 one by one;

if yes, then determining that the respective pixel is black; and

when all the pixels included in the image data are determined to be black, then determining that the image data is all-black.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

controlling the mobile phone to stop ringing and controlling the front-facing camera to stop acquiring the image data when monitoring phone hang-up.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein one frame synchronization signal triggers the front-facing camera to transmit one frame of the image data.

4. A method for enabling mute through flip functionality on a mobile phone such that flipping the mobile phone onto a supporting surface switches a situational pattern of the mobile phone into a mute pattern that turns off an incoming ring tone and a vibrate alert of the mobile phone, the method comprising:

receiving a call on a mobile phone;

detecting a situational pattern of the mobile phone after the mobile phone receives the call;

if the situational pattern is detected to be a ringing pattern, controlling a front-facing camera, placed on a plane where the main operation interface of the mobile phone is located, to acquire image data based on a preset time;

using a frame synchronization signal generated from the front facing camera to trigger the front facing camera to transmit the image data to a mobile phone base band chip; and

determining whether the image data is all-black and caching the determination result;

if a current image data is determined to be all-black and the determination result indicates that image data acquired in a previous time is not all-black, concluding that the current image data corresponds to the supporting surface and switching the situational pattern of the mobile phone from the ringing pattern into the mute pattern, and controlling the front-facing camera to stop acquiring image data;

wherein determining whether the image data is all-black comprises determining whether each pixel in the image data is black; and

when detecting that one of the pixels is not black, determining that the image data is not all-black;

wherein determining whether each pixel in the image data is black comprises;

if a transmitting format of the image data is YUV, then determining whether all of the pixels of the image data satisfy Y=0, U=128 and V=128 one by one;

if yes, then determining that the respective pixel is black;

if the transmitting format of the image data is RGB, then determining whether all of the pixels of the image data satisfy R=0, G=0 and B=0 one by one;

if yes, then determining that the respective pixel is black; and

when all the pixels included in the image data are determined to be black, then determining that the image data is all-black.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising:

controlling the mobile phone to stop ringing and controlling the front-facing camera to stop acquiring the image data when monitoring phone hang-up.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein one frame synchronization signal triggers the front-facing camera to transmit one frame of the image data.

7. A mobile phone with mute through flip functionality such that flipping the mobile phone onto a supporting surface switches a situational pattern of the mobile phone into a mute pattern that turns off an incoming ring tone and a vibrate alert of the mobile phone, the mobile phone comprising:

a base band chip which comprises an image acquisition module, an all-black judgment module, a flip judgment module and a ring control module;

a front-facing camera, placed on the main operation interface of the mobile phone, used for acquiring image data based on a preset time when the mobile phone receives a call and the situational pattern of the mobile phone is a ringing pattern, and transmitting the image data to the image acquisition module, wherein a frame synchronization signal generated from the front-facing camera is used to trigger the front-facing camera to transmit the image data to the image acquisition module; and

a ring output module,

wherein the image acquisition module is used for acquiring image data transmitted by the front-facing camera when the mobile phone receives a call and the situational pattern of the mobile phone is a ringing pattern;

the all-black judgment module is used for determining whether the image data acquired by the image acquisition module is all-black and caching storing a determination result;

wherein the all-black judgment module is used for determining whether each pixel in the image data is black; and

when detecting that one of the pixels is not black, determining that the image data is not all-black;

wherein the all-black judgment module comprises;

a first pixel judgment unit, used for determining whether all pixels of the image data satisfy Y=0, U=128 and V=128 when a transmitting format of the image data is YUV;

if yes, then determining that the respective pixel is black;

a second pixel judgment unit, used for determining whether all the pixels of the image data satisfy R=0, G=0 and B=0 when the transmitting format of the image data is RGB;

if yes, then determining that the respective pixel is black; and

a first image judgment unit, used for determining that the image data is all-black when all the pixels included in the image data are determined to be black; and

a second image judgment unit, used for determining that the image data is not all-black when one of the pixels is determined not to be black;

the flip judgment module is used for sending a mute control message to the ring control module when the all-black judgment module determines that the current image data corresponds to the supporting surface, as indicated by the current image data being all-black and the determination result indicating that the image data acquired in a previous time is not all-black, and triggering the base band chip to control the front-facing camera to stop acquiring image data at the same time; and

the ring control module is used to turn off the incoming ring tone and the vibrate alert of the mobile phone in response to receiving the mute control message.

8. The mobile phone according to claim 7, wherein the base band chip further comprises:

a hang-up monitoring module, used for sending a ring termination message to the ring control module when monitoring a phone hang-up, and also used for triggering the base band chip to control the front-facing camera to stop acquiring image data at the same time.

9. The mobile phone according to claim 8, wherein the ring control module comprises:

a ring termination unit, used for controlling the ring output module to terminate the ring when receiving the ring termination message.

10. The mobile phone to be mute through flip according to claim 7, wherein one frame synchronization signal triggers the front-facing camera to transmit one frame of the image data.