Detection of accessory presence and orientation
First Claim
1. A wearable device comprising:
- a magnetometer;
at least one electrical contact on a surface of the wearable device, wherein the at least one electrical contact is configured to electrically connect to at least one corresponding electrical contact on an external system; and
a controller, wherein the controller is operably coupled to the magnetometer, and wherein the controller is configured to perform controller operations comprising;
detecting, using the magnetometer, a magnetic field when the wearable device is proximate to the external system; and
determining a location and an orientation of the at least one electrical contact on the wearable device relative to the at least one corresponding electrical contact on the external system based on the detected magnetic field.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Wearable devices configured to detect a magnetic field related to the presence, proximity, relative location, relative orientation, configuration, identity, or other information about an eternal charger or other external device are provided. The wearable devices are configured to detect, using one or more magnetometers, magnetic fields produced by (e.g., by permanent magnets or electromagnets) and/or modified by (e.g., by a shim or other element of magnetic material configured to have a specified high permeability) the external charger. The wearable device can change an operational state, display some information, receive power from the external charger to charge a battery of the wearable device, or perform some other function in response to determining some information about the external charger based on the detected magnetic field.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A wearable device comprising:
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a magnetometer; at least one electrical contact on a surface of the wearable device, wherein the at least one electrical contact is configured to electrically connect to at least one corresponding electrical contact on an external system; and a controller, wherein the controller is operably coupled to the magnetometer, and wherein the controller is configured to perform controller operations comprising; detecting, using the magnetometer, a magnetic field when the wearable device is proximate to the external system; and determining a location and an orientation of the at least one electrical contact on the wearable device relative to the at least one corresponding electrical contact on the external system based on the detected magnetic field. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A wearable device comprising:
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a magnetometer; at least one electrical contact on a surface of the wearable device, wherein the at least one electrical contact is configured to electrically connect to at least one corresponding electrical contact on an external system; an output component; and a controller, wherein the controller is operably coupled to the magnetometer and the output component, and wherein the controller is configured to perform controller operations comprising; detecting, using the magnetometer, a magnetic field when the wearable device is proximate to the external system; determining an orientation of the wearable device relative to the external system based on the detected magnetic field; determining a change in the orientation of the wearable device relative to the external system such that the at least one electrical contact on the wearable device could receive power from the external system; and providing, using the output component, an indication related to the determined change in the orientation of the wearable device relative to the external system.
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13. A method comprising:
operating a wearable device, wherein the wearable device comprises; a magnetometer; at least one electrical contact on a surface of the wearable device, wherein the at least one electrical contact is configured to electrically connect to at least one corresponding electrical contact on an external system; and a controller, wherein the controller is operably coupled to the magnetometer; and
wherein operating the wearable device comprises;detecting, by the controller using the magnetometer, a magnetic field when the wearable device is proximate to the external system; and determining, by the controller, a location and an orientation of the at least one electrical contact on the wearable device relative to the at least one corresponding electrical contact on the external system based on the detected magnetic field. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
Specification