Self-aware profile switching on a mobile computing device

• US 9,900,400 B2
• Filed: 01/02/2015
• Issued: 02/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Zheng, Lantian
• Primary Examiner(s): Chang, Kent
• Assistant Examiner(s): Morales-Fernande, Benjamin
• Application Number:
  US14/588,640
• Publication Number:
  US 20150121247A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,145 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/04 the ringing-current being generated at the substations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/185 by embedding added-value information into content, e.g. geo-tagging
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

In one implementation, a computer-implemented method includes detecting, by a mobile computing device, a current context associated with the mobile computing device, the current context being external to the mobile computing device and indicating a current state of the mobile computing device in its surrounding environment. The method can also include identifying, based on at least a first portion of the current context, a location description for the mobile computing device, wherein the location description includes a textual description of the location; and determining, based on the identified location description and at least a second portion of the current context, whether to switch the mobile computing device from operating using a current profile to operating using a second profile, wherein the current profile and the second profile each define one or more settings of the mobile computing device.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

identifying a number of times that (i) a mobile computing device was located at a particular location in a first operating mode and (ii) user input was not received to change a setting of the mobile computing device defined by the first operating mode while the mobile computing device was located at the particular location in the first operating mode;

determining that a first value meets a threshold value, wherein the first value is based on the number of times that (i) the mobile computing device was located at the particular location in the first operating mode and (ii) user input was not received to change the setting of the mobile computing device while the mobile computing device was located at the particular location in the first operating mode;

in response to determining that the first value meets the threshold value, generating a rule to operate the mobile computing device in the first operating mode when the mobile computing device is located at the particular location;

at a later time that occurs after a time when the rule was generated;

determining that the mobile computing device is currently located at the particular location; and

in response to determining that the mobile computing device is currently located at the particular location, transitioning the mobile computing device to operate in the first operating mode according to the rule.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining that the mobile computing device is currently located at the particular location comprises determining that a current context of the mobile computing device matches a context for the particular location,

wherein the current context of the mobile computing device identifies at least one of (i) one or more other computing devices that are located near the mobile computing device, (ii) motion of the mobile computing device, or (iii) a current activity of a user of the mobile computing device.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a location description for the particular location; and

in response to determining that the first value meets the threshold value, associating the location description with the particular location.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein associating the location description with the particular location comprises associating the location description with a context for the particular location.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein determining the location description for the particular location comprises extracting the location description from an electronic calendar entry for a meeting scheduled for a time when the mobile computing device is located at the particular location.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the location description is a qualitative description of the particular location rather than a geographical indicator for the particular location.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining that the first value meets the threshold value comprises determining that the number of times that (i) the mobile computing device was located at the particular location in the first operating mode and (ii) user input was not received to change the setting of the mobile computing device while the mobile computing device was located at the particular location in the first operating mode meets the threshold value.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the setting of the mobile computing device defined by the first operating mode is a display brightness for an electronic display of the mobile computing device, a display activation for the electronic display, a ringer activation, a ringer volume, a speaker activation, a speaker volume, a microphone activation, a vibrate activation, a ringtone, a communications network connection, or a communications filter activation.

9. A non-transitory machine-readable storage device having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

identifying a number of times that (i) a mobile computing device was located at a particular location in a first operating mode and (ii) user input was not received to change a setting of the mobile computing device defined by the first operating mode while the mobile computing device was located at the particular location in the first operating mode;

determining that a first value meets a threshold value, wherein the first value is based on the number of times that (i) the mobile computing device was located at the particular location in the first operating mode and (ii) user input was not received to change the setting of the mobile computing device while the mobile computing device was located at the particular location in the first operating mode;

in response to determining that the first value meets the threshold value, generating a rule to operate the mobile computing device in the first operating mode when the mobile computing device is located at the particular location;

at a later time that occurs after a time when the rule was generated;

determining that the mobile computing device is currently located at the particular location; and

in response to determining that the mobile computing device is currently located at the particular location, transitioning the mobile computing device to operate in the first operating mode according to the rule.

10. The machine-readable storage device of claim 9, wherein determining that the mobile computing device is currently located at the particular location comprises determining that a current context of the mobile computing device matches a context for the particular location,

wherein the current context of the mobile computing device identifies at least one of (i) one or more other computing devices that are located near the mobile computing device, (ii) motion of the mobile computing device, or (iii) a current activity of a user of the mobile computing device.

11. The machine-readable storage device of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining a location description for the particular location; and

in response to determining that the first value meets the threshold value, associating the location description with the particular location.

12. The machine-readable storage device of claim 11, wherein associating the location description with the particular location comprises associating the location description with a context for the particular location.

13. The machine-readable storage device of claim 11, wherein determining the location description for the particular location comprises extracting the location description from an electronic calendar entry for a meeting scheduled for a time when the mobile computing device is located at the particular location.

14. The machine-readable storage device of claim 11, wherein the location description is a qualitative description of the particular location rather than a geographical indicator for the particular location.

15. The machine-readable storage device of claim 9, wherein determining that the first value meets the threshold value comprises determining that the number of times that (i) the mobile computing device was located at the particular location in the first operating mode and (ii) user input was not received to change the setting of the mobile computing device while the mobile computing device was located at the particular location in the first operating mode meets the threshold value.

16. The machine-readable storage device of claim 9, wherein the setting of the mobile computing device defined by the first operating mode is a display brightness for an electronic display of the mobile computing device, a display activation for the electronic display, a ringer activation, a ringer volume, a speaker activation, a speaker volume, a microphone activation, a vibrate activation, a ringtone, a communications network connection, or a communications filter activation.

17. A system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising;

identifying a number of times that (i) a mobile computing device was located at a particular location in a first operating mode and (ii) user input was not received to change a setting of the mobile computing device defined by the first operating mode while the mobile computing device was located at the particular location in the first operating mode;

determining that a first value meets a threshold value, wherein the first value is based on the number of times that (i) the mobile computing device was located at the particular location in the first operating mode and (ii) user input was not received to change the setting of the mobile computing device while the mobile computing device was located at the particular location in the first operating mode;

in response to determining that the first value meets the threshold value, generating a rule to operate the mobile computing device in the first operating mode when the mobile computing device is located at the particular location;

at a later time that occurs after a time when the rule was generated;

determining that the mobile computing device is currently located at the particular location; and

in response to determining that the mobile computing device is currently located at the particular location, transitioning the mobile computing device to operate in the first operating mode according to the rule.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein determining that the mobile computing device is currently located at the particular location comprises determining that a current context of the mobile computing device matches a context for the particular location,

wherein the current context of the mobile computing device identifies at least one of (i) one or more other computing devices that are located near the mobile computing device, (ii) motion of the mobile computing device, or (iii) a current activity of a user of the mobile computing device.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining a location description for the particular location; and

in response to determining that the first value meets the threshold value, associating the location description with the particular location.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein associating the location description with the particular location comprises associating the location description with a context for the particular location.