Systems, methods, and computer readable media for sharing awareness information

• US 10,341,425 B2
• Filed: 05/22/2017
• Issued: 07/02/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Rottler, Benjamin Andrew, Nadeau, Kyle Patrick, Mincey, Tyler, Nakajima, Taido L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Walsh, John B
• Application Number:
  US15/601,789
• Publication Number:
  US 20170257427A1
• Time in Patent Office: 771 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0284 Relative positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72409 by interfacing with external accessories hands-free H04M1/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds

Abstract

Systems, methods, and computer readable media for sharing awareness information are provided. A non-aware electronic device can require awareness information including, for example, information about its environment or information about its status within its environment, in order to perform a particular device operation. When the non-aware device lacks an awareness component for detecting the required type of awareness information, the non-aware device can establish a communications path with an aware device that includes such an appropriate awareness component. The aware device can share the required type of awareness information as captured by its awareness component with the non-aware device. The distance between the non-aware device and the aware device can be less than a threshold distance to ensure that the shared awareness information is relevant to the non-aware device.

Claims

1. A portable device comprising:

a plurality of sensors including;

a first set of one or more environment sensors that measure information of an environment, and

a second set of one or more motion sensors comprising an accelerometer configured to measure acceleration of the portable device as a user moves with the portable device;

wireless communications circuitry; and

control circuitry coupled to the accelerometer and the wireless communications circuitry, the control circuitry operative to;

receive a request for sensor information from a mobile phone,

determine the request is for acceleration information,

based on the request being for acceleration information and the plurality of sensors including the accelerometer, detect the acceleration information using the accelerometer,

display, at a user interface of the portable device, a prompt for a user to allow or disallow transmission of the acceleration information to the mobile phone; and

in response to receiving an input from the user allowing the transmission of the acceleration information, transmit, via the wireless communications circuitry, the acceleration information to the mobile phone.

2. The portable device of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry is further operative to:

compare a linear output of the accelerometer with a gravity vector to calculate a tilt of the portable device with respect to a particular axis.

3. The portable device of claim 1, wherein the accelerometer is a three-axis accelerometer that is operative to detect linear acceleration in three directions.

4. The portable device of claim 1, wherein the accelerometer is a two-axis accelerometer that is operative to detect linear acceleration along each of two axes.

5. The portable device of claim 1, wherein the accelerometer is an electrostatic capacitance accelerometer.

6. The portable device of claim 5, wherein the electrostatic capacitance accelerometer includes a silicon micro-machined micro electro-mechanical system (“

MEMS”

), and wherein the MEMS includes a heat-based MEMS accelerometer, a piezoelectric accelerometer, or a piezoresistance accelerometer.

7. A system comprising:

the portable device of claim 1; and

the mobile phone, the mobile phone including second wireless communications circuitry and second control circuitry, the second control circuitry operative to;

monitor a progress of the user using the acceleration information.

8. The portable device of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry is operative to detect the acceleration information using the accelerometer after the control circuitry determined that the request is for acceleration information.

9. The portable device of claim 1, wherein the first set of one or more environment sensors include at least one sensors selected from a group consisting of light sensors, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, infrared (“

IR”

) sensors, proximity sensors, acoustic sensors, sonic or sonar sensors, radar sensors, image sensors, video sensors, location detectors, RF or acoustic doppler detectors, RF triangulation detectors a magnetometer, a shock sensor, a humidity sensor, and a magnetic strip reader.

10. The portable device of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry is coupled to the first set of one or more environment sensors, and is further operative to:

display at the user interface a second prompt for the user to allow or disallow transmission of the information of the environment measured by the first set of one or more environment sensors, and

in response to receiving a second input from the user allowing the transmission of the information of the environment, transmit the information of the environment.

11. The portable device of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry is further operative to:

before transmitting the acceleration information to the mobile phone, determine whether a distance between the mobile phone and the portable device is within a threshold distance pre-defined for the acceleration information,

wherein transmitting the acceleration information to the mobile phone is further in response to determining that the distance between the mobile phone and the portable device is within the threshold distance pre-defined for the acceleration information.

12. The portable device of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry is further operative to:

determine whether sensor information has been previously provided to the mobile phone,

wherein transmitting the acceleration information to the mobile phone is further in response to determining that sensor information has been previously provided to the mobile phone as a known device.

13. A method comprising:

at a portable device having a plurality of sensors including a first set of one or more environment sensors that measure information of an environment and a second set of one or more motion sensors comprising an accelerometer configured to measure acceleration of the portable device as a user moves with the portable device and wireless communications circuitry;

receiving a request for current sensor information from a mobile phone,

determining the request is for acceleration information,

based on the request being for acceleration information and the plurality of sensors including the accelerometer, detecting the acceleration information using the accelerometer,

displaying, at a user interface of the portable device, a prompt for a user to allow or disallow transmission of the acceleration information to the mobile phone; and

in response to receiving an input from the user allowing the transmission, transmitting, via the wireless communications circuitry, the acceleration information to the mobile phone.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

comparing a linear output of the accelerometer with a gravity vector to calculate a tilt of the portable device with respect to a particular axis.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the accelerometer is a three-axis accelerometer that is operative to detect linear acceleration in three directions.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the accelerometer is a two-axis accelerometer that is operative to detect linear acceleration along each of two axes.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the accelerometer is an electrostatic capacitance accelerometer.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the electrostatic capacitance accelerometer includes a silicon micro-machined micro electro-mechanical system (“

MEMS”

), and wherein the MEMS includes a heat-based MEMS accelerometer, a piezoelectric accelerometer, or a piezoresistance accelerometer.

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

at the mobile phone, monitoring a progress of the user using the acceleration information.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the mobile phone identifies the portable device before sending the request for sensor information, and wherein the portable device is identified by the mobile phone from one or more trusted devices.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the one or more trusted devices are defined by user input of selecting from a list, of entering identifying information of devices, or authorizing particular devices once communications paths with the one or more trusted devices are established.

22. A non-transitory computer readable medium for providing acceleration information from a portable device to a mobile phone, the portable device having a plurality of sensors including a first set of one or more environment sensors that measure information of an environment and a second set of one or more motion sensors comprising an accelerometer configured to measure acceleration of the portable device as a user moves with the portable device, the non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer readable program logic recorded thereon for:

receiving a request for sensor information from the mobile phone,

determining the request is for acceleration information,

based on the request being for acceleration information and the plurality of sensors including the accelerometer, detecting the acceleration information using the accelerometer,

displaying, at a user interface of the portable device, a prompt for a user to allow or disallow transmission of the acceleration information to the mobile phone, and

in response to receiving an input from the user allowing the transmission, transmitting, via wireless communications circuitry, the acceleration information to the mobile phone.

23. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 22, further comprising computer readable program logic recorded thereon for:

comparing a linear output of the accelerometer with a gravity vector to calculate a tilt of the portable device with respect to a particular axis.

24. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 22, wherein the accelerometer is a three-axis accelerometer that is operative to detect linear acceleration in three directions.

25. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 22, wherein the accelerometer is an electrostatic capacitance accelerometer.