INDOOR/OUTDOOR DETECTION
First Claim
Patent Images
1. For use in controlling the operation of an electronic device, a sensor arrangement comprising:
- a light sensor circuit to provide a color output in response to the color temperature of light incident upon the light sensor circuit; and
a controller circuit to determine the presence of artificial light using the color output, and to selectively operate circuits in the electronic device in response to the determination.
10 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A light sensor is used to detect ambient light conditions. According to an example embodiment, a light sensor (112) detects color temperature and, in some instances, intensity characteristics of ambient light (120, 130, 140) in an environment and uses these detected characteristics (116) to determine the location of the sensor relative to natural and artificial light sources. This location determination is used to selectively operate circuits in a device such as a hand-held telephone, computer device or personal data assistant (PDA).
107 Citations
22 Claims
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1. For use in controlling the operation of an electronic device, a sensor arrangement comprising:
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a light sensor circuit to provide a color output in response to the color temperature of light incident upon the light sensor circuit; and a controller circuit to determine the presence of artificial light using the color output, and to selectively operate circuits in the electronic device in response to the determination. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An indoor/outdoor electronic control circuit arrangement to selectively control indoor and outdoor electrical functionality of a portable electronic device, the arrangement comprising:
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an ambient light sensor arrangement to provide color and intensity data in response to ambient light; a control circuit to receive and process the color and intensity data to generate an indoor control signal for operating the portable electronic device under indoor conditions, and to generate an outdoor control signal for operating the portable electronic device under outdoor conditions. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for controlling the operation of an electronic device according to ambient light conditions, the method comprising:
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detecting the presence of at least one of artificial light and natural light; in response to the step of detecting, determining the location of the electronic device as being one of;
an indoor location and an outdoor location;operating a first set of circuits in the electronic device in response to determining that the location of the electronic device is an indoor location; and operating a second set of circuits in the electronic device in response to determining that the location of the electronic device is an outdoor location. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification