WAKE-UP SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AN ELECTRONIC APPARATUS

• US 20100277304A1
• Filed: 05/04/2009
• Published: 11/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Mobile Communications AB (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Haartsen, Jacobus C.
• Granted Patent: US 8,188,851 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/531
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3215 Monitoring of peripheral devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3287 by switching off individual functional units in the computer system
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6066 including a wireless connection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/02 including a Bluetooth interface
• 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 52/0274 by switching on or off the equipment or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

An electronic device may include a wireless transceiver for establishing a wireless interface with a wireless transceiver of another device. The electronic device may further include a wake-up assembly including a permanent magnet that generates a magnet field and a sensor that outputs a signal corresponding to sensed magnetic field. A control assembly of the electronic device may be configured to control at least one of activation or deactivation of the wireless transceiver when the output from the sensor indicates that the magnetic field of the permanent magnet has been disturbed by presence of a magnet external to the electronic device.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a wake-up assembly including a permanent magnet that generates a magnet field and a sensor that outputs a signal corresponding to sensed magnetic field; and

a control assembly configured to control at least one of activation or deactivation of a process of the electronic device when the output from the sensor indicates that the magnetic field of the permanent magnet has been disturbed by presence of a magnet external to the electronic device.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising a wireless transceiver for establishing a wireless interface with a wireless transceiver of another device, and wherein the controlled process is at least one of activation or deactivation of the wireless transceiver.

3. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the control assembly is further configured to initiate an interfacing protocol to establish the wireless interface upon detection of the disturbance.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the wake-up assembly is positioned with respect to a housing of the electronic device so that the position of the wake-up assembly is ascertainable by a user for manual alignment with a wake-up assembly of another device.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the disturbance results from movement of the external magnet toward the wake-up assembly.

6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the disturbance results from movement of the external magnet away from the wake-up assembly by movement of another device from a stowed position with respect to the electronic device.

7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the output of the sensor indicates the disturbance if the output meets or exceeds a predetermined threshold.

8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is a mobile telephone.

9. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is a wireless headset.

10. An assembly of electronic devices, comprising:

a first electronic device that includes;

a wake-up assembly having a permanent magnet that generates a magnet field and a sensor that outputs a signal corresponding to sensed magnetic field; and

a control assembly; and

a second electronic device that includes;

a wake-up assembly having a permanent magnet that generates a magnet field and a sensor that outputs a signal corresponding to sensed magnetic field; and

a control assembly;

wherein each control assembly is configured to control at least one of activation or deactivation of a respective process of the respective electronic device when the output from the respective sensor indicates that the magnetic field of the respective permanent magnet has been disturbed by the wake-up assembly of the other one of the electronic devices.

11. The assembly of claim 10, wherein the first electronic device further includes a wireless transceiver for establishing a wireless interface, the second electronic device further includes a wireless transceiver for establishing a wireless interface, and the controlled processes are at least one of activation or deactivation of the respective wireless transceivers.

12. The assembly of claim 11, wherein each control assembly is further configured to initiate an interfacing protocol to establish a wireless interface between the wireless transceivers upon detection of the disturbance.

13. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the first electronic device is a mobile telephone and the second electronic device is a headset with at least one speaker for outputting audio corresponding to an audio signal transmitted by the wireless transceiver of the first electronic device and a microphone for detecting speech of a user, and the wireless transceiver of the second electronic device transmitting a speech signal corresponding to the detected speech to the first electronic device.

14. The assembly of claim 10, wherein each wake-up assembly is positioned with respect to a respective electronic device housing so that the positions of the wake-up assemblies are ascertainable by a user for manual alignment with each other.

15. The assembly of claim 10, wherein the output of one of the sensors indicates the disturbance if the output meets or exceeds a predetermined threshold.

16. The assembly of claim 10, wherein the wake-up assemblies are arranged in mirror image fashion to each other when aligned with one another to cause the respective disturbances.

17. A method of controlling an electronic device, comprising:

sensing changes in a magnetic field of a permanent magnet of the electronic device;

detecting that the magnetic field has been reduced to meet or exceed a predetermined threshold; and

in response to the detection, at least one of activating or deactivating a process of the electronic device.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the process of the electronic device includes activating a wireless transceiver of the electronic device and initiating an interfacing protocol to establish a wireless interface with a wireless transceiver of another electronic device.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the reduction in the magnetic field is caused by user positioning of another electronic device with respect to the electronic device so as to bring a wake-up assembly of the another electronic device within a predetermined distance of a wake-up assembly of the electronic device.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the electronic device is a mobile telephone and the another device is a headset.