Wake-up system and method for an electronic apparatus

• US 8,188,851 B2
• Filed: 05/04/2009
• Issued: 05/29/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Mobile Communications AB (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Haartsen, Jacobus C.
• Primary Examiner(s): POPE, DARYL C
• Application Number:
  US12/434,738
• Publication Number:
  US 20100277304A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,121 Days
• Field of Search: 340/686.1, 340/506, 340/507, 340/511, 340/3.1, 340/539.1
• 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;

a wireless transceiver for establishing a wireless interface with a wireless transceiver of an accessory for the electronic device; and

a control assembly configured to control activation 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 in a predetermined manner by presence and movement of a permanent magnet external to the electronic device, the activation of the process including powering on the transceiver to communicate with the accessory; and

wherein the electronic device is a mobile telephone and the accessory is a wireless headset.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the control assembly is further configured to initiate an interfacing protocol to establish the wireless interface upon detection of the disturbance.

3. 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 the accessory.

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

5. 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.

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

7. An assembly of a first and a second electronic device, comprising:

a mobile telephone being the 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;

a wireless transceiver for establishing a wireless interface with a wireless transceiver of the second electronic device; and

a control assembly; and

a wireless headset being the 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;

a wireless transceiver for establishing a wireless interface with the wireless transceiver of the first electronic device; and

a control assembly;

wherein each control assembly is configured to control activation of the transceiver 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 in a predetermined manner by presence and movement of the permanent magnet of the wake-up assembly of the other one of the electronic devices.

8. The assembly of claim 7, 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.

9. The assembly of claim 7, wherein the second electronic device further comprises a 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.

10. The assembly of claim 7, 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.

11. The assembly of claim 7, wherein the output of one of the sensors indicates the disturbance if the output meets or exceeds a predetermined threshold.

12. The assembly of claim 7, wherein the wake-up assemblies are arranged in mirror image fashion to each other when aligned with one another to cause the respective disturbances.