Portable electronic device having directional proximity sensors based on device orientation
First Claim
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1. A portable electronic device having one or more proximity sensors, the portable electronic device comprising:
- a housing;
at least one sensor supported by the housing, the at least one sensor to identify an orientation of the housing;
a first signal emitter supported by the housing, the first signal emitter to emit a first source signal in a first direction;
a second signal emitter supported by the housing, the second signal emitter to emit a second source signal in a second direction different from the first direction;
at least one signal receiver supported by the housing, the at least one signal receiver to receive first and second return signals corresponding to the first and second source signals, respectively; and
a processor supported by the housing, the processor to determine which of the first and second signal emitters to activate based on the orientation of the housing as identified by the at least one sensor.
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Abstract
A portable electronic device having one or more proximity sensors. The portable electronic device comprises a housing, one or more signal emitters to direct source signal(s) based on the orientation of the housing, and one or more signal receivers to receive return signals corresponding to the source signal(s). The device may include multiple signal emitters and a sensor to identify an orientation of the housing. The appropriate signal emitter may be selected based on the orientation of the housing as identified by the sensor.
121 Citations
8 Claims
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1. A portable electronic device having one or more proximity sensors, the portable electronic device comprising:
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a housing; at least one sensor supported by the housing, the at least one sensor to identify an orientation of the housing; a first signal emitter supported by the housing, the first signal emitter to emit a first source signal in a first direction; a second signal emitter supported by the housing, the second signal emitter to emit a second source signal in a second direction different from the first direction; at least one signal receiver supported by the housing, the at least one signal receiver to receive first and second return signals corresponding to the first and second source signals, respectively; and a processor supported by the housing, the processor to determine which of the first and second signal emitters to activate based on the orientation of the housing as identified by the at least one sensor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A portable electronic device having one or more proximity sensors, the portable electronic device comprising:
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a housing; at least one sensor supported by the housing, the at least one sensor to identify an orientation of the housing; at least one signal emitter supported by the housing, the at least one signal emitter to emit a source signal; a first signal receiver supported by the housing, the first signal receiver to receive a return signal corresponding to the source signal from a first direction; a second signal receiver supported by the housing, the second signal receiver to receive the return signal corresponding to the source signal from a second direction different from the first direction; and a processor supported by the housing, the processor to determine which of the first and second signal receivers to activate based on the orientation of the housing as identified by the at least one sensor.
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Specification