Electronic device with adaptive proximity sensor threshold

• US 9,411,048 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2012
• Issued: 08/09/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Vieta, William Matthew
• Primary Examiner(s): Pappas, Claire X
• Assistant Examiner(s): HONG, RICHARD J
• Application Number:
  US13/599,664
• Publication Number:
  US 20140062896A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,440 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/04 Systems determining the presence of a target
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4802 using analysis of echo signal for target characterisation; Target signature; Target cross-section
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3231 Monitoring the presence, absence or movement of users
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3265 Power saving in display device
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• 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: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0251 using monitoring of local events, e.g. events related to user activity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0254 detecting a user operation or a tactile contact or a motion of the device
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0267 by controlling user interface components
• 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 be provided with electronic components such as a touch screen display. The touch screen display may be controlled based on information from a proximity sensor. The proximity sensor may have a light source that emits infrared light and a light detector that detects reflected infrared light. When the electronic device is in the vicinity of a user'"'"'s head, the proximity sensor may produce data indicative of the presence of the user'"'"'s head. Variations in proximity sensor output due to user hair color and smudges on the proximity sensor can be accommodated by using a dynamically adjustable proximity sensor data threshold in processing proximity sensor data. Proximity sensor data may be analyzed in real time to detect signal strength fluctuations that are indicative of the presence of low-reflectively dark hair on the user'"'"'s head. Threshold adjustments may be based on the presence of dark hair.

Claims

1. A method of operating an electronic device that has control circuitry, a proximity sensor, and an electronic component, comprising:

gathering proximity sensor data with the proximity sensor;

comparing a dynamically adjusted threshold to the gathered proximity sensor data using the control circuitry, wherein the dynamically adjusted threshold has at least first and second values, wherein the second value is configured to discriminate between a proximity sensor signal from the proximity sensor that corresponds to reflected light from a user'"'"'s head and reflected light from a smudge over the proximity sensor;

analyzing the gathered proximity data;

adjusting the dynamically adjusted threshold based on analyzing the gathered proximity data, wherein adjusting the dynamically adjusted threshold comprises setting the dynamically adjusted threshold to either the first value or the second value; and

based on the comparing the dynamically adjusted threshold to the gathered proximity sensor data, controlling the electronic component using the control circuitry.

2. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the electronic component comprises a touch screen display and wherein controlling the electronic component comprises disabling touch sensor functionality in the touch screen display.

3. The method defined in claim 2 wherein controlling the electronic component comprises disabling display pixels in the display.

4. The method defined in claim 1 wherein analyzing the gathered proximity data comprises performing signal fluctuation detection operations on the gathered proximity sensor data associated with a high-to-low proximity sensor signal transition to determine whether a user of the electronic device has dark hair.

5. The method defined in claim 4 wherein analyzing the gathered proximity data comprises comparing proximity data samples to a predetermined blip detection threshold value.

6. The method defined in claim 1 wherein comparing the dynamically adjusted threshold to the gathered proximity sensor data comprises determining whether an external object is in the vicinity of the electronic device.

7. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the first value is configured to discriminate between a proximity sensor signal from the proximity sensor that corresponds to reflected light from dark hair and a proximity sensor signal from the proximity sensor that corresponds to reflected light from skin, and wherein the second value is greater than the first value.

8. The method defined in claim 7 wherein the proximity sensor comprises a light source and a light detector and wherein gathering the proximity sensor data comprises gathering data from the light detector.

9. The method defined in claim 1 wherein adjusting the dynamically adjusted threshold based on analyzing the gathered proximity data comprises using the control circuitry to adjust the dynamically adjusted threshold in real time.

10. An electronic device, comprising:

a touch screen display;

a proximity sensor; and

control circuitry that is configured to gather proximity sensor data with the proximity sensor and that is configured to control the touch screen display in response to comparing the proximity sensor data to a dynamically adjusted threshold value, wherein the control circuitry is configured to dynamically adjust the threshold value between a first value and a second value that is greater than the first value, wherein the control circuitry is configured to analyze high-to-low signal transitions in the proximity sensor data indicative of reflections from dark hair, and wherein the second value is configured to discriminate between a proximity sensor signal from the proximity sensor that corresponds to reflected light from a user'"'"'s head and reflected light from a smudge over the proximity sensor.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 10 wherein the proximity sensor has a light source that emits infrared light and has a light detector that is configured to receive reflected portions of the emitted infrared light.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 10, wherein the first value is configured to discriminate between a proximity sensor signal from the proximity sensor that corresponds to reflected light from dark hair and a proximity sensor signal from the proximity sensor that corresponds to reflected light from skin.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 12, wherein the second value is greater than the first value.

14. A method of controlling an electronic component in an electronic device using control circuitry and proximity sensor, the method comprising:

gathering proximity sensor data with the proximity sensor;

dynamically adjusting a proximity sensor data threshold based on an analysis of the proximity sensor data with the control circuitry, wherein dynamically adjusting the proximity sensor data comprises adjusting the proximity data sensor threshold to a first value and adjusting the proximity data sensor threshold to a second value that is different than the first value, and wherein adjusting the proximity data sensor threshold to the second value comprises adjusting the proximity data sensor threshold to the second value to discriminate between a proximity sensor signal from the proximity sensor that corresponds to reflected light from a user'"'"'s head and reflected light from a smudge over the proximity sensor;

comparing the proximity sensor data to the dynamically adjusted proximity sensor data threshold; and

controlling the electronic component based on the comparison of the proximity sensor data to the dynamically adjusted proximity sensor data threshold.

15. The method defined in claim 14 wherein gathering the proximity sensor data comprises storing proximity sensor data signals in bins in a data buffer implemented using the control circuitry.

16. The method defined in claim 14 further comprising:

analyzing high-to-low transitions in the gathered proximity sensor data for signal fluctuations indicative of light reflections from dark hair, wherein dynamically adjusting the proximity sensor data threshold based on the analysis of the proximity sensor data with the control circuitry comprises adjusting the proximity sensor data threshold based on analyzing the high-to-low transitions.

17. The method defined in claim 16 wherein the electronic component comprises a display having an array of display pixels and a touch sensor and wherein controlling the electronic component comprises disabling the touch sensor in response to determining from comparing the proximity sensor data to the dynamically adjusted proximity sensor data threshold that the electronic device is in the vicinity of a head of a user of the electronic device.

18. The method defined in claim 17 wherein controlling the electronic component comprises turning off display pixels in the display in response to determining from comparing the proximity sensor data to the dynamically adjusted proximity sensor data threshold that the electronic device is in the vicinity of the head.

19. The method defined in claim 16 wherein adjusting the proximity data sensor threshold to the first value comprises adjusting the proximity data sensor threshold to the first value to discriminate between a proximity sensor signal from the proximity sensor that corresponds to reflected light from dark hair and a proximity sensor signal from the proximity sensor that corresponds to reflected light from skin.