WO2015050532A1

WO2015050532A1 - Preventing accidental mobile device use

Info

Publication number: WO2015050532A1
Application number: PCT/US2013/062954
Authority: WO
Inventors: Steven Lee Cooper
Original assignee: Thomson Licensing
Priority date: 2013-10-02
Filing date: 2013-10-02
Publication date: 2015-04-09

Abstract

A sensor input is compared to a threshold parameter to determine if a feature of a mobile device should be controlled. Additional types of input can be used in the controlling logic of the feature. The sensors used can be internal and/or external to the mobile device. With an optical sensor equipped mobile device, a determination can be made as to whether the mobile device is in a light or dark environment. If dark, a lockout of a feature of the mobile device such as a dialing feature can be executed to prevent accidental dialing. Overriding of the lockout can be accomplished via input from additional sensor inputs such as movement of the mobile device, audible commands, and/or detection of the presence of the user.

Description

PREVENTING ACCIDENTAL MOBILE DEVICE USE

BACKGROUND

[0001] A user of a mobile device, such as a cell phone, may carry the device in their pocket or some type of carrying device. In normal use, turning on the phone usually involves either touching a touch screen or activating one or more buttons. However, accidental phone interaction, such as dialing, may occur through movement and other accidental contact while the phone is stored away. Some applications, such as alarms, may also accidentally activate the touch screen while the phone is being carried, leading to undesired actions by the mobile device.

SUMMARY

[0002] Accidental dialing and/or touch screen activation, or other functionality of a mobile device such as a cell phone is prevented, especially when the device is in a user's pocket (e.g., known as "pocket dialing") and/or in a bag, backpack, or other enclosure. An optical sensor that can be inherent to the mobile device such as a camera is used as a "dark sensor" and prevents functional interaction by any unintentional contact. Additional sensors can also be incorporated to facilitate in controlling a mobile device's functionality.

[0003] The above presents a simplified summary of the subject matter in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of subject matter embodiments. This summary is not an extensive overview of the subject matter. It is not intended to identify key/critical elements of the embodiments or to delineate the scope of the subject matter. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the subject matter in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

[0004] To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certain illustrative aspects of embodiments are described herein in connection with the following description and the annexed drawings. These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the subject matter can be employed, and the subject matter is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Other advantages and novel features of the subject matter can become apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] FIG. 1 is an example a mobile device with optical sensors illustrating an embodiment.

[0006] FIG. 2 is an example of a system incorporating a mobile device with a comparator and a feature controller.

[0007] FIG. 3 is a method for controlling features of a mobile device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0008] The subject matter is now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the subject matter. It can be evident, however, that subject matter embodiments can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing the embodiments. To prevent functional lockout in dark environments, override events such as sounds, special movements and/or screen gestures can be used. Some phones require a certain set of keys in order to activate the phone for dialing or other functions, including user passwords. These features are useful but add additional steps to a normal dialing sequence. The techniques herein offer a more automatic method of detection and prevention.

Additionally, it simplifies the activation so that only one hand is needed.

[0009] To prevent accidental activation of a mobile device, optical sensors are utilized to determine if the device is in a dark environment. However, on some occasions, a user might desire to operate their device in the dark so additional input can be used to eliminate an undesired lockout. As shown in an example 100 of FIG. I, a mobile device 102 often includes an optical sensor such as, for example, a camera (e.g., a front facing camera 104 and/or a rear facing camera 106). These cameras can easily detect and determine a "dark" condition, such as would exist in a user's pocket or in a purse and the like. In this way, each time some initial action is taken on the phone (e.g., keypad, touch panel, voice command, etc.), a first action is accompanied by turning on an optical sensor such as a camera and viewing (e.g., capturing an image) of the surroundings of the mobile device 102. If the light input to the mobile device 102 is below a given threshold, the mobile device 102 is considered to be in a place too dark for intentional operation by a user and a function (e.g., the phone dialing, etc.) of the mobile device 102 is deactivated. Alternatively, a timer can be used to periodically turn on the optical sensor to sense light input. If light input is too low, then a function of the mobile device 102 (e.g., a phone keypad and/or a touch panel, etc.) can remain disabled for the mobile device 102 and/or a feature interaction of the mobile device 102.

[0010] In addition, for example, a certain keypad key entry combination and/or a particular gesture on a touch panel can also be used to override a disabling feature (e.g., lockout, etc.) if necessary. In an extension or alternative, the mobile device 102 can also use an infrared sensing feature (e.g., some cameras on phones can detect infrared light energy) to detect the presence of, for example, a human features such as a hand, etc., holding the mobile device 102. A combination of these techniques can be incorporated into a disablement mechanism of the mobile device 102.

[0011] There are times when a user is in a dark environment, such as at night club, in a movie theater, or sleeping in a dark room, etc. and still wishes to use the mobile device 102. In these situations, light sensing alone may not be able to determine if a mobile device feature activation can occur. For these situations, some actions can be used as overrides, which causes a feature of the mobile device 102 (e.g., a touch screen, keypad, etc.) to become active. One example can include special movements that can be used to activate a feature of the mobile device 102, such as, for example, shaking and/or rotating the mobile device 102 to initiate the feature (e.g., a screen activation, etc.). These movements can be detected by a motion sensor (e.g., accelerometers) in the mobile device 102. Or, if an optical sensor of the mobile device 102 supports, for example, a night mode which uses an infrared light source, it can see, for example, human features such as a user's face, and/or ear and the like, and/or lack of infrared feedback to allow a feature (e.g., screen activation). Another technique is to use an audio sensor (e.g., a microphone, etc.) of the mobile device 102 to listen for a certain sound, word and/or passphrase. The above actions can be used alone and/or in combination with each other as an override for other prevention techniques.

[0012] One example is when a user is trying to dial a mobile device at night. The camera lockout can prevent the user from using the touch screen for dialing purposes. So, the user can perform a special gesture on the touch screen and/or move the mobile device in a certain pattern, and/or say (e.g., a verbal command) an unlock command or phrase to unlock the feature. In another example, a potential override to a functionality lockout is to use the time of day. Most mobile devices know a user's location along with the date and time of day. Based upon the location, a local sunrise and sunset and/or other information can be acquired from the Internet. Using this information, a mobile device can determine that it is currently nighttime and disable the functionality lockout feature. Alternatively, global positioning system (GPS) coordinates can be used to determine if the user is in a known dark environment (e.g., time of day at that location is nighttime, user is in an enclosed arena, etc.).

[0013] An example of a system 200 incorporating a mobile device 202 with a comparator 206 and feature controller 204 is shown in FIG. 2. The mobile device 202 can be any type of device such as, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, an MP3 player, a laptop and/or a tablet and the like. The comparator 206 receives a sensor input from an internal mobile device sensor and/or an external mobile device sensor. External sensors can include sensors that plug into the mobile device 202 and/or sensors that communicate via wired and/or wireless

communications (e.g., WiFi, Bluetooth, etc.) and the like. In this example, the comparator 206 receives input from an optical sensor 208 which has "viewed" (e.g., received optical input which can be from the viewable spectrum and/or the non- viewable spectrum - IR, etc.) the mobile device's environment. The comparator 206 determines if the optical input is "light" or "dark" based on a threshold parameter 216.

[0014] The threshold parameter 216 can facilitate the comparator 206 in determining a "disable" or "enable" status. For example, if a threshold parameter uses a lux unit, a lux value of three or less can be used by the comparator 206 to inform the feature controller 204 that a disable threshold has been met. If the lux value is greater than three, the comparator 206 can inform the feature controller that an enable threshold has been met. One skilled in the art can appreciate that a certain amount of hysteresis can also used to prevent borderline values from constantly switching between enable and disable. In one situation, three lux or less could set a disable while 10 lux or more is needed to change the disable to an enable

determination.

[0015] Thus, the comparator 206 compares the threshold parameter 216 to a sensor's input and makes a determination if a threshold (e.g., enable/disable) has been met. The comparator 206 can compare inputs from additional sensors such as an audio sensor 210, a motion sensor 212 and other sensors 214. The sensors 208-214 can periodically and/or aperiodically sample their inputs to update the comparator

206. The threshold parameter 216 can be, for example, a disable/enable parameter for a feature provided by the mobile device 202. The parameter itself can be obtained internally to the mobile device 202 by being programmed, obtained from a wide area network connection (e.g., the Internet, etc.) and/or obtained through determination by sensor input and/or sensor capability. For example, if the optical sensor 208 has a minimum lux capability of "5," threshold parameter values below this value will not work. Likewise, if the audio sensor's sensitivity is only 1 decibel, values less than this will not work. Maximum operating values for the sensors can also be taken into account. The mobile device 202 thus can have default values for the sensors that allow the comparator 206 to function within the operating capabilities of the sensors. A user 218 can also input a threshold parameter 216 and/or a determination as to whether the threshold is for disabling or enabling a feature.

[0016] The feature controller 204 controls whether a feature is nonfunctioning (locked out) and/or functioning based on the threshold criteria determined by the comparator 206. The feature controller 204 can apply additional logic in determining how to control a feature. This can include such parameters as location of the mobile device 202 (e.g., is the mobile device in a dark location, etc.), whether or not a communication means is available (e.g., WiFi, cellular communications, wide area network, Bluetooth, etc.), and/or whether a particular sensor threshold has been met. Additional sensor inputs 210-214 can also be logically applied to an input from the optical sensor 208 so that different combinations of sensor inputs are used to determine whether to enable or disable a feature. For example, a low light input from the optical sensor 208 can be used along with a low audio sensor 210 (e.g., microphone, etc.) input to determine whether a feature is disabled/enabled. In a similar fashion, a low light input from the optical sensor 208 can be used along with an input from the motion sensor 212 to determine how to control a feature (e.g., low light means disable function but a particular motion of the mobile device means override a disabled feature, etc.).

[0017] The logic applied by the feature controller 204 can be provided by default settings of the mobile device 202 and/or by inputs from the user 218. For example, the user 218, can decide that the optical sensor 208 is used to determine if the mobile device 202 is in their pocket and to use the motion sensor 212 as input to override the optical sensor 208 (e.g., moving the phone in a circular motion) to unlock a dialing feature of the mobile device 202. Thus, the user 218 can select a sensor, a set of sensors, a feature and/or how they interact to turn a feature on or off. Likewise, it is possible for a given sensor to have more than one type of input that can be used separately to control a feature. For example, the optical sensor 208 can provide a light/dark input and it can also provide an infrared input. These different types of inputs can be used in conjunction and/or separately to determine when and/or where a feature is enabled/disabled.

[0018] In view of the exemplary systems shown and described above, methodologies that can be implemented in accordance with the embodiments will be better appreciated with reference to the flow charts of FIG. 3. While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the methodologies are shown and described as a series of blocks, it is to be understood and appreciated that the embodiments are not limited by the order of the blocks, as some blocks can, in accordance with an embodiment, occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other blocks from that shown and described herein. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks may be required to implement the methodologies in accordance with the embodiments.

[0019] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method 300 of controlling a feature of a mobile device. A sensor input is first obtained 302. The sensor input can be from an internal and/or external sensor associated with a mobile device. The sensor input is then compared to threshold parameters 304. The threshold parameters can be default values, values provided by a user and/or values determined by a mobile device, valued obtained by a remote source (e.g., manufacturer's website via an Internet connection, etc.) and the like. A determination is then made as to whether the sensor input meets a threshold parameter 306. The determination can be made by a parameter indicating that an input must be less than, equal to, less than or equal to, more than, more than, and/or more than or equal to, and the like. A feature of a mobile device is then disabled when a threshold parameter is met 308. One skilled in the art can appreciate than more than one input can be used to determine if a feature is to be disabled. These different techniques have been described previously. If an override condition is met, the feature of the mobile device is then enabled 310. The override condition (e.g., enabling, etc.) can include threshold parameters such as those for disabling a feature. An override parameter can include, but is not limited to, moving a mobile device in a particular motion (i.e., motion sensor input) issuing a verbal command (i.e., audio sensor input), keypad inputs (e.g., certain keystrokes for unlocking, etc.), and/or touch screen inputs and the like to cause a disabled feature to be enabled. Inputs can also be obtained from external sources such as via a wide area network to determine such inputs as location, time of day, type of mobile device, and/or user preferences and the like.

[0020] What has been described above includes examples of the

embodiments. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the embodiments, but one of ordinary skill in the art can recognize that many further combinations and permutations of the embodiments are possible. Accordingly, the subject matter is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term "includes" is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term "comprising" as "comprising" is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.

Claims

1. A system that controls a feature of a mobile device, comprising:

a comparator that produces at least one output based on received input from at least one sensor that is compared to at least one threshold parameter; and

a controller that controls at least one feature of a mobile device based on the at least one output of the comparator.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the comparator receives input from at least one optical sensor.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the threshold parameter is provided by at least one of a user and a mobile device.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller disables at least one feature when the comparator output indicates that a threshold is met.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller enables at least one feature when the comparator output indicates that a threshold is met.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the controller enables a feature based on a comparator output produced by a different received sensor input than the received sensor input used in the comparator output that disabled the feature.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the controller enables a feature based on an input from the mobile device.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the input comprising at least one of a keypad input, a touch screen input, a verbal command and a motion input associated with the mobile device.

9. The system of claim I, wherein the controller enables at least one feature based on information obtained from a wide area network.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the information comprising at least one of time of day and a location of the mobile device.

1 1. A method for controlling a feature of a mobile device, comprising the steps of:

obtaining at least one input from at least one sensor;

comparing the at least one input to at least one parameter; and

controlling at least one feature of a mobile device based on at least one comparison.

12. The method of claim 11, the obtaining step further comprising:

obtaining an input from at least one optical sensor.

13. The method of claim 11, the obtaining step further comprising:

obtaining an input from at least one optical sensor on a time basis.

14. The method of claim 11, the controlling step further comprising: disabling at least one feature of the mobile device.

15. The method of claim 11, the controlling step further comprising: enabling at least one feature of the mobile device.

16. The method of claim 15, the enabling step further comprising:

enabling at least one feature of the mobile device when an infrared sensor input indicates a human feature in proximity of the mobile device.

17. The method of claim 15, the enabling step further comprising:

enabling at least one feature of the mobile device when a sensor input indicates at least one of a motion input, a keypad input, a touch screen input and a verbal command input.

18. A system that controls a feature of a mobile device, comprising:

a means for producing at least one output based on received input from at least one sensor that is compared to at least one parameter; and

a means for controlling at least one feature of a mobile device based on the at least one output.

19. The system of claim 18 further comprising:

a means for overriding a disabled feature of a mobile device based on the at least one output.

20. The system of claim 18 further comprising:

a means for providing input from at least one sensor that is external to a mobile device.