Abstract:
A method is set forth for automatically adjusting screen and keypad brightness on a mobile electronic device having a light sensor, display screen and keypad, for optimum legibility under varying lighting conditions, with minimal eye strain and distraction to the user. The method includes obtaining light level samples from the light sensor, and independently adjusting backlight intensity of the display screen and keypad responsive to the light level samples. Preferably, correct screen and keypad adjustments are made responsive to the user pulling his or her handheld device out of its holster notwithstanding non-optimal ambient light detection while the device is being removed from the holster. According to another aspect, the described method allows for ambient light detection in a handheld device where the light sensor and a message notification indicator share a common light pipe.

Description:
FIELD 
     The present application relates generally to electronic devices and more particularly to a method for automatically adjusting screen and keypad brightness on a mobile electronic device. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Liquid crystal display (LCD) screen and keypad brightness on a handheld electronic device may be adjusted for different operating environments in order to provide an optimal user experience. For example, in outdoor or sunlight conditions the LCD backlight must be very bright in order to be readable, and the keypad backlight should be off to conserver battery power. In normal indoor or office conditions, the LCD backlight should operate at medium brightness while the keypad backlight is usually turned off. In dim or dark conditions, the LCD backlight must be at low intensity so as to avoid eye strain and the keypad backlight must be on. 
     Ambient lighting conditions can change rapidly as the user moves between different working environments. For example, walking from indoors to outdoors may render the LCD screen immediately unreadable unless the LCD backlight brightness is increased. Conversely, when the user moves from a bright environment into a dimly lit room, the keypad may be unreadable unless the keypad backlight is turned on. 
     Prior art arrangements have been implemented in GPS displays and laptop computers for providing basic automatic screen and keypad backlighting adjustment. However, none of such prior art backlighting algorithms are known to address independent control of LCD and keypad backlighting adjustment as a user moves between different ambient lighting conditions. Moreover, none of the known prior art addresses the problem of providing rapid backlight adjustment in response to a user removing his or her handheld electronic device from a wearable holster accessory, or the problem of detecting ambient light when the light sensor and message notification indicator for the device share a common light pipe, such as described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/187,867, filed Jul. 25, 2005, and entitled SHARED LIGHT PIPE FOR A MESSAGE INDICATOR AND LIGHT SENSOR. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The method for automatically adjusting screen and keypad brightness on a mobile handheld electronic device will be better understood with reference to the following description and to the Figures, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a representation of a mobile handheld electronic device in connection with which a method for automatically adjusting screen and keypad brightness is set forth in accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of certain internal components within the electronic device of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart showing steps in a method for automatically adjusting screen brightness in the electronic device of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart showing steps in the method of  FIG. 3  when the electronic device is in DIM mode; 
         FIG. 5  is a flowchart showing steps in the method of  FIG. 3  when the electronic device is in OFFICE mode; 
         FIG. 6  is a flowchart showing steps in the method of  FIG. 3  when the electronic device is in BRIGHT mode; 
         FIG. 7  is a flowchart showing steps for automatically adjusting keypad brightness in the electronic device of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a flow chart showing steps for controlling sample rate for the methods of  FIGS. 3 and 7 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a mobile handheld electronic device is indicated generally by the numeral  20 . In the present embodiment, the electronic device  20  is based on the computing environment and functionality of a wireless personal digital assistant. It will be understood, however, that the electronic device  20  is not limited to a wireless personal digital assistant. Other electronic devices are possible, such as desktop computers, cellular telephones, GPS receivers, smart telephones, and laptop computers. Referring again to the present embodiment, the electronic device  20  includes a housing  22  that houses a mechanical vibration means (not shown) and frames an LCD display  24 , a speaker  26 , a message notification indicator  28 , a track wheel  30 , an exit key  32  and a keypad  34 . Preferably, the message notification indicator  28  is in the form of a light pipe having two internal branches terminating respectively in a Light Emitting Diode (LED) and an ambient light sensor, as set forth in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/187,867, filed Jul. 25, 2005, and entitled SHARED LIGHT PIPE FOR A MESSAGE INDICATOR AND LIGHT SENSOR, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The track wheel  30  and the exit key  32  can be inwardly depressed along the path of arrow “A” as a means of providing additional user-input. The housing  22  is made from a suitable material as will occur to those skilled in the art, and can be stored, for example, in a holster (not shown) that includes an attachment for attaching to a user&#39;s belt. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , a block diagram is provided of certain internal components within the device  20 . The device  20  is based on a microcomputer including a processor  36  connected to a read-only-memory (ROM)  38  that contains a plurality of applications executable by the processor  36  for enabling the device  20  to perform certain functions. The processor  36  is also connected to a random access memory unit (RAM)  40  and a persistent storage device  42  which are responsible for various non-volatile storage functions of the device  20 . The processor  36  receives input from various input devices including the track wheel  30 , the exit key  32 , and the keypad  34 . The processor  36  outputs to various output devices including the LCD display  24 , the speaker  26 , the indicator  28  and the mechanical vibration device  32 . The processor  36  is also connected to an internal clock  44  and a modem and radio device  46 . The modem and radio device  46  are used to connect to various wireless networks using an antenna  48 . 
     Reference is now made to  FIG. 3 , showing a flowchart of a method for automatically adjusting screen  24  and keypad  34  brightness on the mobile handheld electronic device of  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The method is implemented by an algorithm within an application executable by the processor  36  to correctly switch between three screen-specific ambient lighting modes (referred to herein as DIM, OFFICE and BRIGHT, respectively) and two keypad-specific ambient lighting mode (referred to herein as KEYPAD-ON and KEYPAD-OFF, respectively. The screen-specific modes are determined independently of the keypad-specific modes. In DIM mode, the screen  24  backlight is dimmed for low lighting environment. In OFFICE mode, the screen  24  backlight is set to a brightness suitable for an office environment. In BRIGHT mode, and the screen  24  backlight is set at full brightness, suitable for legibility in bright sunlight (as indicated below, KEYPAD-OFF mode is enabled whenever BRIGHT mode is enabled). In KEYPAD-ON mode, the keypad backlight is turned on. In KEYPAD-OFF mode, the keypad backlight is turned off. The DIM, OFFICE, BRIGHT, KEYPAD-ON and KEYPAD-OFF modes are determined by detected ambient light conditions and operate to set the backlights to appropriate operating states, as discussed in greater detail below. 
     Each ambient lighting mode has a corresponding brightness/state value as set forth in Table A, where “% PWM” represents the duty cycle of a pulse width modulated signal of variable base frequency dependent on the specified duty cycle, and “Lux range” represents the range of ambient lighting intensity (measured in Lux units, where Lux represents the amount of visible light per square meter incident on a surface) in which each mode operates: 
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE A 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 Screen 
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Backlight 
               
               
                 Mode 
                 DIM mode 
                 OFFICE mode 
                 BRIGHT mode 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Lux range 
                 &lt;70 
                 16 &lt; Lux &lt; 4400 
                 3000 &lt; Lux 
               
               
                 of ambient 
               
               
                 lighting 
               
               
                 Screen 
                 3%-6.5% PWM 
                 10%-40% PWM 
                 100% PWM 
               
               
                 backlight 
                 (based on 10%- 
                 (based on 10%-100% 
                 (this “overdrives” 
               
               
                 brightness 
                 100% brightness 
                 brightness defined in 
                 the backlight 
               
               
                   
                 defined in 
                 Screen/Keyboard 
                 circuit) 
               
               
                   
                 Screen/Keyboard 
                 options screen) 
               
               
                   
                 options screen) 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Keypad Backlight Mode 
                 KEYPAD-ON 
                 KEYPAD-OFF 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Lux range for ambient 
                 &lt;250 
                 &gt;60 
               
               
                   
                 lighting 
               
               
                   
                 Keypad backlight state 
                 ON 
                 OFF 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     As indicated in Table A, the screen  24  backlight is adjustable in  5  or  10  discreet steps between 3% and 6.5% PWM, an additional 5 or 10 discreet steps between 10% and 40% PWM and may also be set to 100% PWM Backlight brightness control also permits a smoothly and quick fade (˜200 ms) and a slow fade (1-1.5 s) between any of these steps (in addition to the off state). The keypad  34  backlight is adjustable in at least 5 discreet steps between 0% and 100% PWM, allowing for a smooth quick fade (200 ms) and a very slow fade (4-5 seconds, ideally) between each of these discreet levels and the off state. 
     Upon starting the algorithm (step  50 ) when the device  20  is turned on, the backlight mode is normally initialized to an appropriate mode using the ambient lighting sensed by the light sensor at that time. Next, light sensor samples are taken at set intervals and maintained in a buffer containing the five most recent samples at any given time (step  52 ). This buffer is referred to as the sample window because it is a moving window such that when each new sample is received, the oldest sample in the window is discarded from the buffer. The amount of time between each light sensor sample determines the sampling rate. A typical sampling rate is one sample per 1.2 seconds although in some situations the sampling rate may be increased to 400 ms temporarily for 5 samples to facilitate quick adjustment of the screen and keypad backlights. At step  54 , the median sample value is calculated by sorting all samples in the sample window and choosing the middle value (i.e. the third sample in the window). 
     When each sample is received, a new median in the sample window is calculated and compared to various thresholds (step  56 ) to determine if a backlight adjustment is necessary, according to the thresholds listed in state Table B, where ADC represents Analog to Digital Converter output values: 
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
             
               
             
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE B 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 median light 
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 sensor ADC 
                 current mode 
                 current mode 
                 current mode 
               
               
                 value 
                 is DIM 
                 is OFFICE 
                 is BRIGHT 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 &lt;= 7 
                 n/a 
                 Switch to DIM 
                 Switch to DIM 
               
               
                 &gt;= 14 
                 switch to 
                 n/a 
                 n/a 
               
               
                   
                 OFFICE 
               
               
                 &lt;= 450 
                 n/a 
                 n/a 
                 Switch to OFFICE 
               
               
                 &gt;= 650 
                 switch to 
                 Switch to BRIGHT 
                 n/a 
               
               
                   
                 BRIGHT 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Keypad backlight modes are handled independently from the LCD 
               
               
                 backlight modes: 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 current mode is 
                   
               
               
                   
                 KEYPAD-ON 
                 current mode is KEYPAD-OFF 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 &lt; = 16 
                 n/a 
                 switch to KEYPAD-ON 
               
               
                 &gt;50 for 30 
                 switch to KEYPAD-OFF 
                 n/a 
               
               
                 seconds 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     The relationship between ADC threshold values expressed in Table B and light intensity values is as follows: ADC 7=16 Lux, ADC 14=70 Lux, 16 ADC=60 Lux, 50 ADC=250 Lux, ADC 450=3000 Lux, and ADC 650=4400 Lux. Operation of the state Table B is depicted in the flowcharts of  FIGS. 4 ,  5  and  6 . 
     Thus, as shown in  FIG. 4 , when the backlighting is in DIM mode, the median sample value is compared (step  58 ) to a threshold value of 14 (70 Lux) and if the value is greater than 14 OFFICE mode of backlight operation is selected (step  62 ) wherein the screen  24  backlight is at a brightness suitable for an office environment. However, if the median sample value is greater than 650 (step  64 ) then BRIGHT mode of backlight operation is selected (step  66 ) wherein the screen  24  backlight is set to full brightness. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , when the backlighting is in OFFICE mode (step  68 ), the median sample value is compared (step  70 ) to a threshold value of 7 (16 Lux) and if the value is less than 7 DIM mode of backlight operation is selected (step  72 ) wherein the screen  24  backlight is dimmed. However, if the median sample value is greater than 650 (step  74 ) then BRIGHT mode of backlight operation is selected (step  76 ) wherein the screen  24  backlight is set to full brightness. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , when the backlighting is in BRIGHT mode (step  78 ), the median sample value is compared (step  80 ) to a threshold value of 7 and if the value is less than 7 DIM mode of backlight operation is selected (step  82 ) wherein the screen  24  backlight is dimmed. If the median sample value is less than 450 (step  84 ) then OFFICE mode of backlight operation is selected (step  86 ) wherein the screen  24  backlight is at a brightness suitable for an office environment. 
     From  FIGS. 4 and 5 , it will be noted that the threshold for changing from DIM mode to OFFICE mode is higher than the threshold for changing from OFFICE to DIM mode. This compensates for situations where the ambient lighting is hovering around a particular threshold value and prevents constant transitioning between backlight states. A similar hysteresis is integrated into the threshold values between the OFFICE and BRIGHT modes ( FIGS. 5 and 6 ). 
     As indicated above, keypad  34  lighting is controlled independently of screen  24  backlighting to allow the keypad to respond more quickly to dim environments, and to allow the LCD screen to respond more quickly to office and bright or sunlight environments. Hence, it is possible for the screen backlight to be in OFFICE or BRIGHT mode while the keypad backlight is still in KEYPAD-ON mode (temporarily). As set forth in  FIG. 7 , while the keypad backlight is OFF (step  88 ), each sample value (rather than the median sample value) is compared (step  90 ) to a threshold value of 16 and if the value is less than 16 the keypad  34  backlight turns on right away (step  92 ). This ensures that the user does not have to wait to type if they are unable to see the keypad  34 . This means that the keypad may sometimes turn on prematurely when the device  20  is not actually in a dim or dark environment but a single sample less than 16 is received for some reason. This ensures that the keypad  34  is never unusable, even though slightly more battery is drawn and the user may become slightly confused as to why the keypad backlight appears to turn on “randomly” in some circumstances. Ideally, the keypad  34  should turn on quickly (about 200 ms) after receiving a single “dim” sample but fade off very slowly so that it is barely noticeable (e.g. 5-10 seconds). This helps to remove distraction (and possible confusion) when the LCD screen  24  backlight is turned off. 
     While the keypad backlight is ON, consecutive sample values are compared (step  94 ) to a threshold value of 50 and once 30 seconds of contiguous samples greater than 50 have been received the keypad  34  is turned OFF (step  88 ). This avoids the possibility of “thrashing” the keypad backlight on and off in highly variable lighting environments, which would be quite distracting and annoying to the user. 
     By using the median sample in the sample window for mode-change decisions, brief lighting fluctuations (e.g. bright flashes lasting less than about 800 ms) are effectively filtered out while still providing an acceptably quick response to entering an area with bright sunlight or pulling the device out of the holster in bright sunlight. Transitioning through a dim environment for less than about 5 seconds is also ignored because all five samples in the sample window are required to be less than the threshold value for the currently active mode to affect a mode change. Since it takes several seconds for a user&#39;s eyes to adjust to a dimmer environment, the LCD screen  24  brightness is permitted by the algorithm to adjust gradually. 
     As shown in  FIG. 8 , light sensor samples are not taken (i.e. sleep mode) while the device  20  is off or in the holster (step  100 ) in order to save battery life and because samples are not likely to be valid because the light sensor is likely covered by an arm (device  20  is in holster) or in a bag or a pocket. When the light sensor software “wakes up” (step  102 ), sampling and backlight adjustment begins (step  106 ) with a fast sampling rate (400 ms) for the next five samples. The first sample received is used to initialize the entire sample window, if the second sample is brighter than the first, then this value is used to initialize the entire sample window. If the third sample is brighter than the first two, then it is used to initialize the sample window. 
     Thereafter, the normal sampling rate is one sample every 1.2 seconds (step  108 ). Preferably, each light sensor sample is actually an average of multiple quick samples taken over a period of about 9 ms. More particularly, at least 8 ADC readings are taken over a 9 ms period so that they can be averaged out so as to increase the reliability of each sample and filter out small variances in AC indoor lighting. 
     When the device  20  is pulled out of its holster, removed from a pocket or bag, etc., it is highly likely that the light sensor will be temporarily partially covered by the user&#39;s hand or shirt. This means that the first couple samples could be below the threshold for transitioning to DIM mode, even if the device  20  is operating in the OFFICE mode. Likewise, the first couple of samples could be indicative of OFFICE mode even though the device is in a bright environment. However, it is nearly impossible for a brighter sample to be received when the device is in a dim environment. Hence, as discussed above, the entire sample window is initialized to the greatest sample when the device  20  out of the holster. 
     If the screen  24  turns off due to a system timeout or the power button being pressed, but the device  20  has not been yet been turned off or returned to its holster (step  110 ), then light sensor sampling reverts to sleep mode (step  100 ) provided the screen  24  does not turn back on within the time it takes to receive the next five samples. This five sample delay is provided because the screen  24  may time out while the user is reading the screen. It is common for a user to handle this situation by hitting a key to immediately wake up the screen again (which turns on the backlight). In this case, the sample window is not reset to sleep mode. If the LCD screen  4  stays off for more than a few seconds then the sample window is reset to sleep mode due to the likelihood that the device environment has changed. 
     Based on the foregoing, LCD screen  24  brightness responds to a change from a dimmer to a brighter environment within 800 ms to 2 seconds. This is the amount of time that it takes to receive three brighter samples (which sets the median of the 5-sample window). The first sample in a brighter environment triggers the fast 400 ms sampling rate (step  104 ). However, it can take up to 1.2 seconds before the first sample is received. LCD screen  24  brightness responds to a change from a brighter environment to a dimmer mode in about 6 seconds. It takes 5 consecutive samples in a dimmer mode to cause a transition to the new mode. When the screen  24  backlight brightness is adjusted downwardly, the backlight is slowly faded to the new brightness level. This fading takes from about 1 s to 1.5 s. 
     As discussed above in connection with  FIG. 1 , the light sensor and message indicating LED share a common light pipe. If the sampling algorithm of  FIG. 8  requires a light sensor sample to be taken while the LED is on, then the sample is delayed until immediately after the LED turns off, unless the device  20  is in the process of being pulled out of its holster. In this case, an initial low light sample is “faked” if the LED is on while removing the device  20  from its holster, etc. so as not to delay turning on the LCD screen  24  backlight (which cannot occur until a sample has been received). Each LED on/off transition is controlled so that the state information can be provided to the automatic backlight software set forth herein of LED on/off transitions. 
     Preferably, coarse timers are used in the described method (e.g. +/−12.5% variance). The use of coarse timers minimizes the number of times the processor  36  must wake up due to timer events. Consequently, all times referred to in this specification are characterized by a possible error of +/−12.5%. 
     If the power button of device  20  is pressed, the screen  24  brightness is increased significantly. This overrides the brightness adjustment algorithm temporarily until the screen is turned off, and normal screen brightness adjustment resumes when the screen  24  turns back on again. 
     The light sensor functionality set forth herein may be altered or disabled by the user via an “Automatic Backlight” option accessible through a Screen/Keyboard options screen displayed by device  20 . This enables backlight functionality which allows the user to press the power button to cycle between 1) user-selected brightness; 2) super-bright; and 3) backlight/LCD off. When the LCD screen  24  is on, the keypad  34  backlight is always on. When the LCD screen  24  is off, the keypad  34  backlight is always off. 
     While the embodiments described herein are directed to particular implementations of the method for automatically adjusting screen and keypad brightness on a mobile handheld electronic device, it will be understood that modifications and variations to these embodiments are within the scope and sphere of the present application. For example, as indicated above the backlighting brightness adjustment methodology set forth herein is not limit in its application to handheld electronic devices but may advantageously applied to other electronic devices such as desktop computers, cellular telephones, GPS receivers, smart telephones, and laptop computers. Also, it is contemplated that the keypad backlighting, although independent of LCD screen backlighting adjustment, may advantageously transition between various lighting modes (such as DIM, OFFICE and BRIGHT) rather than simply switching between ON and OFF. Many other modifications and variations may occur to those skilled in the art. All such modifications and variations are believed to be within the sphere and scope of the present application.