Patent Publication Number: US-9898309-B2

Title: Wake-up trigger using MEMS wind turbines

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure is related generally to mobile communications devices and, more particularly, to detecting user gestures on such devices. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Portable devices, such as mobile phones, tablet devices, digital cameras, wearable devices, and other types of computing and electronic devices can be used in a variety of ways. Further, users can provide input in a variety of ways, such as by pressing a button, swiping a touch screen, giving a voice command, and so on. Conventionally, these portable devices required the user to press a button to turn on or wake up the device prior to enabling the user to execute an application or otherwise operate the device. For example, when a user&#39;s phone receives an incoming call, the user is generally required to press a button or swipe the touch screen to answer the call. In some instances, the user may have difficulty answering the phone, such as when attempting to swipe the touch screen with a wet finger or failing to properly press the button such that the device fails to connect the call. Further, conventional portable devices can be difficult to operate with the same hand that is holding the device, which many users attempt to do while they are multi-tasking. These difficulties can lead to missed calls or a poor user experience, resulting in user frustration. 
     In addition, gestures are becoming more common among portable devices as a way for users to provide input. For example, some touch-screen devices can recognize different swipe directions as corresponding to different commands. Generally, however, touch-screen devices require that the touch screen be powered on to enable the device to recognize the gesture. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       While the appended claims set forth the features of the present techniques with particularity, these techniques, together with their objects and advantages, may be best understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an example portable device in which embodiments of using micro-electro-mechanical systems (“MEMS”) wind turbines for gesture detection or as a wake-up trigger can be implemented; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates example sensor configurations in which embodiments of using MEMS wind turbines for gesture detection or as a wake-up trigger can be implemented; 
         FIG. 3  further illustrates examples of sensor configurations in which embodiments of using MEMS wind turbines for gesture detection or as a wake-up trigger can be implemented; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates example methods of gesture detection using MEMS wind turbines in accordance with one or more embodiments; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates example methods of a wake-up trigger using MEMS wind turbines in accordance with one or more embodiments; and 
         FIG. 6  illustrates various components of an example device that can implement embodiments of using MEMS wind turbines for gesture detection or as a wake-up trigger. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Embodiments of using MEMS wind turbines for gesture detection or as a wake-up trigger are described, such as for any type of portable device. Typically, gestures are recognized as a user touching the screen in a certain manner or swiping the screen in a particular direction. Other gestures can be recognized using infra-red sensors to detect movement of a user or the user&#39;s hand, for example. However, a portable device such as a mobile device, for example, can fail to recognize some gestures, such as when the user&#39;s finger is wet, which interferes with the tactile connection between the user&#39;s finger and the touch screen. Additional challenges arise when a user attempts to perform a gesture with the same hand that is holding the mobile device. 
     A MEMS wind turbine is a miniature wind turbine that generates electrical energy. The MEMS wind turbine can be integrated in a portable device such that air flowing substantially parallel to a plane formed by the blades of the MEMS wind turbine causes the MEMS wind turbine to rotate. Alternatively, the MEMS wind turbine can be integrated with the portable device such that air flowing substantially perpendicular to a plane formed by the blades of the MEMS wind turbine can cause the MEMS wind turbine to rotate. In implementations, the MEMS wind turbines can be formed from two-dimensional pieces utilizing planar multilayer electroplating techniques assembled into a three-dimensional structure. 
     In aspects of gesture detection using MEMS wind turbines, a portable device can be implemented to recognize a gesture based on sensory input generated by the MEMS wind turbines. For example, when a user lifts the portable device to answer a phone call, wind forces cause some of the MEMS wind turbines to rotate and generate a signal. Then, based on the signal generated by the MEMS wind turbines, the portable device can wake up a display device of the portable device or automatically connect the call for the user, without requiring additional user interaction, such as a button-press, a screen-swipe, and so on. 
     In implementations of a wake-up trigger using MEMS wind turbines, a portable device is implemented to determine movement based on signals generated by the MEMS wind turbines. For example, when a user lifts the portable device from the user&#39;s waist up to near the user&#39;s face (or just generally moves the device up), the display device can be turned on automatically. In implementations, a state change can be triggered to initiate power to components of the portable device, such as the display screen, a microphone, and so on. The state change effectively wakes up the components, such as from a sleep state, a hibernating state, an off state, and so on. In this way, movement of the portable device can cause the portable device to wake up, without the use of accelerometers or gyroscopes, and without additional user interaction. For example, the portable device can be in a state that is not drawing any power, and then the portable device can be lifted or moved in such a way to generate wind sufficient to activate the MEMS wind turbines, which can trigger the portable device, or components of the portable device, to be turned on. 
     While features and concepts of using MEMS wind turbines for gesture detection or as a wake-up trigger can be implemented in any number of different devices, systems, environments, or configurations, embodiments of using MEMS wind turbines for gesture detection or as a wake-up trigger are described in the context of the following example devices, systems, and methods. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an example portable device  100  in which embodiments of using MEMS wind turbines for gesture detection or as a wake-up trigger can be implemented. The example portable device  100  may be any type of mobile device (e.g., mobile phone, tablet device, digital camera, and so on), wearable device (e.g., watch, glasses, bracelet, hearing aid-like device, and any other item that is wearable by a user and which has electronic or computing technologies incorporated therein), or other types of computing and electronic devices that are typically battery powered. In this example, the portable device  100  includes a variety of hardware components, examples of which include a processing system  102 , an example of a computer-readable storage medium illustrated as a memory device  104 , a power controller  106 , and so on. The processing system  102  is representative of functionality to perform operations through execution of instructions stored in the memory device  104 . Although illustrated separately, functionality of these components may be further divided, combined (e.g., on an application-specific integrated circuit), and so forth. The portable device  100  can include sensors  108  that detect movement of the portable device  100  and provide sensor inputs  110  to the components of the portable device  100 . In embodiments, the sensors  108  are implemented as MEMS wind turbines, as shown and described below with reference to  FIGS. 2 and 3 . Additionally, the processing system  102  includes a gesture module  112  for detecting gestures of a user of the portable device  100  based on the sensor inputs  110  from the sensors  108 . Also illustrated is the power controller  106  including controller logic  114  and a controller circuit  116  that are further described below with reference to features of the wake-up trigger. 
     The gesture module  112  represents functionality of the portable device  100  to recognize a variety of different gestures from sensory input generated by the sensors  108  and to then initiate an action of the portable device  100  that corresponds to the gesture. For example, the gesture module  112  can determine a change in orientation of the portable device  100  and initiate a corresponding change to a user interface displayed on a display device of the portable device  100 . In an additional example, the gesture module  112  can determine that the portable device  100  is being lifted while the portable device  100  is receiving an incoming call, such as a phone call, a text message, an instant message, and so on, and can automatically initiate connecting the call. Other examples include determining that the portable device  100  is being positioned to initiate a phone call and initiating a display of a user interface that is configured to enable the user to initiate the phone call. Thus, the gesture module  112  can recognize any of a variety of different gestures and initiate a corresponding action of the portable device  100 . These examples are illustrated as non-exclusive examples of the functionality provided by the gesture module  112  and are not intended to be limiting in any way. 
     The portable device  100  includes the power controller  106  that is implemented to initiate a state change of one or more components of the portable device  100 . The power controller  106  is implemented to receive signals as a sensor input  110  from the sensors  108 , and then the controller logic  114  initiates the controller circuit  116  to implement a state change of the one or more components. In implementations, the power controller  106  can be implemented with hardware components which can be activated while a processor of the portable device  100  is in an off state. 
     Additionally, the portable device  100  can be implemented with any number and combination of differing components as further described with reference to the example device shown in  FIG. 6 . As an alternative to hardware components, the power controller  106  can be implemented as a software application or module, such as executable software instructions (e.g., computer-executable instructions) that are executable with the processing system  102  of the device  100 . The power controller  106  can be stored on computer-readable storage memory (e.g., the memory device  104 ), such as any suitable memory device or electronic data storage implemented in the portable device  100 . In practice, the power controller  106  may be implemented in software as part of an operating system of the portable device  100 . Additionally, a separate microcontroller may be implemented to process the power controller  106  as software. 
     In this example, the power controller  106  includes a controller circuit  116  that switches states of various components of the portable device  100 . The power controller  106  also includes controller logic  114  that controls the controller circuit  116 . As with the power controller  106 , the controller logic  114  may be implemented in hardware, software, or as a combination thereof. 
     The portable device  100  also includes the one or more sensors  108 , which may be implemented as MEMS wind turbines. The MEMS wind turbines can be integrated in the portable device  100  in any of a variety of ways. For example, the MEMS wind turbines can be recessed in a housing of the portable device  100  and within a channel that allows air flow. Movement of the portable device  100  can cause air to flow through the channel and over the MEMS wind turbines causing the MEMS wind turbines to rotate and generate a signal. Further discussion of this and other aspects is provided below. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates an example  200  of a sensor configuration in which embodiments of using MEMS wind turbines for gesture detection or as a wake-up trigger can be implemented. As shown in the example  200 , the portable device  100  includes MEMS wind turbines  202  that act as sensors to detect air flow (e.g., wind  204 ) caused by movement of the portable device  100 . In implementations, the MEMS wind turbines  202  are examples of the sensors  108  that detect movement of the portable device  100 , as described above with reference to  FIG. 1 . As the wind  204  passes over the MEMS wind turbines  202 , associated wind forces can cause the MEMS wind turbines  202  to rotate and generate a signal (e.g., as a sensor input  110  to other components of the portable device  100 ). The signal can be in any of a variety of forms, such as a voltage, for example. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the MEMS wind turbines  202  can be recessed within a housing  206  of the portable device  100 , such as within a channel that allows air to pass through. In implementations, the MEMS wind turbines  202  can be located on the back, front, or along the sides of the housing  206  of the portable device  100 . Further, the MEMS wind turbines  202  can be integrated at any location on the portable device  100  that is suitable to allow wind forces to initiate rotation of the MEMS wind turbines  202 . 
       FIG. 3  illustrates additional examples  300  of various sensor configurations in which embodiments of using MEMS wind turbines for gesture detection or as a wake-up trigger can be implemented. In implementations, the MEMS wind turbines  202  can be integrated in the portable device  100  in various locations. For example, the MEMS wind turbines  202  can be disposed on one or more sides of the portable device  100  (e.g., integrated in the housing  206 ), such as shown in an example  302 . The MEMS wind turbines  202  can be recessed within the housing  206  of the portable device  100  along one or more sides of the device. As shown in an example  304 , the MEMS wind turbines  202  can be located at or near the corners of the housing of the portable device  100 . In implementations, the recessed portion of the portable device  100  can be angled at the corner to allow one or more of the MEMS wind turbines  202  to be integrated thereon. In addition, the housing  206  can include a perforated surface  306  over the MEMS wind turbines  202 , where the perforations (e.g., holes or partial openings) in the surface allow wind to pass through and over the MEMS wind turbines  202 . Any of a variety of configurations of perforations can be used, such as, for example, configurations  308  or  310 . 
     Generally, any services, components, modules, methods, or operations described herein can be implemented using software, firmware, hardware (e.g., fixed-logic circuitry), manual processing, or any combination thereof. Some operations of the example methods may be described in the general context of executable instructions stored on computer-readable storage memory that is local or remote to a computer processing system, and implementations can include software applications, programs, functions, and the like. Any of the functionality described herein can be performed, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components, such as, and without limitation, field-programmable gate arrays, application-specific integrated circuits, application-specific standard products, system-on-a-chip systems, complex programmable logic devices, and the like. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates example methods  400  of gesture detection using MEMS wind turbines. The order in which the method is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number or combination of the described method operations can be performed in any order to perform a method or an alternate method. 
     At  402 , sensor data are received from MEMS wind turbines that are integrated in a portable device. For example, as the portable device is lifted or otherwise moved, such as from the user&#39;s waist level to the user&#39;s head level, a relatively small wind force is generated in relation to the portable device. Depending on an orientation of the portable device when moving through the air, some of the MEMS wind turbines  202  may generate a signal while others do not. For example, the wind force may cause MEMS wind turbines near a top corner of the portable device to rotate without affecting MEMS wind turbines located near a bottom corner. As an alternative example, MEMS wind turbines located near a first corner can generate a first signal based on the wind force, while other MEMS wind turbines near a second corner of the portable device generate a second signal, such as a counter-signal, that can be used in connection with the first signal. Accordingly, differences in sensor data or counter-signals generated by different MEMS wind turbines on the portable device can be used to determine a variety of different information, such as device orientation in three-dimensional space, context of a user using the portable device, gestures or input to perform a function of the portable device, and so on. 
     At  404 , a signal strength of the sensor data is measured. This step can be performed in any suitable way. For example, the gesture module  112  that is implemented in the portable device  100  can measure the signal strength of the sensor data generated by the MEMS wind turbines  202 . At  406 , a determination is made as to whether the signal strength of the sensor data exceeds a threshold value that represents a likelihood that the portable device  100  is being moved. For example, the threshold value can be used to determine whether the portable device  100  was inadvertently bumped or moved, or whether the portable device  100  was intentionally moved as part of a gesture. In an additional example, the threshold can be used to determine the difference between a gesture being performed and the user walking or running Δny suitable threshold value can be used, such as a predefined static threshold, a dynamically adjustable threshold (e.g., a threshold based on machine learning of the device&#39;s characteristic motions), multiple thresholds, or any combination thereof. In implementations, the threshold can include a duration of time over which the sensor input is continuously received. 
     At  408 , a gesture is recognized based on the sensor data generated from the wind force. For example, the gesture module  112  that is implemented in the portable device  100  can utilize the sensor data generated by the MEMS wind turbines  202  and received as the sensor inputs  110  to recognize a gesture. Any of a variety of gestures can be recognized. Some examples include, but are not limited to, the portable device  100  being lifted to answer an incoming phone call, positioned to initiate a phone call, lowered after a phone call is disconnected, oriented to change an orientation of the portable device  100 , and so on. 
     At  410 , an action of the portable device  100  that corresponds to the gesture is initiated responsive to recognizing the gesture. For example, based on the gesture, the gesture module  112  can initiate any of a variety of different actions of the portable device  100 . Some examples include, but are not limited to, connecting the incoming phone call, initiating a display of a user interface configured to enable the user to initiate the phone call, turning off a display device of the portable device  100 , changing an orientation of the user interface displayed on the display device of the portable device  100 , initiating mute, initiating silent mode or airplane mode, and so on. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates example methods  500  of using MEMS wind turbines as a wake-up trigger. The order in which the method is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number or combination of the described method operations can be performed in any order to perform a method or an alternate method. 
     At  502 , one or more signals are received based on a wind force applied to MEMS wind turbines. For example, the power controller  106  that is implemented in the portable device  100  receives signals (e.g., sensor inputs  110 ) generated by the sensors  108  (e.g., MEMS wind turbines  202 ). The signals can be generated by the MEMS wind turbines  202  based on a wind force effective to initiate rotation of at least some of the MEMS wind turbines  202 . 
     At  504 , the portable device is determined to be moving based on the one or more signals generated from the wind force. For example, the power controller  106  can determine that the sensor inputs  110  from the MEMS wind turbines  202  are continuously sufficient to exceed a duration of time or a threshold signal strength that indicates a likelihood of movement of the portable device  100 . 
     At  506 , a state change is triggered to initiate power to one or more components of the portable device  100  effective to wake up the one or more components. For example, the power controller  106  can, based on the determination that the portable device  100  is moving, initiate power to turn on a display device, a microphone, an audio system, or any other component of the portable device  100 . In implementations, an interrupt signal can be sent to the processing system to initiate power to any of the components. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates various components of an example device  600  in which embodiments of using MEMS wind turbines for gesture detection or as a wake-up trigger can be implemented. The example device  600  can be implemented as any of the computing devices described with reference to the previous  FIGS. 1 through 5 , such as any type of client device, mobile phone, tablet, computing, communication, entertainment, gaming, media playback, wearable, or other type of device. For example, the portable device  100  shown in  FIG. 1  may be implemented as the example device  600 . 
     The device  600  includes communication transceivers  602  that enable wired or wireless communication of device data  604  with other devices. Additionally, the device data  604  can include any type of audio, video, or image data. Example transceivers include wireless personal area network radios compliant with various IEEE 802.15 standards, wireless local area network radios compliant with any of the various IEEE 802.11 standards, wireless wide area network radios for cellular phone communication, wireless metropolitan area network radios compliant with various IEEE 802.15 standards, and wired local area network Ethernet transceivers for network data communication. 
     The device  600  may also include one or more data input ports  606  via which any type of data, media content, or inputs can be received, such as user-selectable inputs to the device  600 , messages, music, television content, recorded content, and any other type of audio, video, or image data received from any content or data source. The data input ports may include universal serial bus ports, coaxial cable ports, and other serial or parallel connectors (including internal connectors) for flash memory, digital versatile discs, compact discs, and the like. These data input ports  606  may be used to couple the device  600  to any type of components, peripherals, or accessories such as microphones or cameras. 
     The device  600  includes a processing system  608  of one or more processors (e.g., any of microprocessors, controllers, and the like) or a processor and memory system implemented as a system-on-chip that processes computer-executable instructions. The processor system may be implemented at least partially in hardware, which can include components of an integrated circuit or on-chip system, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array, a complex programmable logic device, and other implementations in silicon or other hardware. The device  600  can be implemented with any one or combination of software, hardware, firmware, or fixed-logic circuitry that is implemented in connection with processing and control circuits, which are generally identified at  610 . The device  600  may further include any type of a system bus or other data and command transfer system that couples the various components within the device. A system bus can include any one or combination of different bus structures and architectures, as well as control and data lines. 
     The device  600  also includes computer-readable storage memory  612  that enables data storage, such as data-storage devices that can be accessed by a computing device  600 , and that provide persistent storage of data and executable instructions (e.g., software applications, programs, functions, and the like). Examples of the computer-readable storage memory  612  include volatile memory and non-volatile memory, fixed and removable media devices, and any suitable memory device or electronic data storage that maintains data for computing device access. The computer-readable storage memory can include various implementations of random-access memory, read-only memory, flash memory, and other types of storage media in various memory-device configurations. The device  600  may also include a mass-storage media device. 
     The computer-readable storage memory  612  provides data-storage mechanisms to store the device data  604 , other types of information or data, and various device applications  614  (e.g., software applications). For example, an operating system  616  can be maintained as software instructions within a memory device and executed by the processing system  608 . The device applications  614  may also include a device manager, such as any form of a control application, software application, signal-processing and control module, code that is native to a particular device, a hardware abstraction layer for a particular device, and so on. In this example, the device  600  includes a gesture module  618  that implements embodiments of gesture detection using MEMS wind turbines and includes controller logic  620  that implements embodiments of wake-up triggers using MEMS wind turbines. The gesture module  618  and the controller logic  620  may be implemented with hardware components or in software, such as when the device  600  is implemented as the portable device  100  described with reference to  FIGS. 1 through 5 . An example of the gesture module  618  is the gesture module  112  that is implemented by the portable device  100 , and an example of the controller logic  620  is the controller logic  114  that is also implemented by the portable device  100 . 
     The device  600  also includes an audio or video processing system  622  that generates audio data for an audio system  624  or generates display data for a display system  626 . The audio system or the display system may include any devices that process, display, or otherwise render audio, video, display, or image data. Display data and audio signals can be communicated to audio component or to a display component via a radio-frequency link, S-video link, high-definition multimedia interface, composite-video link, component-video link, digital video interface, analog audio connection, or other similar communication link, such as media data port  628 . In implementations, the audio system or the display system are integrated components of the example device  600 . Alternatively, the audio system or the display system are external, peripheral components to the example device  600 . 
     The device  600  can also include one or more power sources  630 , such as when the device  600  is implemented as a portable device. The power sources  630  may include a charging or power system, and can be implemented as a flexible-strip battery, a rechargeable battery, a charged super-capacitor, or any other type of active or passive power source. 
     In view of the many possible embodiments to which the principles of the present discussion may be applied, it should be recognized that the embodiments described herein with respect to the drawing figures are meant to be illustrative only and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the claims. Therefore, the techniques as described herein contemplate all such embodiments as may come within the scope of the following claims and equivalents thereof.