Patent ID: 8793094

Claim:
A method within a mobile communications device, comprising: sampling an output data of mechanical measurement circuitry that is integrated in the mobile communications device while a linear vibrator motor is running; analyzing the sampled output data to detect vibration caused by the running linear vibrator motor and to determine a speed of the linear vibrator motor; storing the determined speed of the linear vibrator motor within a non-volatile memory of the mobile communications device; analyzing a plurality of stored speeds of the linear vibrator motor that have been determined over time during in-the-field use of the device, to detect when the linear vibrator motor performance has degraded; performing a frequency domain transform upon the sampled output data to obtain frequency spectra while sweeping a drive frequency of the linear vibrator motor from low to high and from high to low; analyzing the frequency spectra to detect a rising resonance frequency and a falling resonance frequency; and reporting a detected degradation of vibrator motor performance by one of a) notifying a user at the mobile communications device of the detected degradation of vibrator motor performance and b) transmitting a message to a manufacturer of the mobile communications device via a wireless network connection with the mobile device, to indicate the detected degradation of vibrator motor performance.