DESC:FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
[39 of 1970]
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(Section 10; Rule 13)

A METHOD OF DETECTING MOTION OF A SMART DEVICE

SAMSUNG R&D INSTITUTE INDIA – BANGALORE Pvt. Ltd.
# 2870, ORION Building, Bagmane Constellation Business Park,
Outer Ring Road, Doddanakundi Circle,
Marathahalli Post,
Bangalore -560037, Karnataka, India
Indian Company

The following Specification particularly describes the invention
and the method it is being performed
RELATED APPLICATION
The present invention claims benefit of the Indian Provisional Application No. 3975/CHE/2015 titled "METHOD OF PROVIDING DYNAMIC AND FAST RESPONSE ACCELEROMETER ALGORITHMS” by Samsung R&D Institute India – Bangalore Private Limited, filed on 31st July 2015, which is herein incorporated in its entirety by reference for all purposes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to embedded devices and more particularly relates to a method of providing dynamic and fast response through accelerometer algorithms.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
An accelerometer sensor is one of the commonly used motion sensors and it is used in various solutions like pedometer, screen rotation, automatic brightness, free fall detection etc. The algorithms in all the above cases require accelerometer data to be polled at 5Hz, 16 Hz, 50Hz as well as 100 Hz.

It works in two ways:
• Sensors connected to Application processor (AP) – AP should be in wake up state to receive data. Polling method is used.
• Sensors connected to microcontroller (MCU) (Say Sensor Hub) - AP can sleep and MCU will be sleepwalking. Processing will take place in MCU and MCU can wake up AP as and when necessary. Here also polling method is used.

One of the major disadvantages to this is the system which needs an uninterrupted polling of accelerometer data either from AP or from MCU. As a result, there is potentially a huge degradation of battery performance as this method requires huge processing and continuous polling to the sensor and sensor should be operating in normal mode. Latency in data is another biggest problem in MCU based method. Accelerometer data can be available to upper layer through polling mechanism and this data is used in upper layer for decision making for any algorithms as shown in Figure 1. Due to this polling mechanism and complex decision making process with mathematical operations or signal processing, it eventually leads to sluggish behavior and this in turn makes impossible to receive Real-time responses.

Some of the existing patent literature titled “Controlling and accessing content are using motion processing on mobile devices” talks about use of a hardware processing block to detect motion gesture. Another literature titled “Method and apparatus for advanced motion detection in wireless communications systems” also talks about deployment of low power processor for reducing power consumption. According to the present art, a sensor processing subsystem (SPS), or other low power processor for processing sensor or other input may be implemented to reduce power consumption and processing overhead. For example, a modem processor or any other processor, which is in low power mode, is able to sleep walk. However, the above literatures discuss the need of a separate hardware block having high processing capability to achieve the desired results. Including this chip will increase bill of material (BOM). Also, the application processor has to wake up each time the data arrives.

In an existing architecture, accelerometer data is sent to an application layer using polling mechanism. This is an intensive task for a CPU thereby reducing the rate at which the data is received. Most of the applications access data using polling mechanism i.e. process it in top layer and then decide on the necessary action that needs to be taken according to the algorithm. This reduces the possibility of faster response in use cases like fall detection. Due to this polling mechanism, CPU MIPS are getting wasted thereby resulting in the increase of power consumption.

Therefore, there is need for a method for dynamic and fast response of a smart device which provides instant alerts and does not need polling mechanism.

The above mentioned shortcomings, disadvantages and problems are addressed herein and which will be understood by reading and studying the following specification.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention describes a method of detecting motion of a smart device. The method comprises receiving one or more inputs from one or more accelerometer sensors, computing data, by a first module, of at least one of an angle of tilt and angle of rotation of the smart device based on the one or more received inputs, receiving, by one or more second modules, the computed data of the at least one of the angle of tilt and angle of rotation of the smart device from the first module, processing, by the one or more second modules, stored historical data and at least one of the computed data of angle of tilt and computed data of angle of rotation of the smart device to identify quantum of the angle of tilt and the angle of rotation, evaluating, by at least one of the one or more second modules, the processed historical data and at least one of the processed data of angle of rotation and processed data of angle of tilt to detect a predetermined motion of the smart device, and generating an interrupt based on the evaluation performed by one of the one or more second modules. In one embodiment, the detection of the motion of the smart device includes detection of rotational movement of the smart device and/or linear movement of the smart device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The other objects, features and advantages will occur to those skilled in the art from the following description of the preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating an architecture that includes polling of accelerometer data, according to the prior art illustration.

Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating multiple algorithms being run simultaneously without polling of accelerometer data, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating a core algorithm module, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating identification of rotation and tilt angle of a smart device, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method for detecting screen rotation of a smart device, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method for detecting arm up and hold position, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method for detecting free fall of an user/person holding a smart device, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 8 is a flow chart illustrating a method for counting steps taken by an user/person wearing the smart device having pedometer, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 9 is a flow chart illustrating a method for shake detection, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 10 is a flow chart illustrating a method for detecting sharp turn of an user/person wearing/holding the smart device, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Although specific features of the present invention are shown in some drawings and not in others, this is done for convenience only as each feature may be combined with any or all of the other features in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. The present invention can be modified in various forms. Thus, the embodiments of the present invention are only provided to explain more clearly the present invention to the ordinarily skilled in the art of the present invention. In the accompanying drawings, like reference numerals are used to indicate like components.

The specification may refer to “an”, “one” or “some” embodiment(s) in several locations. This does not necessarily imply that each such reference is to the same embodiment(s), or that the feature only applies to a single embodiment. Single features of different embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments.

As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless expressly stated otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “includes”, “comprises”, “including” and/or “comprising” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations and arrangements of one or more of the associated listed items.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. The term parent module and first module are used interchangeably throughout the specification. The term child module and second module are used interchangeably throughout the specification.

The various embodiments of the present invention disclose a method of detecting rotational movement and/or linear movement of a smart device. According to the present invention, a core parent algorithm and multiple child algorithms, where each algorithm runs as a part of firmware are used to determine the movement of the smart device in various direction and angles. These algorithms on detecting rotational movement and/or linear movement of a smart device whenever a particular event occurs generate interrupts and also update registers with the information of generated interrupts along with algorithm id.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, all the accelerometer algorithms that track motion of a smart device could be enabled or disabled and all the enabled algorithms could be configured to run or not to run in sleep state. The user is allowed to decide whether the algorithm needs to be executing and generating interrupts. Also, if the user chooses, the algorithms could be executed even when AP is in sleep.

Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating multiple algorithms being run simultaneously without polling of accelerometer data, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The present invention comprises of a core algorithm which is the parent module and one or more sub algorithms which are child modules. The parent module keeps track of current accelerometer data 201, rotation angle 202, tilt angle 203 and stored accelerometer historical data 204. The child module makes use of the rotation angle 202 and the tilt angle 203 generated by the parent module along with the stored accelerometer historical data 204 to generate interrupt 205. Once the interrupt is generated, the register is updated with identification (ID) of the algorithm which generated the interrupt and also interrupt number.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the accelerometer algorithms could be related to, but not limited to, screen rotation of a smart device, pedometer, free fall detection, shake detection, or sharp turn detection.

According to the present invention, a method to avoid latency in decision making and to provide real time faster response especially in time critical decision making situations is achieved as follows. The polling of accelerometer data is avoided, offloading of processing from AP, reducing the space and computational complexity, using interrupt mechanism. This results in reducing power consumption and smart device performance. The present invention does not require any additional hardware blocks or any microprocessor which requires high processing. Also, power numbers are reduced compared to any microprocessor without compromising the capability.

Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating a core algorithm module, according to an embodiment of the present invention. According to the present invention, a method is provided to execute a group of accelerometer algorithms as part of the firmware of accelerometer sensor chip 301. The tilt angle as well as the rotation angle are identified and shared with the child module on receiving the request from the child module. Accelerometer data in child thread from the firmware loop is evaluated and the algorithms that are enabled are executed. All algorithms running on a hardware chip generate various interrupts based on respective events according to the algorithm. Also, multiple child algorithms are run along with a parent algorithm to calculate activity of accelerometer based on current rotation and tilt angle using sensor historical data. The generated interrupts are sent to the AP 302 as shown in the figure.

According to the present invention, when the interrupts are generated, two registers which are part of accelerometer chip 301 are updated. The identification number of the algorithm which is generating the interrupt is saved in the register. The first register is an interrupt status register which is updated with current interrupt value. The second register is a general purpose register which is updated with the identification of the algorithm. The interrupt updated in the status register is associated with a predefined algorithm for a predefined action which includes but not limited to, screen rotation of a smart device, pedometer, free fall detection, shake detection, or sharp turn detection. The generated interrupts consist of meaningful results, and no further processing is required for taking decisions.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating identification of rotation and tilt angle of a smart device, according to an embodiment of the present invention. According to Figure 4, the rotation and tilt angle of a smart device is represented. When the rotation or tilt of the smart device is detected, the rotation angle and tilt angle are verified to check if they are valid. If the rotation angle or the tilt angle is valid, interrupts are generated based on the algorithm executed and the event occurred.

Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method for detecting screen rotation of a smart device, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. According to Figure 5, at step 501, position of the smart device is set to zero. At step 502, an algorithm main cycle with wait is run. At step 503, check if the tilt angle of the smart device is changed. If no, then it goes back to the main cycle with wait 502. However, if yes, then at step 504, verify the tilt angle (TA) with the auto rotation (AR) range table to know if it is a valid tilt angle. If it is not a valid tilt angle, then it goes back to the main cycle with wait 502. And if it is a valid tilt angle, then at step 505, update the position of the smart device. At step 506, identify the rotation angle (RA) range. At step 507, after identifying the RA range, verify the RA with the predefined AR range table to know if it is a valid rotation angle. If it is not a valid rotation angle, then update the smart device position 510 and go back to the main cycle with wait 502. And if it is a valid rotation angle, then at step 508, generate an interrupt. After generating the interrupt, at step 509, check if the RA range has changed again. If the RA range has changed or has not changed, update the smart device position 510 and go back to the main cycle with wait 502.

Figure 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method for detecting arm up and hold position, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. According to Figure 6, at step 601, position of the smart device is set to zero. At step 602, an algorithm main cycle with wait is run. At step 603, check if the tilt angle of the smart device is changed. If no, then it goes back to the main cycle with wait 602. However, if yes, then at step 604, verify the tilt angle (TA) with the ARM_UP_HOLD range table to know if it is a valid tilt angle. If it is not a valid tilt angle, then it goes back to the main cycle with wait 602. And if it is a valid tilt angle, then at step 605, update the position of the smart device. At step 606, identify the rotation angle (RA) range for the ARM_UP_HOLD. At step 607, after identifying the RA range, verify the RA with the ARM_UP_HOLD range table to know if it is a valid rotation angle. If it is not a valid rotation angle, then update the smart device position 610 and go back to the main cycle with wait 602. And if it is a valid rotation angle, then at step 608, generate an interrupt. After generating the interrupt, at step 609, check if the RA range has changed again. If the RA range has changed or has not changed, update the smart device position 610 and go back to the main cycle with wait 602.

According to the present invention, the method detects hand movement when the user lifts his hand to look at watch worn on his wrist and performs one or more actions accordingly. The method wakes up call when a person looks at his watch using natural gestures in low power consumption. The method helps in avoiding the delay in turning ON or OFF any wearable, especially a smart watch and also generates interrupt to turn ON and to turn OFF.

Figure 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method for detecting free fall of an user/person holding a smart device, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. According to Figure 7, at step 701, position of the smart device is set to zero. At step 702, an algorithm main cycle with wait is run. At step 703, check if the tilt angle of the smart device is changed. If no, then it goes back to the main cycle with wait 702. However, if yes, then at step 704, verify the tilt angle (TA) with the FREE_FALL range table to know if it is a valid tilt angle. If it is not a valid tilt angle, then it goes back to the main cycle with wait 702. And if it is a valid tilt angle, then at step 705, update the position of the smart device. At step 706, identify the rotation angle (RA) range for the FREE_FALL. At step 707, after identifying the RA range, verify the RA with the FREE_FALL range table to know if it is a valid rotation angle. If it is not a valid rotation angle, then update the smart device position 710 and go back to the main cycle with wait 702. And if it is a valid rotation angle, then at step 708, generate an interrupt. After generating the interrupt, at step 709, check if the RA range has changed again. If the RA range has changed or has not changed, update the smart device position 710 and go back to the main cycle with wait 702.

According to the present invention, the method detects when a person suddenly falls and provides a real time response of alerting by making sound or sending alert messages to configured numbers even though the phone is in sleep state. The method generates interrupts based on the criticality of falling and decides whether to alert the user or send message to configured numbers or send an alert to emergency numbers with lower power consumption. This is an excellent use case for senior citizens.

Figure 8 is a flow chart illustrating a method for counting steps taken by an user/person wearing the smart device having pedometer, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. According to Figure 8, at step 801, position of the smart device is set to zero. At step 802, an algorithm main cycle with wait is run. At step 803, check if the tilt angle of the smart device is changed. If no, then it goes back to the main cycle with wait 802. However, if yes, then at step 804, verify the tilt angle (TA) with the PEDO_COUNT range table to know if it is a valid tilt angle. If it is not a valid tilt angle, then it goes back to the main cycle with wait 802. And if it is a valid tilt angle, then at step 805, update the position of the smart device. At step 806, identify the rotation angle (RA) range for the PEDO_COUNT. At step 807, after identifying the RA range, verify the RA with the PEDO_COUNT range table to know if it is a valid rotation angle. If it is not a valid rotation angle, then update the smart device position 812 and go back to the main cycle with wait 802. And if it is a valid rotation angle, then at step 808, update the pedometer distance. At step 809, the pedometer distance is provided as an output. At step 810, the output of the pedometer generates an interrupt. After generating the interrupt, at step 811, check if the RA range has changed again. If the RA range has changed or has not changed, update the smart device position 812 and go back to the main cycle with wait 802.

According to the present invention, the method stores count of the steps taken by the user and alerts the user at regular intervals with and without wake up in low power consumption. The method does not require sensor hub or separate microprocessor whereas it detects and generates interrupts at particular time frame and also updates the user with the count of steps.

Figure 9 is a flow chart illustrating a method for shake detection, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. According to Figure 9, at step 901, position of the smart device is set to zero. At step 902, an algorithm main cycle with wait is run. At step 903, check if the tilt angle of the smart device is changed. If no, then it goes back to the main cycle with wait 902. However, if yes, then at step 904, verify the tilt angle (TA) with the SHAKE_VAR range table to know if it is a valid tilt angle. If it is not a valid tilt angle, then it goes back to the main cycle with wait 902. And if it is a valid tilt angle, then at step 905, update the position of the smart device. At step 906, identify the rotation angle (RA) range for the SHAKE. At step 907, after identifying the RA range, verify the RA with the SHAKE_VAR range table to know if it is a valid rotation angle. If it is not a valid rotation angle, then update the smart device position 910 and go back to the main cycle with wait 902. And if it is a valid rotation angle, then at step 908, generate an interrupt. After generating the interrupt, at step 909, check if the RA range has changed again. If the RA range has changed or has not changed, update the smart device position 910 and go back to the main cycle with wait 902.

According to the present invention, the method detects when the user shakes the phone and generates interrupts based on the intensity of the shake. The method also provides shake detection alert even when in sleep state with lower power consumption.

Figure 10 is a flow chart illustrating a method for detecting sharp turn of an user/person wearing/holding the smart device, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. According to Figure 10, at step 1001, position of the smart device is set to zero. At step 1002, an algorithm main cycle with wait is run. At step 1003, check if the tilt angle of the smart device is changed. If no, then it goes back to the main cycle with wait 1002. However, if yes, then at step 1004, verify the tilt angle (TA) with the SHARP_TURN range table to know if it is a valid tilt angle. If it is not a valid tilt angle, then it goes back to the main cycle with wait 1002. And if it is a valid tilt angle, then at step 1005, update the position of the smart device. At step 1006, identify the rotation angle (RA) range for the SHARP_TURN. At step 1007, after identifying the RA range, verify the RA with the SHARP_TURN range table to know if it is a valid rotation angle. If it is not a valid rotation angle, then update the smart device position 1010 and go back to the main cycle with wait 1002. And if it is a valid rotation angle, then at step 1008, generate an interrupt. After generating the interrupt, at step 1009, check if the RA range has changed again. If the RA range has changed or has not changed, update the smart device position 1010 and go back to the main cycle with wait 1002.

According to the present invention, the method detects sharp turns while walking or in car. In one example, the sudden turn detection also gives alert to pregnant ladies during sleep, walk, moving in a vehicle and it can be further configured to send alert message to emergency numbers or 911.

Although the invention of the method has been described in connection with the embodiments of the present invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it is not limited thereto. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various substitutions, modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

,CLAIMS:
We claim:

1. A method of detecting motion of a smart device, the method comprising:
receiving one or more inputs from one or more accelerometer sensors;
computing data, by a first module, of at least one of an angle of tilt and angle of rotation of the smart device based on the one or more received inputs;
receiving, by one or more second modules, the computed data of the at least one of the angle of tilt and angle of rotation of the smart device from the first module;
processing, by the one or more second modules, stored historical data and at least one of the computed data of angle of tilt and computed data of angle of rotation of the smart device to identify quantum of the angle of tilt and the angle of rotation;
evaluating, by at least one of the one or more second modules, the processed historical data and at least one of the processed data of angle of rotation and processed data of angle of tilt to detect a predetermined motion of the smart device; and
generating an interrupt based on the evaluation performed by one of the one or more second modules.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising storing data of the at least one of the computed angle of rotation and angle of tilt of the smart device in a historical data storing module.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising
updating interrupt status register with the generated interrupt; and
updating identification number of one of the second module of the one or more second modules by which the interrupt being generated, in a common register.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the interrupt updated in the status register is associated with a predefined algorithm for a predefined action.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the data of angle of tilt is computed based on gravity component of the one or more accelerometer sensors.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the data of angle of rotational is computed based on X axis value, Y axis value, and Z axis value of the one or more accelerometer sensors.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the angle of tilt is evaluated on identifying change in angle of tilt retains in a predefined range for a predetermined time period.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the angle of rotation is evaluated on identifying change in angle of rotation retains in a predefined range for a predetermined time period.

9. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the predetermined time period is calculated using the data rate configured by user and data received by the second module from the first module.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second module is configured to automatically turn ON/OFF based on user’s input.

11. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second module is configured to turn ON/OFF based on predefined sleep mode.

Dated this the 29th day of April 2016

Signature

SANTOSH VIKRAM SINGH
Patent agent
Agent for the applicant