Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02843998 2014-02-26
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SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING AN ALARM NOTIFICATION
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The following relates to systems and methods for providing an
alarm notification.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
[0002] Electronic devices, particularly portable, handheld or
otherwise "mobile" electronic
devices are becoming increasingly important in organizing day to day events.
In addition to
organizing calendar appointments and having the ability to exchange
communications, these
mobile devices are often relied upon to provide timekeeping and alarm
functions.
[0003] Users are typically able to select an alarm type (e.g., tone, chime,
tune, etc.) from a
list of multiple alarm types in order to customize their device. An alarm may
also be configured
to be triggered or activated on particular days, multiple alarms may be set
within a particular
day, and snooze functions may be provided to allow an alarm to be extended or
deferred.
[0004] Despite the ability to customize an alarm on a mobile device,
such alarms are
typically independent of other features on the mobile device. Alarms that are
used on a routine
basis can also be difficult to distinguish from each other. For example, an
alarm set for 6:00 AM
on one day may be a general reminder to wake up, whereas the same alarm the
next day may
be a critical alarm to avoid missing an appointment, flight, or other event.
SUMMARY
[0005] There is provided a method of operating an electronic device, the
method
comprising: prior to activating an alarm on the electronic device,
determining, from data stored
on the electronic device, whether at least one of a predetermined type of
event exists; and
outputting a first modified alarm notification to indicate a relatively more
urgent alarm if at least
one of the predetermined type of event exists.
[0006] There is also provided an electronic device comprising a processor,
memory, and at
least one output device for providing an alarm notification, the memory
comprising computer
executable instructions for causing the processor to: prior to activating an
alarm on the
electronic device, determine, from data stored on the electronic device,
whether at least one of
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a predetermined type of event exists; and output a first modified alarm
notification to indicate a
relatively more urgent alarm if at least one of the predetermined type of
event exists.
[0007] There is also provided a computer readable storage medium
comprising computer
executable instructions for: prior to activating an alarm on the electronic
device, determining,
from data stored on the electronic device, whether at least one of a
predetermined type of event
exists; and outputting a first modified alarm notification to indicate a
relatively more urgent alarm
if at least one of the predetermined type of event exists.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] Embodiments will now be described by way of example only with
reference to the
appended drawings wherein:
[0009] FIG. 1 is an illustrative view of a mobile device displaying a
clock application user
interface;
[0010] FIG. 2 is an illustrative view of a mobile device outputting
an alarm notification;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example of a configuration for
a mobile device;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an example set of computer
executable
operations that may be performed in providing an alarm notification;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an example set of
computer executable
operations that may be performed in determining whether to modify an alarm
notification;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a screen shot of an example of a user interface for
selecting preferences
for determining whether to modify an alarm notification; and
[0016] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an example of a configuration for
a mobile device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of
illustration, where considered
appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate
corresponding
or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in
order to provide a
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thorough understanding of the examples described herein. However, it will be
understood by
those of ordinary skill in the art that the examples described herein may be
practiced without
these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures and
components
have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the examples described
herein. Also, the
description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the examples
described herein.
[0017] It will be appreciated that the examples and corresponding
diagrams used herein are
for illustrative purposes only. Different configurations and terminology can
be used without
departing from the principles expressed herein. For instance, components and
modules can be
added, deleted, modified, or arranged with differing connections without
departing from these
principles.
[0018] It will also be appreciated that while examples described
herein relate to portable,
handheld or otherwise "mobile" electronic devices, the principles discussed
herein may equally
apply to other types of electronic devices, such as alarm clock devices or
other computing
devices having clock and alarm functions.
[0019] Since an electronic device that is used as an alarm is often used
for other features
such as maintaining calendar events and enabling communications, the other
features can be
referenced to modify an alarm output to provide contextual awareness for the
user of the alarm.
For example, an alarm can be modified to convey that an urgent message has not
been read or
that a calendar event has been scheduled within a particular amount of time
from when the
alarm is to be activated.
[0020] Moreover, if normal notifications and alerts are suspended
during a period prior to an
alarm being activated, important or urgent communications may be missed. For
example, if
audible alerts are turned off, a phone call may be missed. Similarly, a chime
or other sound
associated with a calendar event reminder notification, an urgent email, or a
communication
from a particular contact, may also be missed if audible alerts are suspended
or suppressed. In
such scenarios, the only way for a user to determine whether an important type
of event exists
would be to turn off or cancel an alarm and check their device. However, there
may be other
scenarios where none of these predetermined types of events exist and thus the
alarm can be
deferred or "snoozed".
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[0021] It has been found that if an urgent message or other event on the
electronic device
exists, a user may be more likely to want to wake up to address these events.
The following
provides a mechanism by which an electronic device can provide contextual
awareness in
conjunction with an alarm notification by either using a previously
set/default alarm notification
or a modified alarm notification depending on whether at least one
predetermined type of event
exists.
[0022] Since an alarm may be extended by selecting a snooze function, the
following also
enables a determination to be made as to whether any of the predetermined
types of events
have occurred between the time of the initial alarm and when a snooze alarm
notification is to
be activated. In this way, recent activity can be conveyed to the user via a
modification (or
absence of a modification) to the alarm notification.
[0023] Turning now to FIG. 1, a mobile device 10 is shown. The mobile
device 10 includes
a display screen 12 displaying a clock element 14. In the example shown in
FIG. 1, the clock
element 14 is displayed as a prominent visual element to allow the current
time to be viewed
with minimal effort. The clock element 14 may be shown in this way when
accessing a clock
application user interface, or when the mobile device 10 is operating in a
bedtime mode. Other
properties may be associated with such a bedtime mode, for example, lowering
an illumination
level, and suspending or suppressing alerts and notifications while the
bedtime mode is active.
Also being displayed on the display screen 12 is an alarm time indicator 16
identifying when the
next alarm will be activated or triggered. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the
next alarm time is
showing as 6:00 AM. It can be appreciated that when an alarm is to be
activated, an audible
alert associated with the alarm may bypass any restrictions or suppression of
audible
notifications while the mobile device 10 is, for example, in a bedtime mode.
[0024] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an alarm activation wherein the
mobile device 10
displays an alarm prompt 18 indicating that the time of the alarm has arrived
and providing a
snooze button 20 and a cancel button 22. The snooze button 20 enables a user
to extend or
defer the alarm for a predetermined amount of time, typically referred to as a
snooze function or
snooze operation. The cancel button 22 may be selected to turn off the
currently activated
alarm, e.g., to acknowledge the alarm at "wake up" or in association with
another event or
reminder for an event or activity. The mobile device 10 typically emits an
audible alert 24 at the
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same time as displaying the alarm prompt 18 in order to alert the user of the
alarm time. It can
be appreciated that the audible alert 24 is often used as a wake up
notification to notify the user
of a wake up time.
[0025] As discussed above, although the audible alert 24 may be selected
from a number of
alarm types (e.g., to play different chimes or tunes), the alarm notification
in general is
independent of other activities and events that may occur or exist on the
mobile device 10. For
example, during an overnight or early morning period, prior to the alarm being
activated, urgent
emails, phone calls, and other types of events may occur that the user may
wish to know about
right away, and may even affect whether or not a snooze function is used.
Rather than having
the user snooze or cancel an alarm and access other applications to determine
if such events
exist, the alarm notification can be modified to provide contextual awareness
based on a
determination of whether predetermined types of events exist on the mobile
device 10, using
information available on the mobile device 10. In this way, the user can be
notified not only of
an alarm time, but also whether there are messages or other events to attend
to, without having
to access other applications.
[0026] Modifications to the alarm notification can be applied to either
the visual aspect of the
notification, the audible aspect of the notification, or both. To provide the
contextual awareness
discussed above, a different alarm prompt 18 or equivalent visual alarm
notification can be used
when at least one of the predetermined types of events exists. For example, as
an alarm time
approaches, the mobile device 10 may, upon determining that at least one
urgent unread
message exists, use a red alarm prompt 18 to highlight the fact that an urgent
unread message
is waiting. Similarly, other event types may cause the alarm notification to
be modified, such as
missed phone calls, calendar reminders that have not been acknowledged,
calendar events that
are scheduled within a predetermined amount of time, messages from
predetermined contacts
have been received, etc.
[0027] The same types of events can also cause the audible alert 24 to be
modified. In one
example, a different alarm chime or tune may be used when at least one
predetermined event
type exists. The different alarm chime or tune may be a relatively louder or
jarring sound when
compared to a smooth or pleasant sound used when the predetermined types of
events do not
exist.
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[0028] In another example, the audible alert 24 can be modified to
include different sounds
according to which of the predetermined types of events exist. In this way,
not only can the
existence of these predetermined types of events be conveyed to the user, but
the alarm
notification can also be tailored to further convey what type of event has
been found. To vary
the alarm notification in this way, the audible alert 24 can include multiple
audio "tracks",
wherein each of the tracks is either enabled or disabled according to which
type of event exists.
For example, a drum track may be mapped to urgent or important emails, a bass
track may be
mapped to missed phone calls and/or the existence of voicemails, and a guitar
track may be
played regardless. In this example, if the audible alert 24 includes only a
guitar track, the user
can ascertain that no important or urgent events require their attention and
may select the
snooze button 20 to extend the alarm. On the other hand, if one or more of the
drum and bass
tracks are played, the user can ascertain that either an urgent email has been
received, a phone
call has been missed, or both, and act accordingly. Other types of tracks
could also be used,
for example, different nature sounds. The audible alert 24 may therefore
include a plurality of
versions or variations that each map to a particular type of event, one of the
versions being
associated with a normal or non-urgent alarm.
[0029] FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an example configuration
for the mobile device
10. The mobile device 10 includes one or more communication interfaces 30 that
enable the
mobile device 10 to communicate with networks or other devices. It can be
appreciated that the
communication interfaces 30 may include wired, wireless, short-range or local,
and long-range
or wide area communication and/or access technologies, e.g., cellular, Wi-Fi,
Bluetooth, near
field communication (NFC), high definition multimedia interface (HDMI),
universal serial bus
(USB), etc. The mobile device 10 in this example includes a clock application
32 that includes
an alarm function 34 for enabling a user to set an alarm time, e.g., as
illustrated in FIGS. 1 and
2. Also shown in FIG. 3 are a phone application 38 and a messaging application
36, both of
which are communicable with at least one of the communication interfaces 30
for sending and
receiving respective communications. The mobile device 10 also includes a
display component
("display 40") for rendering user interfaces and other visual elements on the
display screen 12.
The messaging application 36 may also include or otherwise have access to a
data store of
contacts 42 with which the mobile device 10 communicates.
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[0030] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a set of computer executable
operations that may be
performed by the mobile device 10 in activating an alarm. At 100 the alarm
function 34 detects
an upcoming, imminent, approaching or immediate alarm time. In order to
provide contextual
awareness with the alarm output, the alarm function 34 checks the mobile
device 10 at 102 to
determine whether or not at least one predetermined event type exists. For
example, the alarm
function 34 may reference a message inbox to determine if any urgent or
important emails have
not been read, whether any phone calls have been missed, etc. The alarm
function 34 may
also be configured to check a calendar application to determine if any
calendar reminders have
not yet been acknowledged or if any calendar events are within a predetermined
amount of time
from when the alarm is to be activated, e.g., within 2 hours. The alarm
function 34 determines
at 104 whether or not at least one of the predetermined type of event exists.
If not, the default,
normal or otherwise previously set alarm notification is selected at 106. If
at least one of the
predetermined types of events is found, the previously selected alarm
notification may be
modified or changed at 108 to signify that a predetermined event does exist.
For example, an
urgent alarm notification type may be selected instead of the previously
selected alarm
notification, or a particular audio track may be added or removed from the
alarm notification.
[0031] At the designated alarm time, the alarm notification is output at
110. In the example
shown in FIG. 4, the alarm notification includes an option to snooze or
otherwise defer or extend
the alarm (e.g., as shown in FIG. 2). If the snooze function is not selected,
the alarm process
ends at 114. If the snooze function is selected, the alarm notification is
suspended until a
"snooze time" is detected at 116, i.e. the deferred or extended alarm time.
After detecting the
snooze time has arrived or is approaching at 116, the alarm function checks
the mobile device
10 to determine if any of the predetermined types of events have occurred
since the snooze
function was selected. The alarm function 34 determines at 120 whether or not
at least one
predetermined type of event has occurred in that time. For example, the alarm
function 34 may
re-check a message inbox or calendar application to determine if anything new
has arrived or if
the current time is approaching a calendar event that is now within the
predetermined amount of
time from when the alarm was activated. If no new events have occurred, the
previously used
alarm notification may be selected at 122.
[0032] It can be appreciated that the previously used alarm notification in
this example
would correspond to the modified alarm notification output at 110, since the
events that
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triggered the modified alarm notification have likely not been acknowledged or
otherwise
viewed. The previous alarm selected at 122 may instead default to the normal
or otherwise
previously set alarm that would have been selected at 106, e.g., according to
user preferences.
[0033] If at least one predetermined type of event has occurred since
the snooze function
was selected, the previous alarm used may be further modified at 124 to
differentiate the initial
alarm from the snooze alarm and signify the existence of a recently occurring
event. For
example, the volume of the previous alarm notification may be increased, a
different alarm
notification may be selected, or a different combination of audio tracks
assembled. The alarm
function 34 may then determine if the snooze function has been selected again
at 128. If not,
the alarm process ends at 130. If the snooze function is again selected, the
operations
described above may be repeated from operation 116.
[0034] In addition to modifying the alarm notification based on the
nature of the event (e.g.,
urgency, associated application, etc.), one or more additional criteria may
cause a modified
alarm notification to be used. For example, the user may select an option to
have any message
or other communication from a particular contact 42 cause the alarm
notification to be modified.
FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a set of computer executable operations that
may be performed
in determining whether at least one of a predetermined event type exists or
has occurred (e.g.,
during operations 102/104 and/or 118/120 in FIG. 4). In the example shown in
FIG. 5, a
hierarchy of determinations is used where the alarm function 34 first checks
the device based
on a set of general criteria, such as whether a received message has been
marked urgent or
important, whether a phone call has been missed, whether a calendar reminder
has not be
acknowledged, whether a calendar event is approaching within a predetermined
amount of time,
etc.
[0035] If at least one event is found that matches the general criteria,
the alarm notification
is set to be modified at 154. If no events match the general criteria, the
alarm function 34 may
then apply a secondary set of criteria that are associated with preferences or
selectable options
at 156. The preferences or selectable options may overlap with the general
criteria and may
also capture exceptions based on other criteria. The preferences or operations
may be user-
selected, associated with a profile or theme, etc. The preferences and/or
options enable further
customization of the alarm notification. For example, a user that is
travelling and wishes to
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know if a spouse or child has messaged or called them while they were
sleeping, the alarm
notification can be modified to indicate so, regardless of whether the message
is marked as
urgent or important. Other examples include an employee on call who may
receive a message
or phone call before they are scheduled to wake up to notify them of work for
the coming day, a
user who wishes to be notified of poor weather or traffic conditions as
detected from a feed or
alert received by the mobile device 10, students or professionals who have
schedule changes
made while they were sleeping, etc.
[0036] The alarm function 34 may therefore determine at 158 whether or
not any events
meet or satisfy the criteria associated with the preferences or options. If
none of the secondary
criteria are met, the alarm notification is set to not be modified (or further
modified) at 160. If at
least one of the secondary criteria are met, the alarm is modified at 154.
[0037] It can be appreciated that preferences may also be applied to
the general criteria.
For example, rather than modifying the alarm for any missed phone call, only
missed phone
calls that result in a voicennail would trigger the modified alarm.
[0038] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of an alarm notification preferences
user interface 200
that may be invoked by a user to set or modify preferences. In the example
shown in FIG. 6,
the user interface includes a Select contact button 202 which when selected
enables selection
of one or more contacts 42 to be added to a list 204 of contact exceptions.
For example, as
illustrated in FIG. 6, User A and User B have been added to list 204 such that
any message or
other communication associated with those users would cause the alarm
notification to be
modified as herein described. One or more other selectable preferences may
also be provided.
In the example shown in FIG. 6, a checkbox 206 is included in the user
interface 200 which
when selected causes the alarm notification to be modified if any message of
Type A (e.g.,
instant messages, social media posts, etc.) are received. As discussed above,
various other
selectable preferences may be used to dictate when and under what
circumstances the alarm
notification is modified, including message content or subject filters,
message urgency,
calendar/schedule changes, weather or traffic updates, social media postings
or alerts, etc.
[0039] It has also been recognized that modified alarm notifications
can be used as alerts
triggered based on the detection of at least one predetermined type of event.
In other words, an
alarm can be created and/or set and a modified alarm notification can be used
based on
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detection of a predetermined type of event. For example, the user may wish to
have an alarm
activate when they receive emails with particular subject lines, messages or
phone calls from
particular contacts 42, etc. In such an example, operations 102-110 may be
performed
periodically to determine if a new alarm should be created and activated,
wherein operation 106
would result in a no alarm scenario. By using the same type of modified alarm
notifications, the
user is provided with familiar contextual awareness about predetermined types
of events as
they happen, in addition to those that occur prior to a previously set alarm.
[0040] FIG. 6 illustrates an example preference that can be used to
activate an alarm trigger
based on a predetermined event type. A check box 208 may be selected to
activate the new
alarm trigger and a set trigger button 210 is provided to enable the user to
specify content,
contacts, sources, etc. that would trigger the alarm. Various other options
can be provided such
as how many events need to be detected before triggering the alarm, when the
alarm should be
activated relative to the detection of the events, conditions when the alarm
should not be
activated or should be deferred, etc.
[0041] A Save button 212 is provided to enable the user to save any changes
to the
preferences, and a Cancel button 214 enables the user to cancel or discard any
changes that
may have been made since the user interface 200 was invoked.
[0042] Referring to FIG. 7, to further aid in the understanding of the
example electronic
devices described above, shown therein is a block diagram of an example
configuration of a
device configured as a "mobile device", referred to generally as "mobile
device 10". The mobile
device 10 includes a number of components such as a main processor 302 that
controls the
overall operation of the mobile device 10. Communication functions, including
data and voice
communications, are performed through at least one communication interface 30.
The
communication interface 30 receives messages from and sends messages to a
wireless
network 304. In this example of the mobile device 10, the communication
interface 30 is
configured in accordance with the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM)
and
General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) standards, which is used worldwide. Other
communication configurations that are equally applicable are the 3G and 4G
networks such as
Enhanced Data-rates for Global Evolution (EDGE), Universal Mobile
Telecommunications
System (UMTS) and High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), Long Term
Evolution
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(LTE), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (Wi-Max), etc. New
standards are still
being defined, but it is believed that they will have similarities to the
network behavior described
herein, and it will also be understood by persons skilled in the art that the
examples described
herein are intended to use any other suitable standards that are developed in
the future. The
wireless link connecting the communication interface 30 with the wireless
network 304
represents one or more different Radio Frequency (RF) channels, operating
according to
defined protocols specified for GSM/GPRS communications.
[0043] The main processor 302 also interacts with additional subsystems
such as a
Random Access Memory (RAM) 306, a flash memory 308, a touch-sensitive display
360, an
auxiliary input/output (I/0) subsystem 312, a data port 314, a keyboard 316
(physical, virtual, or
both), a speaker 318, a microphone 320, a GPS receiver 321, a camera 310,
short-range
communications subsystem 322, and other device subsystems 324. Some of the
subsystems of
the mobile device 10 perform communication-related functions, whereas other
subsystems may
provide "resident" or on-device functions. By way of example, the touch-
sensitive display 360
and the keyboard 316 may be used for both communication-related functions,
such as entering
a text message for transmission over the wireless network 304, and device-
resident functions
such as a calculator or task list. In one example, the mobile device 10 can
include a non-touch-
sensitive display in place of, or in addition to the touch-sensitive display
360. For example the
touch-sensitive display 360 can be replaced by a display 40 that may not have
touch-sensitive
capabilities.
[0044] The mobile device 10 can send and receive communication signals
over the wireless
network 304 after required network registration or activation procedures have
been completed.
Network access is associated with a subscriber or user of the mobile device
10. To identify a
subscriber, the mobile device 10 may use a subscriber module component or
"smart card" 326,
such as a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), a Removable User Identity Module
(RUIM) and a
Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM). In the example shown, a
SIM/RUIM/USIM 326 is
to be inserted into a SIM/RUIM/USIM interface 328 in order to communicate with
a network.
[0045] The mobile device 10 is typically a battery-powered device and
includes a battery
interface 332 for receiving one or more rechargeable batteries 330. In at
least some examples,
the battery 330 can be a smart battery with an embedded microprocessor. The
battery interface
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332 is coupled to a regulator (not shown), which assists the battery 330 in
providing power to
the mobile device 10. Although current technology makes use of a battery,
future technologies
such as micro fuel cells may provide the power to the mobile device 10.
[0046] The mobile device 10 also includes an operating system 334 and
software
components 336 to 342, 32, 36 and 38. The operating system 334 and the
software
components 336 to 342, 32, 36 and 38, that are executed by the main processor
302 are
typically stored in a persistent store such as the flash memory 308, which may
alternatively be a
read-only memory (ROM) or similar storage element (not shown). Those skilled
in the art will
appreciate that portions of the operating system 334 and the software
components 336 to 342,
32, 36 and 38, such as specific device applications, or parts thereof, may be
temporarily loaded
into a volatile store such as the RAM 306. Other software components can also
be included, as
is well known to those skilled in the art.
[0047] The subset of software applications 336 that control basic device
operations,
including data and voice communication applications, may be installed on the
mobile device 10
during its manufacture. Software applications may include a message
application 338, a device
state module 340, a Personal Information Manager (PIM) 342, a clock
application 32, a
messaging application 36, and a phone application 38. An email application 338
can be any
suitable software program that allows a user of the mobile device 10 to send
and receive
electronic messages, wherein messages are typically stored in the flash memory
308 of the
mobile device 10. The messaging application 36 is an example of another
application that may
be used for sending and receiving messages, e.g., instant messaging, text
messaging, social
media messaging, etc. A device state module 340 provides persistence, i.e. the
device state
module 340 ensures that important device data is stored in persistent memory,
such as the flash
memory 308, so that the data is not lost when the mobile device 10 is turned
off or loses power.
A PIM 342 includes functionality for organizing and managing data items of
interest to the user,
such as, but not limited to, e-mail, contacts, calendar events, and voice
mails, and may interact
with the wireless network 304.
[0048] Other types of software applications or components 339 can also
be installed on the
mobile device 10. These software applications 339 can be pre-installed
applications (i.e. other
than message application 338) or third party applications, which are added
after the
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manufacture of the mobile device 10. Examples of third party applications
include games,
calculators, utilities, etc.
[0049] The additional applications 339 can be loaded onto the mobile
device 10 through at
least one of the wireless network 304, the auxiliary I/0 subsystem 312, the
data port 314, the
short-range communications subsystem 322, or any other suitable device
subsystem 324.
[0050] The data port 314 can be any suitable port that enables data
communication
between the mobile device 10 and another computing device. The data port 314
can be a serial
or a parallel port. In some instances, the data port 314 can be a USB or HDMI
port that includes
data lines for data transfer and a supply line that can provide a charging
current to charge the
battery 330 of the mobile device 10.
[0051] For voice communications, received signals are output to the
speaker 318, and
signals for transmission are generated by the microphone 320. Although voice
or audio signal
output is accomplished primarily through the speaker 318, the display 40 can
also be used to
provide additional information such as the identity of a calling party,
duration of a voice call, or
other voice call related information.
[0052] The touch-sensitive display 360 may be any suitable touch-
sensitive display, such as
a capacitive, resistive, infrared, surface acoustic wave (SAW) touch-sensitive
display, strain
gauge, optical imaging, dispersive signal technology, acoustic pulse
recognition, and so forth,
as known in the art. In the presently described example, the touch-sensitive
display 360 is a
capacitive touch-sensitive display which includes a capacitive touch-sensitive
overlay 364. The
overlay 364 may be an assembly of multiple layers in a stack which may
include, for example, a
substrate, a ground shield layer, a barrier layer, one or more capacitive
touch sensor layers
separated by a substrate or other barrier, and a cover. The capacitive touch
sensor layers may
be any suitable material, such as patterned indium tin oxide (ITO).
[0053] The display 40 of the touch-sensitive display 360 may include a
display area in which
information may be displayed, and a non-display area extending around the
periphery of the
display area. Information is not displayed in the non-display area, which is
utilized to
accommodate, for example, one or more of electronic traces or electrical
connections,
adhesives or other sealants, and protective coatings, around the edges of the
display area.
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=
[0054] One or more touches, also known as touch contacts or touch
events, may be
detected by the touch-sensitive display 360. The processor 302 may determine
attributes of the
touch, including a location of a touch. Touch location data may include an
area of contact or a
single point of contact, such as a point at or near a center of the area of
contact, known as the
centroid. A signal is provided to the controller 366 in response to detection
of a touch. A touch
may be detected from any suitable object, such as a finger, thumb, appendage,
or other items,
for example, a stylus, pen, or other pointer, depending on the nature of the
touch-sensitive
display 360. The location of the touch moves as the detected object moves
during a touch.
One or both of the controller 366 and the processor 302 may detect a touch by
any suitable
contact member on the touch-sensitive display 360. Similarly, multiple
simultaneous touches,
are detected.
[0055] In some examples, an optional force sensor 370 or force sensors
is disposed in any
suitable location, for example, between the touch-sensitive display 360 and a
back of the mobile
device 10 to detect a force imparted by a touch on the touch-sensitive display
360. The force
sensor 370 may be a force-sensitive resistor, strain gauge, piezoelectric or
piezoresistive
device, pressure sensor, or other suitable device.
[0056] It will be appreciated that any module or component exemplified
herein that executes
instructions may include or otherwise have access to computer readable media
such as storage
media, computer storage media, or data storage devices (removable and/or non-
removable)
such as, for example, magnetic disks, optical disks, or tape. Computer storage
media may
include volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media
implemented in any
method or technology for storage of information, such as computer readable
instructions, data
structures, program modules, or other data. Examples of computer storage media
include
RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital
versatile
disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape,
magnetic disk storage
or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to
store the desired
information and which can be accessed by an application, module, or both. Any
such computer
storage media may be part of the mobile device 10, any component of or related
to the mobile
device 10, etc., or accessible or connectable thereto. Any application or
module herein
described may be implemented using computer readable/executable instructions
that may be
stored or otherwise held by such computer readable media.
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[0057] The steps or operations in the flow charts and diagrams described
herein are just for
example. There may be many variations to these steps or operations without
departing from the
principles discussed above. For instance, the steps may be performed in a
differing order, or
steps may be added, deleted, or modified.
[0058] Although the above principles have been described with reference to
certain specific
examples, various modifications thereof will be apparent to those skilled in
the art as outlined in
the appended claims.
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