Patent · US Active

Energy efficient continuous sensing for communications devices

US8706172B2 · kind B2 · utility

82Cited by
2References
20Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 26, 2010
Grant dateApr 22, 2014
Priority date
Expiry dateFeb 23, 2031

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY02D30/70
  • WIPO fieldDigital communication
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A “Communication Device with Energy Efficient Sensing” provides various techniques for enabling a variety of sensor-based applications and processes while conserving energy on mobile communications devices. More specifically, the Communication Device with Energy Efficient Sensing provides a novel sensing architecture for mobile communications devices where sampling and, in various embodiments, processing, of sensor data received from one or more sensors is offloaded to a dedicated low-power processor having the capability to interact with a primary processor of the communications device. Such sensors include, but are not limited to accelerometers, ambient light sensors, compasses, microphones, pressure sensors, touch sensors, low-power radio devices, etc. This approach enables the communications device to perform continuous sensing with a low power overhead. In various tested embodiments, it has been observed that that the sensing architecture described herein can be two to three orders of magnitude more energy efficient in comparison to conventional communications devices.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.