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Mobile Phone Patent Abstract
A method for automatically switching a profile of a mobile phone
includes measuring a current environmental noise value of ambient
noise surrounding the mobile phone. The current environmental noise
value is then compared to a predetermined noise value, and a noise
difference is calculated. Next, the profile of the mobile phone
is switched based on the value of the noise difference.
Mobile Phone Patent Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A method for automatically switching a profile of a mobile phone,
the method comprising: (a) measuring a current environmental noise
value of ambient noise surrounding the mobile phone; (b) comparing
the current environmental noise value to a predetermined noise value
and calculating a noise difference; (c) measuring a current antenna
signal strength value from antenna signals received by the mobile
phone; (d) comparing the current antenna signal strength value to
a predetermined antenna signal strength value and calculating a
signal strength difference; and (e) switching the profile of the
mobile phone based on the values of the noise difference and the
signal strength difference.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein steps (a) to (e) are performed
when the mobile phone is in idle mode.
3. The method of claim 1 further comprising: (f) using a timer
to count for a predetermined period of time; and (g) repeating steps
(a) to (e) and restarting the timer when the timer has finished
counting for the predetermined period of time.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising: switching the profile
of the mobile phone to a first profile if the current antenna signal
strength value is greater than the predetermined antenna signal
strength value and the current environmental noise value is less
than the predetermined noise value; switching the profile of the
mobile phone to a second profile if the current antenna signal strength
value is greater than the predetermined antenna signal strength
value and the current environmental noise value is greater than
the predetermined noise value; switching the profile of the mobile
phone to a third profile if the current antenna signal strength
value is less than the predetermined antenna signal strength value
and the current environmental noise value is greater than the predetermined
noise value; switching the profile of the mobile phone to a fourth
profile if the current antenna signal strength value is less than
the predetermined antenna signal strength value and the current
environmental noise value is less than the predetermined noise value;
and switching the profile of the mobile phone to a fifth profile
if the current antenna signal strength value is equal to the predetermined
antenna signal strength value or the current environmental noise
value is equal to the predetermined noise value.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein settings of each of the first
through fifth profiles are customizable by the user of the mobile
phone.
6. The method of claim 4 wherein the first profile is a normal
profile, the second profile is an outdoor profile, the third profile
is a meeting profile, the fourth profile is a silent profile, and
the fifth profile is a profile previously selected by the user of
the mobile phone.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the current environmental noise
value of ambient noise surrounding the mobile phone is detected
with a microphone of the mobile phone.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the profile of the mobile phone
is automatically switched only when a user of the mobile phone activates
an automatic profile switching function.
9. A method for automatically switching a profile of a mobile phone,
the method comprising: (a) measuring a current antenna signal strength
value from antenna signals received by the mobile phone; (b) comparing
the current antenna signal strength value to a predetermined antenna
signal strength value and calculating a signal strength difference;
(c) measuring a current environmental noise value of ambient noise
surrounding the mobile phone; and (d) comparing the current environmental
noise value to a predetermined noise value and calculating a noise
difference; and (e) switching the profile of the mobile phone based
on the values of the signal strength difference and the noise difference.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein steps (a) to (e) are performed
when the mobile phone is in idle mode.
11. The method of claim 9 further comprising: (f) using a timer
to count for a predetermined period of time; and (g) repeating steps
(a) to (e) and restarting the timer when the timer has finished
counting for the predetermined period of time.
12. The method of claim 9 further comprising: switching the profile
of the mobile phone to a first profile if the current antenna signal
strength value is greater than the predetermined antenna signal
strength value and the current environmental noise value is less
than the predetermined noise value; switching the profile of the
mobile phone to a second profile if the current antenna signal strength
value is greater than the predetermined antenna signal strength
value and the current environmental noise value is greater than
the predetermined noise value; switching the profile of the mobile
phone to a third profile if the current antenna signal strength
value is less than the predetermined antenna signal strength value
and the current environmental noise value is greater than the predetermined
noise value; switching the profile of the mobile phone to a fourth
profile if the current antenna signal strength value is less than
the predetermined antenna signal strength value and the current
environmental noise value is less than the predetermined noise value;
and switching the profile of the mobile phone to a fifth profile
if the current antenna signal strength value is equal to the predetermined
antenna signal strength value or the current environmental noise
value is equal to the predetermined noise value.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein settings of each of the first
through fifth profiles are customizable by the user of the mobile
phone.
14. The method of claim 12 wherein the first profile is a normal
profile, the second profile is an outdoor profile, the third profile
is a meeting profile, the fourth profile is a silent profile, and
the fifth profile is a profile previously selected by the user of
the mobile phone.
15. The method of claim 9 wherein the current environmental noise
value of ambient noise surrounding the mobile phone is detected
with a microphone of the mobile phone.
16. The method of claim 9 wherein the profile of the mobile phone
is automatically switched only when a user of the mobile phone activates
an automatic profile switching function.
Mobile Phone Patent Description
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mobile phone profiles, and more
specifically, to a method for automatically switching a profile
of a mobile phone based on a current ambient noise value and a current
antenna signal strength value.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the increased pace of modern life, the ability to communicate
anywhere and anytime is important to many people. One result is
the increasing use of mobile phones. Although it is convenient for
users to receive phone calls wherever they may be, there are also
times when a user may not wish to be disturbed by an incoming call
or message.
Most current mobile phones offer several different profiles that
can be used to change several mobile phone settings at once. For
instance, suppose that a mobile phone offers a Meeting profile and
an Outdoor profile. As the names suggest, the Meeting profile is
intended for times in which the user of the mobile phone is in a
meeting, and the Outdoor profile is intended for times when the
user is outside. Various audio and visual indicators can be adjusted
after switching from one profile to another. For instance, in the
Meeting profile, the vibrate function may be turned on and the ringer
may be turned off so as to not disturb other people attending the
meeting. Likewise, in the Outdoor profile, the ringer is turned
on, and the volume may be increased so that the user of the mobile
phone will hear an incoming phone call while outdoors. Typically,
each of these profiles is customizable, so that the user can specify
exactly which mobile phone functions are affected when switching
profiles.
In order to switch from one profile to another, the user of the
mobile phone typically has to press keys on a keypad of the mobile
phone in order to manually switch the profile. Unfortunately, the
user may forget to switch the profile at the end of an activity.
For example, suppose the user of the mobile phone has just finished
a meeting and is now going outdoors. Being preoccupied with the
topics just discussed at the meeting, the user may forget to switch
the profile of the mobile phone from the Meeting profile to the
Outdoor profile. Depending on the settings associated with each
profile, failure to properly switch the profile of the mobile phone
could lead to phone calls being missed accidentally.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
It is therefore a primary objective of the claimed invention to
provide a method for automatically switching a profile of a mobile
phone in order to solve the above-mentioned problems.
According to the claimed invention, a method for automatically
switching a profile of a mobile phone is disclosed. The method includes
measuring a current environmental noise value of ambient noise surrounding
the mobile phone, comparing the current environmental noise value
to a predetermined noise value and calculating a noise difference,
and switching the profile of the mobile phone based on the value
of the noise difference.
It is an advantage of the claimed invention that the mobile phone
can automatically switch the profile based on the current ambient
noise value so as to simplify the use of the mobile phone. With
the use of the automatic profile switching function, the mobile
phone user does not have to worry about manually switching the profile
when starting a new activity, and does not have to remember to switch
it back at the end of the activity.
These and other objectives of the claimed invention will no doubt
become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading
the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment,
which is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a diagram of a mobile phone according to the present
invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating automatically switching the
profile of the mobile phone according to the present invention method.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram of a mobile phone 10
according to the present invention. The mobile phone 10 contains
a display 12, on which a profile selection menu is shown. The profile
selection menu allows a user of the mobile phone 10 to choose a
profile or to customize profile settings. As an example, six choices
are shown in the profile selection menu: Auto profile, Normal profile,
Outdoor Profile, Meeting profile, Silent profile, and Settings.
The Normal, Outdoor, Meeting, and Silent profiles are four different
profiles that can be uniquely customized by the mobile phone 10
user. Choosing the Settings option takes the user into another menu,
which allows the user to customize each of the four different profiles.
Finally, the Auto profile function is also shown, and can be activated
or deactivated (the checkmark in FIG. 1 represents that the Auto
profile function is currently activated) by the user.
The automatic profile switching function is the subject of the
present invention, and will now be described in greater detail.
The present invention collects two kinds of data when the mobile
phone 10 is in idle mode, meaning the phone is turned on, but is
not currently being used by the user. An antenna 14 of the mobile
phone 10 is used to measure a current antenna signal strength value
from radio signals received by the mobile phone 10. Depending on
the magnitude of the current antenna signal strength value, the
mobile phone 10 will then determine if the user of the mobile phone
10 is located indoors or outdoors. Additionally, a microphone 16
of the mobile phone 10 is used to measure a current environmental
noise value of ambient noise surrounding the mobile phone 10.
The present invention method of automatically switching the profile
of the mobile phone 10 involves comparing the current antenna signal
strength value to a reference antenna signal strength value and
comparing the current environmental noise value to a reference noise
value. Based on these two comparisons, the mobile phone 10 then
automatically switches to the profile which is most appropriate.
Please refer to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating automatically
switching the profile of the mobile phone 10 according to the present
invention method. Steps contained in the flowchart will be explained
below.
Step 100: Start in idle mode;
Step 102: Determine if the user has activated the automatic profile
switching function; if so, go to step 104; if not, go to step 130;
Step 104: Start a timer to begin counting for a time period N.
At the same time, measure the current antenna signal strength value
(A) and the current environmental noise value (E). The timer is
used for indicating that the current antenna signal strength value
and the current environmental noise value should be measured periodically,
after every time period N;
Step 106: Determine if the current antenna signal strength value
(A) is greater than the reference antenna signal strength value
(a) and if the current environmental noise value (E) is less than
the reference noise value (e); if so, go to step 108; if not, go
to step 110;
Step 108: Automatically switch the profile of the mobile phone
10 to the Normal profile; go to step 126;
Step 110: Determine if the current antenna signal strength value
(A) is greater than the reference antenna signal strength value
(a) and if the current environmental noise value (E) is greater
than the reference noise value (e); if so, go to step 112; if not,
go to step 114;
Step 112: Automatically switch the profile of the mobile phone
10 to the Outdoor profile; go to step 126;
Step 114: Determine if the current antenna signal strength value
(A) is less than the reference antenna signal strength value (a)
and if the current environmental noise value (E) is greater than
the reference noise value (e); if so, go to step 116; if not, go
to step 118;
Step 116: Automatically switch the profile of the mobile phone
10 to the Meeting profile; go to step 126;
Step 118: Determine if the current antenna signal strength value
(A) is less than the reference antenna signal strength value (a)
and if the current environmental noise value (E) is less than the
reference noise value (e); if so, go to step 120; if not, go to
step 122;
Step 120: Automatically switch the profile of the mobile phone
10 to the Silent profile; go to step 126;
Step 122: The current antenna signal strength value (A) is equal
to the reference antenna signal strength value (a) or the current
environmental noise value (E) is equal to the reference noise value
(e); go to step 124;
Step 124: Automatically switch the profile of the mobile phone
10 to a profile that was previously selected by the user of the
mobile phone 10; go to step 126;
Step 126: The new profile settings of the mobile phone 10 are activated;
Step 128: Determine if the timer has finished counting for the
time period N; if so, go back to step 104; if not, go back to step
126;
Step 130: Since the automatic profile switching function was not
activated by the user of the mobile phone 10, use the profile that
was previously selected by the user of the mobile phone 10; and
Step 132: End.
In summary, the present invention method measures the current antenna
signal strength value and the current environmental noise value
when the mobile phone 10 is in idle mode to automatically switch
the profile of the mobile phone 10. Based on these two measurements,
the mobile phone 10 will determine the most likely type of environment
that the user of the mobile phone 10 is located in, and will automatically
switch the profile accordingly. Since the user talking on the phone
would greatly affect the current environmental noise value, the
automatic profile switching will only take place when the mobile
phone 10 is in idle mode. In addition, the mobile phone 10 will
use the timer to measure the current antenna signal strength value
and the current environmental noise value after every time period
N so as to periodically monitor any changes in the environment of
the mobile phone 10.
Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications
and alterations of the device may be made while retaining the teachings
of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed
as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.
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