Patent Application
20220397868
Information handling devices (“devices”), for example, phones (e.g., smart phones, mobile phones, etc.), tablets, wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, fitness trackers, etc.), laptop computers, hybrid devices, and the like, are capable of tracking various contextual metrics associated with a user. For example, devices are capable of identifying a user's physical location (e.g., using one or more location determination techniques, etc.) and identifying a time zone, or time-keeping standard, associated with that location. These metrics may be continually tracked by the device and may be utilized by the device in various ways (e.g., to update calendar data, to manage alert notifications and message distributions, to identify relevant weather data, etc.).
In summary, one aspect provides a method, including: monitoring, using an accelerometer integrated with an information handling device, gravitational acceleration experienced by the information handling device; identifying, based on the monitoring, a change in the gravitational acceleration from a first gravitational acceleration metric to a second gravitational acceleration metric; and adjusting, responsive to the identifying, a time-keeping standard referenced by the information handling device based on the second gravitational acceleration metric.
Another aspect provides an information handling device, including: an accelerometer; a processor; a memory device that stores instructions executable by the processor to: monitor, using the accelerometer, gravitational acceleration experienced by the information handling device; identify, based on the monitoring, a change in the gravitational acceleration from a first gravitational acceleration metric to a second gravitational acceleration metric; adjust, responsive to the identifying, a time-keeping standard referenced by the information handling device based on the second gravitational acceleration metric.
A further aspect provides a product, including: a storage device that stores code, the code being executable by a processor and comprising: code that monitors gravitational acceleration experienced by an information handling device; code that identifies, based on the code that monitors, a change in the gravitational acceleration from a first gravitational acceleration metric to a second gravitational acceleration metric; and code that adjusts, responsive to the code that identifies, a time-keeping standard referenced by the information handling device based on the second gravitational acceleration metric.
The foregoing is a summary and thus may contain simplifications, generalizations, and omissions of detail; consequently, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting.
For a better understanding of the embodiments, together with other and further features and advantages thereof, reference is made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.
It will be readily understood that the components of the embodiments, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations in addition to the described example embodiments. Thus, the following more detailed description of the example embodiments, as represented in the figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments, as claimed, but is merely representative of example embodiments.
Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” (or the like) means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearance of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” or the like in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided to give a thorough understanding of embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the various embodiments can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, et cetera. In other instances, well known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obfuscation.
Conventional methods exist for identifying a time zone a user is in. For example, Global Positioning System (GPS) data may be obtained from GPS satellites to allow a user's device to determine its physical location on Earth. While an effective location determination technique on Earth, such a method may not be applicable as humans begin to expand their reach into outer space. More particularly, as space travel becomes more economically efficient (i.e., as the cost/pound to send objects and people into space decreases), the prevalence of space tourism and space business will correspondingly increase.
One appreciable difficulty that space-faring individuals may experience is the identification and tracking of relevant time. More particularly, conventional GPS satellites are aimed downward to enable surface and airborne users to identify their physical location on Earth. From this identified location, a device can dynamically update a time setting to a corresponding time zone. However, once an individual passes an orbital plane associated with these satellites, no conventional methods exist that can dynamically identify which time zone a user is in and/or what time may be relevant to the device/user.
Accordingly, an embodiment provides a method for dynamically identifying a time-keeping standard associated with a device based at least in part on gravitational acceleration data. In an embodiment, an accelerometer associated with a device may monitor gravitational acceleration experienced by the device. Responsive to identifying that there is a change to the gravitational acceleration (e.g., from a first gravitational acceleration metric to a second gravitational acceleration metric, etc.), an embodiment may dynamically adjust a time-keeping standard referenced by the device based on the identified change. Such a method may accordingly utilize the accelerometers already present in most devices to determine when users have launched, are in orbit, are in space transit, are on the surface of a particular celestial body (e.g., the Moon, Mars, etc.), etc. and dynamically switch to a predetermined time-keeping standard (e.g., Greenwich Mean Time, etc.) or other desired time-keeping standard.
The illustrated example embodiments will be best understood by reference to the figures. The following description is intended only by way of example, and simply illustrates certain example embodiments.
While various other circuits, circuitry or components may be utilized in information handling devices, with regard to smart phone and/or tablet circuitry 100, an example illustrated in
There are power management chip(s) 130, e.g., a battery management unit, BMU, which manage power as supplied, for example, via a rechargeable battery 140, which may be recharged by a connection to a power source (not shown). In at least one design, a single chip, such as 110, is used to supply BIOS like functionality and DRAM memory.
System 100 typically includes one or more of a WWAN transceiver 150 and a WLAN transceiver 160 for connecting to various networks, such as telecommunications networks and wireless Internet devices, e.g., access points. Additionally, devices 120 are commonly included, e.g., an image sensor such as a camera, audio capture device such as a microphone, an acceleration measuring device such as an accelerometer, etc. System 100 often includes one or more touch screens 170 for data input and display/rendering. System 100 also typically includes various memory devices, for example flash memory 180 and SDRAM 190.
The example of
In
In
The system, upon power on, may be configured to execute boot code 290 for the BIOS 268, as stored within the SPI Flash 266, and thereafter processes data under the control of one or more operating systems and application software (for example, stored in system memory 240). An operating system may be stored in any of a variety of locations and accessed, for example, according to instructions of the BIOS 268. As described herein, a device may include fewer or more features than shown in the system of
Information handling circuitry, as for example outlined in
Referring now to
At 302, an embodiment may identify whether a change has occurred in the gravitational acceleration experienced by the device. More particularly, responsive to identifying, at 302, that no change has occurred in the gravitational acceleration, an embodiment may, at 303, take no additional action. A consistent reading of the gravitational acceleration may indicate that a user's positional context has not changed (i.e., a user has remained on a particular celestial body or object, a user is still traveling through space, etc.). Conversely, responsive to identifying, at 302, a change in the gravitational acceleration (e.g., from a first gravitational acceleration metric to a second gravitational acceleration metric, etc.), then an embodiment may, at 304, adjust a time-keeping standard referenced by the device. This adjustment may occur automatically and without the presence of manual user input.
The adjustment of the time-keeping standard may be facilitated in one or more different ways. For instance, an embodiment may have access to a database (e.g., stored locally on the device, stored on another device or server but remotely accessible by the device, etc.) that contains a list of associations between gravitational acceleration metrics and their corresponding time-keeping standard adjustment protocols. For example, a particular database may contain the knowledge that the gravitational acceleration experienced by a device on Earth is approximately 9.8 m/s2 and in space flight is 0 m/s2. Additionally, the database may contain associations indicating that: when the gravitational acceleration is detected at 9.8 m/s2 the device should utilize Earth-based GPS data to identify a relevant time zone for the device and when the gravitational acceleration is detected at 0 m/s2 the device should adopt a predetermined time-keeping standard (e.g., Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or some other time-zone standard designated by a user, etc.).
As time progresses and space colonization becomes more prevalent, the time-keeping standards on various celestial bodies (e.g., the Moon, Mars, etc.) may become more concrete. More particularly, for example, GPS satellites may eventually be deployed over Mars. In such a situation, when a device's gravitational acceleration is detected at approximately 3.721 m/s2 (i.e., the gravitational acceleration for an object on Mars), an embodiment may access a database to conclude that the device is now on Mars and that it should utilize Mars-based GPS data, if available, to identify a relevant Martian time zone that the device is associated with.
In an embodiment, a time-keeping standard for a device may not be adjusted unless a system detects that the change from a first gravitational acceleration metric to a second gravitational acceleration metric is greater than a predetermined threshold. Such an adjustment requirement may ensure that a system does not inadvertently change the time-keeping standard due to slight or insignificant changes in detected gravitational acceleration (e.g., during sub-orbital travel, etc.).
In an embodiment, a space travel event may be associated with the change from a first gravitational acceleration metric to a second gravitational acceleration metric. For example, if an embodiment detects a change in the gravitational acceleration from 9.8 m/s2 to 0 m/s2′, an embodiment may conclude that a user carrying the device has just launched from Earth and is moving through space. Similarly, if an embodiment detects a change in the gravitational acceleration from 0 m/s2 to approximately 1.62 m/s2 (i.e., the gravitational acceleration associated with objects on the moon), then an embodiment may conclude that a user has just landed on the moon.
In an embodiment, additional data obtainable by the device may be utilized to provide further confirmation of the occurrence of a particular space travel event. For instance, a device may contain one or more additional sensors that may detect and/or measure the gravitational forces (“g-forces”) acting on the device at a given time. Each space travel event (e.g., a launch from Earth, a launch from the Moon, a descent into Earth's atmosphere, etc.) has specific gravitational forces associated with it that may not be easily mimicked by naturally occurring movements. This g-force data may be stored in an accessible database that may be accessed to compare current g-forces experienced by the device to the g-forces associated with each space travel event. If a match is identified, an embodiment may receive additional confirmation that an assumed time-keeping standard determined by the gravitational acceleration data is appropriate. For example, an embodiment may detect a change from 0 m/s2 to 9.8 m/s2 and may predict that a user has just landed on Earth based solely on the gravitational acceleration data. An embodiment may receive additional confirmation about this prediction responsive to detecting g-forces associated with a descent into Earth's atmosphere.
In another example, and as an extension of the concept described in the previous paragraph, a small O2/N2 may be integrated into a device that is capable of detecting the amounts of Nitrogen in an environment. Nitrogen is non-essential to human respiration and the proportions of Nitrogen to Oxygen are different on the surface of the Earth when compared to inside an operating spacecraft. Accordingly, an embodiment may be able to detect, or confirm the occurrence of, a space travel event by monitoring the proportion of Nitrogen in a user's ambient environment and comparing it to a database of known Nitrogen proportions in different contexts (e.g., on the surface of the Earth, in space flight, when on the surface of other planets, etc.).
In an embodiment, an indication of the change in a device's gravitational acceleration and/or the identification of a particular space travel event associated with the device may be transmitted to at least one other device. The designation of devices that these updates may be sent to may be manually set and adjusted by a user. As an example of the foregoing, an individual embarking on a space trip from the Earth to Mars may desire to have their family automatically apprised of their travel status at major moments along the trip. In such a situation, a notification may be sent to the designated devices of the family members when the gravitational acceleration data indicates that a user has launched, when the user has broken orbit and is traveling through space, when the user is descending, and when a user has arrived on the surface of Mars.
The various embodiments described herein thus represent a technical improvement to conventional methods for dynamically identifying a time-keeping standard associated with a device. In an embodiment, gravitational acceleration data associated with a device may be monitored by a sensor such as an accelerometer. Responsive to identifying that the gravitational acceleration changes from one gravitational acceleration metric to another gravitational acceleration metric, an embodiment may dynamically adjust, without receiving additional user input, a time-keep standard referenced by the device based on the new gravitational acceleration metric. Such a method may ensure that a device of a user traveling through space is always properly apprised of the relevant, or user-desired, time.
As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, various aspects may be embodied as a system, method or device program product. Accordingly, aspects may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment or an embodiment including software that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects may take the form of a device program product embodied in one or more device readable medium(s) having device readable program code embodied therewith.
It should be noted that the various functions described herein may be implemented using instructions stored on a device readable storage medium such as a non-signal storage device that are executed by a processor. A storage device may be, for example, a system, apparatus, or device (e.g., an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device) or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of a storage device/medium include the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a storage device is not a signal and “non-transitory” includes all media except signal media.
Program code embodied on a storage medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, et cetera, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.
Program code for carrying out operations may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on a single device, partly on a single device, as a stand-alone software package, partly on single device and partly on another device, or entirely on the other device. In some cases, the devices may be connected through any type of connection or network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made through other devices (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider), through wireless connections, e.g., near-field communication, or through a hard wire connection, such as over a USB connection.
Example embodiments are described herein with reference to the figures, which illustrate example methods, devices and program products according to various example embodiments. It will be understood that the actions and functionality may be implemented at least in part by program instructions. These program instructions may be provided to a processor of a device, a special purpose information handling device, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via a processor of the device implement the functions/acts specified.
It is worth noting that while specific blocks are used in the figures, and a particular ordering of blocks has been illustrated, these are non-limiting examples. In certain contexts, two or more blocks may be combined, a block may be split into two or more blocks, or certain blocks may be re-ordered or re-organized as appropriate, as the explicit illustrated examples are used only for descriptive purposes and are not to be construed as limiting.
As used herein, the singular “a” and “an” may be construed as including the plural “one or more” unless clearly indicated otherwise.
This disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The example embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain principles and practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
Thus, although illustrative example embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying figures, it is to be understood that this description is not limiting and that various other changes and modifications may be affected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure.
