Patent Application
20210109214
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system presence detection, and more particularly to an information handling system infrared proximity detection with frequency domain modulation.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems generally process information with processing components disposed in a housing and present the information at a display. Desktop information handling systems typically present information as visual images at a peripheral display and accept end user inputs through peripheral input/output (I/O) devices, such as a keyboard and/or mouse. Portable information handling systems typically integrate a display and I/O devices into a portable housing along with a power source, such as a rechargeable battery. Generally, information handling systems include some sort of logic to power down a display if an end user is not viewing presented visual images. Powering down a display reduces power consumption, which increases battery life of portable systems, and increases security by enforcing password protection before again presenting visual images and permitting access to processing resources through I/O devices. Typical “screensaver” logic powers down a display and locks an information handling system after a preset timeout expires without an end user interaction. Generally, once a timeout expires an end user has to make an input at an I/O device to wake the system to input a password. Although this logic tends to save power and increase security, use of a hard timeout means that an end user has to balance the length of the timeout with the inconvenience of interruptions to system use. A typical screensaver timeout of fifteen minutes leaves a considerable window of non-use during which power is consumed and unauthorized access is available.
To provide improved power management and security, a variety of Human Presence Detection (HPD) sensors have been developed. One promising HPD sensor is an infrared time of flight (IRTOF) sensor. IRTOF sensors illuminate an area where an end user is expected, such as in front of a display that presents visual images, with an infrared light source and detects objects based upon time of flight of infrared reflections detected at the sensor. For instance, the IRTOF sensor scans the IR light source as a narrow beam across plural sectors to detect changes in distance to objects in each sector so that a detected object that moves over time indicates a human presence. IRTOF sensors provide a high degree of accuracy and sensitivity so that a very rapid response to user absence and presence is provided. Thus, as long as the IRTOF sensor detects an end user in the field of view, the system will not timeout so that the end user's viewing is not interrupted. If the IRTOF sensor fails to detect an end user in the field of view, a very rapid timeout may be enforced since the IRTOF sensor tends to have an accurate and rapid user absence detection. An aggressive timing configuration that quickly turns off a display and locks a system at user absence detection tends to decrease power consumption and increase system security.
One difficulty with IRTOF sensors is that rapid and highly sensitive detection of presence and absence risks the application of false user absence detections that result in end user interruptions of system use. Although IRTOF sensors are highly sensitive and accurate, variations in operating conditions can result in false user absent indications. For example, external sources of infrared light, such as ambient light levels and industrial point light source, can interfere with IRTOF sensor resolution resulting in false absent or false present indications. To avoid such interference, IRTOF sensors typically include a calibration process run at start-up that detects operating conditions and adjusts present and absent detection levels. For instance, in an environment having high levels of infrared interference, IRTOF sensors tend to have shorter detection ranges and less accuracy. The calibration process may include selection of an infrared frequency by the IRTOF sensor that provides reduced interference. A difficulty with such calibration is that environmental conditions change during information handling system operations, which can introduce variations in IRTOF sensor accuracy.
Therefore, a need has arisen for a system and method which adapts IRTOF sensor operations at an information handling system for improved end user presence and/or absence detection accuracy.
In accordance with the present invention, a system and method are provided which substantially reduce the disadvantages and problems associated with previous methods and systems for managing an IRTOF sensor at an information handling system to detect end user presence and/or absence. Infrared frequency calibration information is applied by an information handling system to adjust IRTOF sensor operations to provide more timely and accurate end user absence and presence detection indications.
More specifically, an information handling system processes information with a processor and memory for presentation at a display as visual images. An IRTOF sensor monitors a zone at the display associated with end user presence and absence and reports a presence or absence state to a proximity detection application running on the information handling system through a hardware and operating system interface, such as an integrated sensor hub that interfaces with an operating system driver. To avoid false user absence report disruption of end user interactions with the information handling system, the proximity detection application validates IRTOF sensor results by reference to calibration information retrieved from the IRTOF sensor. For instance, the proximity detection application applies frequency domain modulation of infrared sensing by the IRTOF sensor to validate a transition to a user absence state with sensing of user absence using plural infrared frequencies, such as by hopping or multiplexing between plural infrared frequencies. In one embodiment, the proximity detection application controls selection of infrared frequencies sensed by the IRTOF sensor. In another embodiment, the proximity detection application monitors other indications of end user presence and environmental conditions, such as ambient light and accelerations, to initiate re-calibration of the IRTOF sensor or other validation of user absence when reliability of the IRTOF sensor falls.
The present invention provides a number of important technical advantages. One example of an important technical advantage is that an IRTOF sensor provides more reliable and timely transitions between end user presence and absence indications that manage presentation of visual images by and access to an information handling system. By applying infrared calibration information at a system level to IRTOF component operations, reliability of the IRTOF sensor is improved for detection of user absence and presence detection. System level calls to and from the IRTOF sensor help to validate changes in user presence and absence states by sensing distances at plural selected infrared frequencies to avoid the effects of interference. Reliability of IRTOF sensor indications derived at a system level, such as by other indications of end user absence and presence and other indications of infrared interference, provides a basis for accepting user absence indications or performing additional user presence checks with operational changes at the IRTOF sensor initiated from a system level. As a result, more rapid and accurate indications of user presence and absence can be applied at an information handling system with less risk of end user disruptions.
The present invention may be better understood, and its numerous objects, features and advantages made apparent to those skilled in the art by referencing the accompanying drawings. The use of the same reference number throughout the several figures designates a like or similar element.
An information handling system manages an infrared time of flight (IRTOF) sensor with system commands to validate end user presence and absence detection by adjusting infrared frequency sensing. For purposes of this disclosure, an information handling system may include any instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operable to compute, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate, switch, store, display, manifest, detect, record, reproduce, handle, or utilize any form of information, intelligence, or data for business, scientific, control, or other purposes. For example, an information handling system may be a personal computer, a network storage device, or any other suitable device and may vary in size, shape, performance, functionality, and price. The information handling system may include random access memory (RAM), one or more processing resources such as a central processing unit (CPU) or hardware or software control logic, ROM, and/or other types of nonvolatile memory. Additional components of the information handling system may include one or more disk drives, one or more network ports for communicating with external devices as well as various input and output (I/O) devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a video display. The information handling system may also include one or more buses operable to transmit communications between the various hardware components.
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IRTOF sensor 22 sends pulses of infrared light across a presence/absence detection zone 24 and detects reflections of the infrared light to determine a distance to objects, such as end user 28, within the presence/absence detection zone 24. For instance, IRTOF sensor 22 scans across plural presence/absence detection scan regions 26 in a scan pattern that detects a distance to an object in each region. Over time, animate objects are differentiated from inanimate objects by motion detected with changing distances to the objects in each region. When scan results of IRTOF sensor 22 indicates that a detected object is an end user, a presence detection is provided to the processing components of information handling system 10 so that visual image 16 stays active. When IRTOF sensor 22 indicates that the detected object has left, a user absence indication is provided to the processing components of information handling system 10 so that visual image 16 is removed, such as by powering down display 14. In addition, a user absence indication may be applied by information handling system 10 to lock the system so that it remains secure while end user 28 is not present.
IRTOF sensor 22 provides rapid and accurate user presence and absence detection to reduce power consumption and improve system security, however, if an inaccurate user absence detection is applied as a basis to power down display 14 when an end user is in fact present, the end user's interactions become disrupted. In some instances, IRTOF sensor 22 tends to lose accuracy so that false absence indications applied at information handling system 10 can disrupt end user interactions. For example, interference caused by ambient or point infrared light sources can impact the range and accuracy of IRTOF sensor 22. Generally, IRTOF sensors 22 perform a calibration at power up that attempts to quantify environmental conditions and select an IR frequency from plural available frequencies that will operate most accurately in a sensed environment. However, any number of factors can impact such a calibration, such as ambient light conditions or even the color shirt worn by an end user, so that a calibration at start tends to loss effectiveness over time. To maintain accurate user presence and absence detection, information handling system 10 tracks external conditions and adjusts IRTOF sensor 22 infrared sensing so that more accurate and validated user presence and absence are reported.
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End user presence or absence states reported from IRTOF sensor 22 to ISH 52 are managed at a system level by an operating system 42 executing on CPU 30 from RAM 32, such as WINDOWS. In the example embodiment, an ISH driver 44 interfaces with ISH 52 to manage ISH 52 interactions with a user presence service 46 providing the ISH driver 44 with an interface for IRTOF sensor 22. The sensed conditions are provided through operating system services 48 to a user proximity detection service application 50, which applies presence and absence indications of IRTOF sensor 22 to power down a display and lock a system. User proximity detection service application 50 is, for example, installed through operating system 48 to distribute the drivers through the operating system and firmware that manages IRTOF sensor 22. As is set forth in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/419,779 by Daniel L. Hamlin; Timothy C. Shaw; Vivek Viswanathan Iyer; Allen B. McKittrick, filed on May 22, 2019, entitled Augmented Information Handling System User Presence Detection, and incorporated herein as if fully set forth, a variety of other factors may also be considered when applying user presence and absence indications, such as inputs made by an end user and other conditions that indicate end user presence and absence.
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A calibration driver 60 executing as a firmware module in ISH 52 interfaces with controller 68 to retrieve calibration information generated by calibration module 70 to store the calibration information in a IR frequency table 62. Once IRTOF sensor 22 is active monitoring for absence and presence detection, calibration driver 60 monitors IRTOF sensor 22 output to modify IRTOF sensor 22 operations by reference to IR frequency table 62 as needed to validate presence and absence detection before reporting to the operating system. Calibration information can take a number of different forms and may involve active manipulation of IRTOF sensor 22 from ISH 52 to generate additional calibration information as needed. For instance, in one example embodiment, calibration driver 60 downloads a ranked order list of IR frequencies from controller 68 based upon detected interference at startup. In another embodiment, calibration driver 60 commands IRTOF sensor 22 to detect an object with each of plural available IR frequencies and rank orders the IR frequencies based upon returned results, such as the distance reported by each frequency. For example, a closer distance indicates a stronger signal and less interference. Calibration driver 60 can initiate a test of all or part of the available IR frequencies at any time without having to interrupt detection of objects with a restart or re-calibration by controller 68. Thus, if a change in ambient light is detected at a system level, an abbreviated distance check across different IR frequencies can validate IRTOF sensor 22 operations without interruption of presence or absence detection.
In addition to management of IRTOF sensor 22 with logic embedded in ISH 52, the operating system and applications executing on CPU 30 may provide additional and higher order management logic. For instance, machine learning may monitor IRTOF sensor 22 presence and absence indications for accuracy, such as based on other system inputs, and relate the reliability of presence and absence indications to other factors. In one example embodiment, machine learning determines an optimal set of a number N infrared frequencies to hop or multiplex through to optimize user presence and absence detection. In some environments with high reliability, calibration driver may allow IRTOF sensor 22 to operate autonomously. If the user proximity detection service application detects less optimal conditions, such as based upon an indoor or outdoor location, various ambient light color temperatures and/or brightness, a passive viewing user who consumes presented information without making inputs, or other conditions, it may command calibration driver 60 to use different numbers of infrared frequencies in a hopping pattern to validate user absence detection. In such an embodiment, the number of infrared frequencies may increase as the environmental conditions reduce IRTOF sensor 22 reliability. The number of infrared frequencies may adapt in real time based upon feedback of performance with false detects and false misses. In one embodiment, infrared frequencies may be swept in a time division multiplexing manner. Alternatively, infrared frequencies are swept with multiple sensor beams in a code division multiplexed manner or a frequency division multiplexing manner. In each example, system level management of IRTOF sensor operations is selectively enforced to optimize user presence and absence detection based upon factors that influence infrared sensor operations and that are not directly discernable at the IRTOF sensor itself.
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Although the present invention has been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
