Patent Application
20160378138
The present disclosure generally relates to the field of electronics. More particularly, an embodiment relates to techniques for integration of force transducer into tablet to measure weight.
Tablets are gaining popularity, in part, because of their decreasing prices and increasing performance. Another reason for their increasing popularity may be due to the fact that some portable computing devices may be operated at many locations or for new usage models.
The detailed description is provided with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The use of the same reference numbers in different figures indicates similar or identical items.
In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments. However, various embodiments may be practiced without the specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the particular embodiments. Further, various aspects of embodiments may be performed using various means, such as integrated semiconductor circuits (“hardware”), computer-readable instructions organized into one or more programs (“software”), or some combination of hardware and software. For the purposes of this disclosure reference to “logic” shall mean either hardware, software, firmware, or some combination thereof.
As discussed above, portable computing devices (such as tablets) are gaining popularity, in part, because of their decreasing prices and increasing performance. Another reason for their increasing popularity may be due to the fact that some portable computing devices may be operated at many locations or for new usage models.
To this end, some embodiments integrate one or more force sensors into portable computing devices (such as tablets) to measure weight. As discussed herein, a force sensor may be interchangeably referred to as a load sensor, a force transducer, or a load transducer. In an embodiment, one or more force sensors are integrated into the chassis of a tablet form factor to allow measurement of weight.
Some embodiments may be applied in computing systems that include one or more processors (e.g., with one or more processor cores), such as those discussed with reference to
In an embodiment, the processor 102-1 may include one or more processor cores 106-1 through 106-M (referred to herein as “cores 106,” or “core 106”), a cache 108, and/or a router 110. The processor cores 106 may be implemented on a single integrated circuit (IC) chip. Moreover, the chip may include one or more shared and/or private caches (such as cache 108), buses or interconnections (such as a bus or interconnection 112), graphics and/or memory controllers (such as those discussed with reference to
In one embodiment, the router 110 may be used to communicate between various components of the processor 102-1 and/or system 100. Moreover, the processor 102-1 may include more than one router 110. Furthermore, the multitude of routers 110 may be in communication to enable data routing between various components inside or outside of the processor 102-1.
The cache 108 may store data (e.g., including instructions) that are utilized by one or more components of the processor 102-1, such as the cores 106. For example, the cache 108 may locally cache data stored in a memory 114 for faster access by the components of the processor 102 (e.g., faster access by cores 106). As shown in
As shown, system 100 may also include one or more load/force sensors 150 to detect force, weight, load, etc. such as discussed herein. Sensor(s) 150 may be integrated into the chassis of a portable computing device in some embodiments, such as those discussed with reference to the remaining figures. System 100 also includes logic 140 to receive information from the sensor(s) 150 and cause execution of various operations based at least in part on the received information.
FIG. 2A1 illustrates a side view of some components of the load sensor 202 of
FIG. 2B1 illustrates a side view of some components of the sensing surface 204 of
In an embodiment, the portable computing device includes a force sensitive touchscreen (such as shown in
Moreover, by integrating force transducers into the chassis exposed in the form of discrete feet or as part of a floating ‘D-surface’ a user could measure weight for a wide range of applications from consumer kitchen weigh scales to perhaps more specialist lab-based applications. The usual leveraging of online data could allow for example weighing mail displaying prevailing or available postal shipping/rate options, e.g., to give the user cost information of stamps. Other commodities of varying value might work too. In one embodiment, integrated gravity sensors (e.g., not shown but could be used in a similar fashion as or otherwise integrated with sensor(s) 150) would recalibrate to tare for use on non-level surfaces.
In another example, information obtained from a computer network (or the Internet) may link use as bathroom scales to wearable fitness devices for health monitoring or back to the kitchen for dietary suggestions and recommended calorie intake when cooking from recipes. Such embodiments open the scope of usages for portable/tablet type devices to weigh anything from the illicit to everyday banal items like drugs, cooking ingredients, postal mail, etc.
Moreover, the processors 402 may have a single or multiple core design. The processors 402 with a multiple core design may integrate different types of processor cores on the same integrated circuit (IC) die. Also, the processors 402 with a multiple core design may be implemented as symmetrical or asymmetrical multiprocessors. In an embodiment, one or more of the processors 402 may be the same or similar to the processors 102 of
A chipset 406 may also communicate with the interconnection network 404. The chipset 406 may include a graphics memory control hub (GMCH) 408, which may be located in various components of system 400 (such as those shown in
The GMCH 408 may also include a graphics interface 414 that communicates with the display device. In one embodiment, the graphics interface 414 may communicate with a display device via an accelerated graphics port (AGP) or Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) (or PCI express (PCIe) interface). In an embodiment, the display (such as a flat panel display) may communicate with the graphics interface 414 through, for example, a signal converter that translates a digital representation of an image stored in a storage device such as video memory or system memory into display signals that are interpreted and displayed by the display device. The display signals produced by the display device may pass through various control devices before being interpreted by and subsequently displayed on the display device.
A hub interface 418 may allow the GMCH 408 and an input/output control hub (ICH) 420 to communicate. The ICH 420 may provide an interface to I/O device(s) that communicate with the computing system 400. The ICH 420 may communicate with a bus 422 through a peripheral bridge (or controller) 424, such as a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bridge, a universal serial bus (USB) controller, or other types of peripheral bridges or controllers. The bridge 424 may provide a data path between the CPU 402 and peripheral devices. Other types of topologies may be utilized. Also, multiple buses may communicate with the ICH 420, e.g., through multiple bridges or controllers. Moreover, other peripherals in communication with the ICH 420 may include, in various embodiments, integrated drive electronics (IDE) or small computer system interface (SCSI) hard drive(s), USB port(s), a keyboard, a mouse, parallel port(s), serial port(s), floppy disk drive(s), digital output support (e.g., digital video interface (DVI)), or other devices.
The bus 422 may communicate with an audio device 426, one or more disk drive(s) 428, and a network interface device 430 (which is in communication with the computer network 403). Other devices may communicate via the bus 422. Also, various components (such as the network interface device 430) may communicate with the GMCH 408 in some embodiments. In addition, the processor 402 and the GMCH 408 may be combined to form a single chip. Furthermore, a graphics accelerator may be included within the GMCH 408 in other embodiments.
Furthermore, the computing system 400 may include volatile and/or nonvolatile memory (or storage). For example, nonvolatile memory may include one or more of the following: read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically EPROM (EEPROM), a disk drive (e.g., 428), a floppy disk, a compact disk ROM (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), flash memory, a magneto-optical disk, or other types of nonvolatile machine-readable media that are capable of storing electronic data (e.g., including instructions).
As illustrated in
In an embodiment, the processors 502 and 504 may be one of the processors 402 discussed with reference to
At least one embodiment may be provided within the processors 502 and 504. Further, one or more components of system 500 may include logic 140 coupled to the sensor(s) 150, discussed with reference to
The chipset 520 may communicate with a bus 540 using a PtP interface circuit 541. The bus 540 may communicate with one or more devices, such as a bus bridge 542 and I/O devices 543. Via a bus 544, the bus bridge 542 may communicate with other devices such as a keyboard/mouse 545, communication devices 546 (such as modems, network interface devices, or other communication devices that may communicate with the computer network 403), audio I/O device 547, and/or a data storage device 548. The data storage device 548 may store code 549 that may be executed by the processors 502 and/or 504.
In some embodiments, one or more of the components discussed herein can be embodied as a System On Chip (SOC) device.
As illustrated in
The I/O interface 640 may be coupled to one or more I/O devices 670, e.g., via an interconnect and/or bus such as discussed herein with reference to other figures. I/O device(s) 670 may include one or more of a keyboard, a mouse, a touchpad, a display device, an image/video capture device (such as a camera or camcorder/video recorder), a touch screen, a speaker, or the like. Furthermore, SOC package 602 may include/integrate logic 140 and/or sensor(s) 150 in some embodiments. Alternatively, logic 140 and/or sensor(s) 150 may be provided outside of the SOC package 602 (i.e., as a discrete logic).
Moreover, the scenes, images, or frames discussed herein (e.g., which may be processed by the graphics logic in various embodiments) may be captured by an image capture device (such as a digital camera (that may be embedded in another device such as a smart phone, a tablet, a laptop, a stand-alone camera, etc.) or an analog device whose captured images are subsequently converted to digital form). Moreover, the image capture device may be capable of capturing multiple frames in an embodiment. Further, one or more of the frames in the scene are designed/generated on a computer in some embodiments. Also, one or more of the frames of the scene may be presented via a display (such as the display discussed with reference to
The following examples pertain to further embodiments. Example 1 includes an apparatus comprising: logic, the logic at least partially comprising hardware logic, to receive a load detection signal from one or more load sensors coupled to a mobile computing device, wherein the one or more load sensors are to be integrated into a chassis of the mobile computing device. Example 2 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the one or more load sensors are to be coupled to a bottom surface of the mobile computing device. Example 3 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the one or more load sensors are to comprise a sensor surface or be integrated into a sensor surface of the mobile computing device. Example 4 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the mobile computing device is to comprise a flat screen to display one or more images in response to the load detection signal. Example 5 includes the apparatus of example 4, wherein the flat screen is to comprise a touchscreen. Example 6 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the one or more load sensors are to be integrated into the chassis of the mobile computing device as device feet. Example 7 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the load detection signal is to correspond to force detected at the one or more load sensors. Example 8 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the logic is to transmit information corresponding to the load detection signal to a software application or an operating system. Example 9 includes the apparatus of example 8, wherein the mobile computing device is to comprise a processor, having one or more processor cores, to execute code corresponding to the software application or the operating system. Example 10 includes the apparatus of example 8, further comprising memory to store the information. Example 11 includes the apparatus of example 8, further comprising memory to store code corresponding to the software application or the operating system. Example 12 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the mobile computing device is to comprise the logic. Example 13 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the mobile computing device is to comprise one of: a smartphone, a tablet, a UMPC (Ultra-Mobile Personal Computer), a laptop computer, an Ultrabook™ computing device, and a wearable device. Example 14 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein a processor, having one or more processor cores, is to comprise the logic. Example 15 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein one or more of the logic, a processor having one or more processor cores, and memory are on a single integrated circuit die.
Example 16 includes a method comprising: receiving a load detection signal from one or more load sensors coupled to a mobile computing device, wherein the one or more load sensors are integrated into a chassis of the mobile computing device. Example 17 includes the method of example 16, further comprising generating the load detection signal in response to force detected at the one or more load sensors. Example 18 includes the method of example 16, further comprising transmitting information corresponding to the load detection signal to a software application or an operating system.
Example 19 includes a system comprising: a mobile computing device having memory to store data; logic to receive a load detection signal from one or more load sensors coupled to the mobile computing device, wherein the one or more load sensors are to be integrated into a chassis of the mobile computing device. Example 20 includes the system of example 19, wherein the one or more load sensors are to comprise a sensor surface or be integrated into a sensor surface of the mobile computing device. Example 21 includes the system of example 19, wherein the memory is to information corresponding to the load detection signal.
Example 22 includes a computer-readable medium comprising one or more instructions that when executed on a processor configure the processor to perform one or more operations to: receive a load detection signal from one or more load sensors coupled to a mobile computing device, wherein the one or more load sensors are integrated into a chassis of the mobile computing device. Example 23 includes the computer-readable medium of example 22, further comprising one or more instructions that when executed on the processor configure the processor to perform one or more operations to cause generation of the load detection signal in response to force detected at the one or more load sensors. Example 24 includes the computer-readable medium of example 22, further comprising one or more instructions that when executed on the processor configure the processor to perform one or more operations to cause transmission of information corresponding to the load detection signal to a software application or an operating system. Example 25 includes the computer-readable medium of example 24, further comprising one or more instructions that when executed on the processor configure the processor to perform one or more operations to cause storage of code corresponding to the software application or the operating system.
Example 26 includes an apparatus comprising means to perform a method as set forth in any preceding example. Example 27 comprises machine-readable storage including machine-readable instructions, when executed, to implement a method or realize an apparatus as set forth in any preceding example.
In various embodiments, the operations discussed herein, e.g., with reference to
Additionally, such computer-readable media may be downloaded as a computer program product, wherein the program may be transferred from a remote computer (e.g., a server) to a requesting computer (e.g., a client) by way of data signals provided in a carrier wave or other propagation medium via a communication link (e.g., a bus, a modem, or a network connection).
Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, and/or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least an implementation. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification may or may not be all referring to the same embodiment.
Also, in the description and claims, the terms “coupled” and “connected,” along with their derivatives, may be used. In some embodiments, “connected” may be used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other. “Coupled” may mean that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact. However, “coupled” may also mean that two or more elements may not be in direct contact with each other, but may still cooperate or interact with each other.
Thus, although embodiments have been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that claimed subject matter may not be limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as sample forms of implementing the claimed subject matter.
