This patent application is also related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/257,841, filed this same day, and entitled “Motion Sensing Cable for Tracking Customer Interaction with Devices”, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The inventors believe that improvements are needed in the art where more intelligence is to be built into conductive cables for electronic devices. To provide such intelligence, the inventors disclose that a motion sensor can be included in a conductive cable. Thus, as a user interacts with an electronic device connected to the conductive cable, a motion signal generated by the motion signal can be leveraged in any of a number of different ways.
For example, the motion signal can be used to control a charging signal that is passed by the conductive cable to the electronic device. As an example, a charging signal delivered by the cable to the connected electronic device can be reduced in response to the motion signal detecting motion of the cable. Thus, if a user were to lift the electronic device connected to the cable, this would cause the cable to reduce the charging signal delivered to the electronic device. As an example, the charging signal can be reduced to zero in response to a detected lift. Thereafter, when a user returns the electronic device to a rest position, the charging signal could be increased or resumed if charging is needed. Such intelligent charging can be useful for a wide array of electronic devices. For example, with devices such as smart phones and tablet computers, such intelligent charging can help avoid prolonged states of constant charging for the device, which can adversely impact battery life for the electronic device.
Moreover, for other classes of electronic devices—where the device may not be fully operational while being charged—such intelligent charging can be extremely advantageous, particularly in a retail merchandising setting. It is desirable for a retailer to display electronic devices that are available for sale to customers in a manner that allows the customer to interact with and use the electronic device while it is on display. This creates a challenge, however, for devices that are not fully operational while being charged because the devices nevertheless need to be charged so that the device has sufficient power to be operational while it is on display. Examples of such devices may include electronic styluses, wearable devices (e.g., smart watches), digital cameras, virtual reality (VR) goggles/headsets, handheld global positioning system (GPS) devices, range finders, etc. As a solution to this problem, the motion sensor and motion signal can be used to detect movement of the cable, which in turn indicates movement of the connected electronic device, which can be interpreted as a customer lift of the electronic device. The charging signal can then be cut off so that the device will be operational after the customer lifts the device and attempts to use it.
As another example, the motion signal can be used to generate data indicative of customer interaction with the electronic device. As noted above, a retailer may choose to display an electronic device for sale while it is connected to the motion sensing cable. While no customers are interacting with the electronic device, it is expected that the electronic device will be at rest, and the motion sensing cable will not detect any motion. However, a customer lift of the connected electronic device will in turn trigger the motion sensor in the motion sensing cable to detect motion. This detected motion can be interpreted as a customer lift of the electronic device. Data representative of such customer interaction with the electronic device can then be communicated to a remote computer system. Merchandisers and retailers can then use such data for tracking and analysis to enhance knowledge such as which products are popular with customers, which positions in retail stores get the most customer traffic, etc. Further still, by including the intelligence that drives such analytics data in the cable itself, retailers and merchandisers are provided with a sleeker option for product display than would be available via conventional puck-base-tether product display systems.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be described hereinafter to those having ordinary skill in the art.
End 104 also includes a motion sensor 112 and a circuit 114. The connector 110, motion sensor 112, and circuit 114 can be enclosed in a housing formed of plastic or a composite material at end 104. As explained in greater detail below, movement of the cable 100 will cause the motion sensor 112 to generate a motion signal 118 that is indicative of motion for the cable 100, and circuit 114 can selectively control the power that is delivered to the electronic device via connector 110 based on this motion signal 118. In an example embodiment, the motion sensor 112 can be an accelerometer. However, in other example embodiments, the motion sensor 112 can take the form of vibration sensors, reed switches, etc. As an example, the circuit 114 can selectively control the charging signal delivered to the electronic device via connector 110 by selectively opening and closing a switch, where the open switch condition operates to eliminate a charging signal while the closed switch condition permits a charging signal.
While the example of
The example process flow of
Thereafter, at step 308, another determination is made as to whether the cable 100 is in motion. If motion is detected, the charging signal can remain reduced. However, if no motion is detected, the cable 100 effects an increase in the charging signal (step 310). In example embodiments where the circuit 114 uses a switch to control the charging signal, the circuit 114 can operate the switch to be in a closed state at step 310 to thereby provide a conductive path through which delivery of the charging signal to the electronic device 200 can be resumed. But, as noted above, other techniques for controlling the charging signal at step 310 could be used, such as adjusting control signal (e.g., via a DAC output), toggling an output enable, etc. In this fashion, the process flow of
The threshold used at step 322 to detect motion can be tailored by a practitioner to reliably detect lifts of the electronic device 200 by a user. Accordingly, the threshold can be set so that false detections are reduced by avoiding triggering a lift detection as a result of insubstantial cable movement. Furthermore, multiple conditions can be used as the threshold if desired by a practitioner. For example, the conditions can define the magnitude and duration of the motion signal 118 that are needed to trigger a conclusion that the electronic device has been lifted. Such a threshold can then define a signal pattern for the motion signal 118 when the electronic device is lifted. For instance, an example motion sensor 114 can be capable of detecting motion or vibration in a milliseconds time frame. Deliberate interaction by a human such as a lifting of the device 200 would not take place on a sub-second event duration. Accordingly, the motion signal can be debounced so that short duration motions or vibrations will not be falsely identified as lifts. The duration threshold used at step 322 can be set by a practitioner so that the motion persists in a manner consistent with a lift event by a person before signaling that a lift event has occurred.
Further still, the circuit 114 can use timers in other fashions if desired by a practitioner. For example, a timer can also be used to prevent the charging signal from being delivered to the electronic device for too long. Prolonged periods of constant charging can adversely affect the electronic device (for example, by damaging its battery). Thus, a practitioner may find it useful to have circuit 114 place time constraints on how long the charging signal can be delivered to the electronic device while the cable 100 is at rest. For example, the circuit 114 can be configured to limit the charging signal delivery to 30 minutes per every 6 hours (or by some other time constraint).
The process of
As indicated above, a timer circuit defined by circuit 114 can implement various time windows for controlling charging actions of the cable 100 with reference to the
Returning to the
When the cable 100 is in the Charge state, the cable 100 delivers the charging signal to the electronic device. If the first time duration expires while the cable 100 in the Charge state, then the cable 100 returns to the Idle state (where it waits for a fresh second time duration to become eligible for charging again). As part of this transition back to the Idle state, the circuit 114 can also make a decision as to whether the threshold used for detecting cable motion should be adjusted. Also, if the cable 100 moves in excess of the threshold while the cable 100 is in the Charge state, then the cable 100 will transition to the Lift state.
With respect to possible adjustments of the cable motion detection threshold, it may be reasonable to conclude that the detection threshold is not sensitive enough if no lifts are found to be present over a specified time period (e.g., over two consecutive charging events). If this condition is found to be met, then the system could downwardly adjust the detection threshold so that shorter duration motion events will trigger lift detection. This detection threshold can then be adjusted up or down periodically (e.g., each cycle) to achieve a goal such as a target number of lift events per cycle. This would serve to auto-tune the squelch of the circuit 114 to heightened sensitivity over the course of, say, 10 to 20 cycles. This can also allow for auto adjustment in the event that the ambient vibration in the environment changes (for example, it may be the case that the device 200 is moved near a door that slams regularly and falsely trips the lift detection).
When the cable 100 is in the Lift state, the circuit 114 will continue to check whether there is cable motion in excess of the threshold. If not, the cable 100 transitions to the Wait state. Otherwise, the cable 100 remains in the Lift state. The circuit 114 can implement another timer to assess whether the cable 100 remains in the Lift state for too long (where this another timer serves to define an excessive lift time window). For example, if the circuit 114 continues to detect cable motion in excess of threshold for a sustained duration (e.g., 15 minutes), it may be the case that the motion threshold is too low such that the circuit 114 is misinterpreting the electronic device at rest as being in a lift condition. Accordingly, if the cable 100 remains in the Lift state for a time duration longer than the excessive lift time window, the circuit 114 may increase the motion threshold. As noted above, auto-tuning of the motion threshold can be implemented periodically, such as per cycle. Further still, when the cable 100 goes into the Lift state, the circuit 114 can generate data indicative of customer interaction with the electronic device. As explained below, this data can then be communicated by the circuit 114 to an external computer system to facilitate tracking and analysis of customer interactions with the electronic devices on display in a retail store. As part of this, the circuit 114 can also measure how long the cable 100 remains in the Lift state, which can serve as a proxy for a measure of how long the customer interacted with the electronic device. This measurement can be included as part of the data that gets communicated to the external computer system.
When the cable 100 is in the Wait state, checks to see if a transition to the Idle or Lift state is appropriate. Thus, the Wait state serves as a holding pattern to assess whether the cable 100 has stabilized back to the Idle state or is still moving sufficiently to merit a transition back to the Lift state. If the cable 100 experiences motion in excess of the threshold while it is in the Wait state, then the cable 100 will transition back to the Lift state. Also, the circuit can include a timer that defines an excessive wait time window that will operate in a similar fashion as the excessive lift time window discussed above. Accordingly, if the cable 100 remains in the Wait state for a time longer than the excessive wait time window, then the circuit 114 can increase the motion threshold. This can help prevent the cable 100 from repeatedly transitioning back to the Lift state in the event of small cable motions that are misinterpreted as lifts or customer handling. The circuit 114 can also maintain another timer that defines a wait time duration for the Wait state. This value will define the maximum amount of time that the cable will remain in the Wait state. Accordingly, if the cable 100 remains in the Wait state longer than the wait time duration, then the cable 100 will transition back to the Idle state (thereby ending the duration of the lift event). It should be understood that the wait time duration can be set to a value greater than the value used for the excessive wait time window. The wait time duration can be a fixed value that is set to a reasonable amount of time that the cable 100 can appear idle if it is being interacted with (e.g., the time it might take for someone to read a menu item before making a selection). If another lift event happens before the wait time duration expires, the system returns to the Lift state but does not count this as a separate lift event. If the system gets stuck between the Lift and Wait states for too long (the time away from Idle is too long), then the threshold can be adjusted upward to force the system into the Idle state. Also, it should be understood that if the system remains in the Idle state for too long (according to the goals and desires of a practitioner), then the threshold can be decreased to keep the system in balance.
Accordingly,
The example of
The circuit 114 can include a processor such as microcontroller 500. The circuit 114 can also include a switch such as electronic switch 502. The state of this switch 502 (open or closed) can control whether a charging signal is delivered to a connected electronic device, and the microcontroller 500 can drive the state of switch 502. Circuit 114, including microcontroller 500 and switch 502, provide electronics for monitoring the electronic device 200 for motion, controlling charging of the electronic device 200, providing security for the electronic device (e.g., via lanyard cable 406), and status reporting (which may include not only lift tracking data reporting but also reporting about charging status) to the main power delivery system at the other end of cable 100. Microcontroller 500 can also control the illumination of LED 430 to indicate whether the cable 100 is armed. To arm the cable 100, a voltage is passed through SENS+. This voltage can be measured on SENS−. If continuity is broken, the system alarms. The microcontroller 500 can thus monitor the voltage on SENS+ and SENS−. If the system is armed, both SENS+ and SENS− can be high. If the system is disarmed, both SENS+ and SENS− can be low. If the system is alarming, the one of SENS+ and SENS− will be high and the other will be low. Further still, the microcontroller 500 can drive the LED 430 to blink or show some other visualization pattern when the cable 100 is charging the electronic device.
Microcontroller 500 can process a motion signal 118 from motion sensor 112 to make a decision about how switch 502 should be controlled. This decision-making by the microcontroller 500 can utilize the process flows of any of
The circuit 114 can also include a termination interface 506 for interfacing with different components of the conductor 102. For example, a voltage line (e.g., +5 VDC) can connect a power conductor in conductor 102 with switch 502. Data lines (e.g., D−,D+) can connect signal conductors in conductor 102 with microcontroller 500. Sensor lines (e.g., SENS+,SENS−) can connect sensor signal conductors in conductor 102 with microcontroller 500 and the lanyard security cable 406. Termination interface 506 can also include a ground.
The circuit 114 can also include a termination interface 508 for interfacing with connector 110. For example, the voltage output from switch 502 (e.g., +5 VDC) can connect with a power pin of connector 110 to provide a conductive path for delivering a charging signal to the electronic device 200. Termination interface 508 can also include data connections (e.g., D−,D+) that are connected via resistor network 504. Resistor network 504 sets the charge current in the device, and it can be defined to comply with the desired charge current for the subject device 200. Termination interface 508 can also include a ground.
The lanyard cable 406 and alarm sensor 420 provide a sense loop with circuit 114 so that a break in the lanyard cable 406 will trigger an alarm condition in the circuit 114. This in turn can cause the microcontroller 500 to transmit an alarm signal via termination interface 506, where this alarm signal can trigger a visual and/or audible alarm (e.g., via hub 220 as shown by
The sense loop arrangement of
While the example circuits of
As noted above, another function that can be implemented by cable 100 is detecting and reporting customer interaction with the connected electronic device 200.
With reference to
The circuit 114 can be configured to send the lift data in real-time each time new lift data is generated. However, in another example embodiment, the circuit 114 can include a memory for storing lift data, and the lift data can be aggregated over time and sent out to the remote computer system in batches if desired (e.g., an hourly or daily report of lift data).
Thus, by including the lift tracking capabilities in the cable 100 itself, retailers and merchandisers are provided with a sleeker option for presenting electronic devices to customers while still maintaining an ability to track customer interactions via lift detection. This stands in contrast to prior approaches of where the lifting tracking was built into larger hardware devices such as puck and base assemblies, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 8,698,617.
While the invention has been described above in relation to its example embodiments, various modifications may be made thereto that still fall within the invention's scope. Such modifications to the invention will be recognizable upon review of the teachings herein.
This patent application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/796,188, filed Jan. 24, 2019, and entitled “Motion Sensing Cable”, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
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