IP Library › Granted Patent US 11,068,034
Granted Patent B2
US 11,068,034 · App. 16/723,663 · Granted Jul 20, 2021

Temperature management in wearable devices

Inventors: Andrea Ashwood (Los Angeles, CA); Michael Wollman (Boulder, CO); Nicholas Larson (Playa Vista, CA); Patrick Timothy McSweeney Simons (Downey, CA)
Assignee: Snap Inc.
G06F1/206G06F1/163H04B1/036H04B1/385H04N5/23206H04B2001/3866
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,068,034
App. No.
16/723,663
Granted
Jul 20, 2021
Kind
B2
Abstract

Systems and methods for managing temperatures of wearable device components are disclosed. In one aspects, a method includes determining a temperature of an electronic component of the wearable device, determining a rate of temperature change of the electronic component, and determining whether to increase or decrease a transmission rate limit of the electronic component based on the temperature and the rate, adjusting the transmission rate limit based on the determination, and limiting a rate of transmission of the electronic component based on the adjusted transmission rate limit.

Claims (41)

1. A wearable electronic device, comprising:

electronic hardware memory storing instructions that when executed by a hardware processing circuitry of the wearable electronic device, configures the hardware processing circuitry to perform operations comprising:

computing a remaining time for completing transfer of data from the wearable electronic, device;

determining a current rate of temperature change and a current temperature of the wearable electronic device;

computing a completion temperature of the wearable electronic device based on the remaining time for completing the transfer of the data, the current rate of temperature change, and the current temperature of the wearable electronic device; and

performing a transmission rate function in response to determining that the completion temperature of the wearable electronic device is less than a specified threshold.

2. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise performing the computing of the remaining time in response to determining whether to decrease a transmission rate of the wearable electronic device.

3. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the transmission rate function comprises decreasing a transmission rate of the wearable electronic device.

4. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the wearable electronic device comprises glasses that comprise a frame, and the wearable electronic device further comprises a frame temperature sensor configured to measure a temperature of the frame, and wherein the determining of the current temperature of the wearable electronic device is based on the frame temperature sensor.

5. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:

determining an amount of the data that remains unacknowledged by a remote device to which the data is being transmitted; and

determining a current transmission rate of the wearable electronic device.

6. The wearable electronic device of claim 5 , wherein the operations further comprise:

computing the remaining time by dividing the amount of data by the current transmission rate; and

computing the completion temperature by adding the current temperature of the wearable electronic device to the remaining time multiplied by the rate of temperature change.

7. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising a wireless transmitter temperature sensor, the operations further comprising reading data from the wireless transmitter temperature sensor, and determining the current temperature of the wearable electronic device based on the data read from the wireless transmitter temperature sensor.

8. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , the operations further comprising:

comparing the current rate of temperature change to a first rate threshold or a second rate threshold in response to the current temperature of the wearable electronic device falling within a first temperature range or a second temperature range, respectively; and

adjusting a transmission rate limit in response to the comparison.

9. The wearable electronic device of claim 8 , wherein the operations further comprise adjusting the transmission rate of the wearable electronic device by delaying transmissions to avoid exceeding the adjusted transmission rate limit.

10. The wearable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:

determining which of one of a first temperature range and a second adjacent temperature range the current temperature of the wearable electronic device is within; and

adjusting a transmission rate limit based on the determination of which of one of the first temperature range and the second adjacent temperature range the current temperature of the wearable electronic device is within.

11. The wearable electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the operations further comprise increasing the transmission rate limit in response to the current rate of temperature change exceeding a first or second rate threshold and decreasing the transmission rate limit otherwise.

12. The wearable electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the operations further comprise increasing or decreasing the transmission rate limit by 2 Mbit/sec.

13. The wearable electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the first rate threshold is 15 degrees Celsius per minute, and the second rate threshold is 10 degrees Celsius per minute.

14. A method comprising:

computing, by one or more processors, a remaining time for completing transfer of data from a wearable electronic device;

determining a current rate of temperature change and a current temperature of the wearable electronic device;

computing a completion temperature of the wearable electronic device based on the remaining time for completing the transfer of the data, the current rate of temperature change, and the current temperature of the wearable electronic device; and

performing a transmission rate function in response to determining that the completion temperature of the wearable electronic device is less than a specified threshold.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising performing the computing of the remaining time in response to determining whether to decrease a transmission rate.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the transmission rate function comprises decreasing a transmission rate of the wearable electronic device.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein the wearable electronic device comprises glasses that comprise a frame, and the wearable electronic device further comprises a frame temperature sensor configured to measure a temperature of the frame, and wherein the determining of the current temperature of the wearable electronic device is based on the frame temperature sensor.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, configure hardware processing circuitry to perform operations comprising:

computing a remaining time for completing transfer of data from a wearable electronic device;

determining a current rate of temperature change and a current temperature of the wearable electronic device;

computing a completion temperature of the wearable electronic device based on the remaining time for completing the transfer of the data, the current rate of temperature change, and the current temperature of the wearable electronic device; and

performing a transmission rate function in response to determining that the completion temperature of the wearable electronic device is less than a specified threshold.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 18 , wherein the operations further comprise performing the computing of the remaining time in response to determining whether to decrease a transmission rate of the wearable electronic device.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 18 , wherein the transmission rate function comprises decreasing a transmission rate of the wearable electronic device.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 22, 2021
From: ASHWOOD, ANDREA; WOLLMAN, MICHAEL; LARSON, NICHOLAS; MCSWEENEY SIMONS, PATRICK TIMOTHY
To: SNAP INC.
Reel/Frame 056617/0867 →
Continuity (3)
Continuation 16236114 · Dec 28, 2018
Continuation 15693103 · Aug 31, 2017
Related Publication 20200142458A1 · May 7, 2020