Light sensor obstruction detection

摘要

An ambient light sensor may be used to measure ambient light in an environment that surrounds a device. The measured ambient light may be used to adjust display settings employed by the device, and thereby improve a user experience during interaction with the device in the environment. During use of the device that includes an ambient light sensor, the ambient light sensor may become obscured (blocked, covered, etc.) by a user's finger, a cover, dirt, and/or by another object that obstructs the ambient light sensor's ability to detect light from the environment. Various techniques may be used to determine obstruction of the ambient light sensor. In some embodiments, changes in display settings may be compared to measured changes in ambient light to determine whether a light sensor is obstructed. In some embodiments, use of a second light sensor may validate whether a first light sensor is obstructed.

主权项

1. A method comprising:
determining an initial display brightness setting for a display of a device; determining, using an ambient light sensor, a first ambient light measurement; determining, using a lookup table, a revised display brightness setting based at least in part on the first ambient light measurement, wherein the revised display brightness setting is different from the initial display brightness setting; determining an intermediate display brightness setting, the intermediate display brightness setting corresponding to a minimum increase from the initial display brightness setting that causes a specified increase in ambient light measurement; adjusting a brightness level of the display based on the intermediate display brightness setting; determining, using the ambient light sensor, a second ambient light measurement upon adjusting the brightness level of the display based on the intermediate display brightness setting; determining a difference between the first ambient light measurement and the second ambient light measurement; determining that the difference between the first and the second ambient light measurements is less than the specified increase in the ambient light measurement; and determining that the ambient light sensor is at least partially blocked based at least in part on the determining that the difference between the first and the second ambient light measurements is less than the specified increase in the ambient light measurement.