Sending messages or performing predefined actions other than unlocking on a mobile device using unlocking mechanism

摘要

An electronic device having power management and a lock interface to unlock the electronic device uses that unlock interface to accept input sequences for alternate instruction sequences for predefined actions other than unlocking the electronic device. The lock interface can be a touchscreen interface. Alternate instructions could trigger powering up of selected subsystems of the electronic device as part of performing the alternate instructions. The alternate instruction sequences can comprise message send sequences and those message send sequences can include some characters of the message encoded using Morse code. The powered up subsystems might include a modem subsystem and an analog radio frequency (“RF”) subsystem.

主权项

1. A method comprising: An electronic device configured to selectively power down and selectively power up a plurality of functional subsystems of the electronic device and further configured to be unlockable by input of an unlocking sequence on a touchscreen, the electronic device comprising:
a processor subsystem; a display subsystem; a wireless communication subsystem that, when powered up, receives signals corresponding to incoming messages and transmits signals corresponding to outgoing messages; a battery for supplying power at least to the processor subsystem, the display subsystem, and the wireless communication subsystem; a first memory storage that maintains a value of a locked state of the electronic device; a touch processing subsystem that receives inputs via the touchscreen to determine a touch input pattern, converts the touch input pattern to a touch sequence, compares the touch sequence to an unlock sequence and to a message sending sequence, outputs an unlock signal if the touch sequence matches the unlock sequence, or outputs a message initiation signal if the touch sequence matches the message sending sequence; a power management system that selectively provides power to subsystems of the electronic device and is coupled to receive signals from the touch processing subsystem, wherein (1) when the electronic device is in an unlocked state, the power management system provides power to the processor subsystem, the display subsystem, and the wireless communication subsystem and (2) upon receiving the message initiation signal from the touch processing subsystem when the electronic device is in the locked state, the power management system provides power to the wireless communication subsystem without providing power to the display subsystem; and a message generator that, upon receiving the message initiation signal, retrieves a portion of the touch sequence, generates a message corresponding to the portion of the touch sequence, and provides the message to the wireless communication subsystem for transmission, while the electronic device is in the locked state.