Vibrator motor speed determination in a mobile communications device

摘要

One embodiment relates to testing and verifying vibrator motor operation during manufacturing of a device and during in-the-field use. The test relies on an integrated motion sensor or other mechanical measurement circuitry, such as, for example, an accelerometer. In one embodiment, a speed determination for a vibrator motor performance during initial manufacture of the device. Subsequently, when vibration is detected during the in-the-field use, the vibration may be sampled using the integrated mechanical measurement circuitry. Once sampled, a speed may be determined based on a resonance of the sampled signal. Over time, the various speed determinations for the vibrator motor may be analyzed to determine an overall health of the vibrator motor. A threshold for detecting when the overall health of the vibration motor over time has degraded may be predetermined. A notification of a degradation of vibrator motor performance is sent to either a manufacturer or user of the mobile communications device. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

主权项

1. A method within a mobile communications device, comprising:
sampling an output data of mechanical measurement circuitry that is integrated in the mobile communications device while a linear vibrator motor is running; analyzing the sampled output data to detect vibration caused by the running linear vibrator motor and to determine a speed of the linear vibrator motor; storing the determined speed of the linear vibrator motor within a non-volatile memory of the mobile communications device; analyzing a plurality of stored speeds of the linear vibrator motor that have been determined over time during in-the-field use of the device, to detect when the linear vibrator motor performance has degraded; performing a frequency domain transform upon the sampled output data to obtain frequency spectra while sweeping a drive frequency of the linear vibrator motor from low to high and from high to low; analyzing the frequency spectra to detect a rising resonance frequency and a falling resonance frequency; and reporting a detected degradation of vibrator motor performance by one of a) notifying a user at the mobile communications device of the detected degradation of vibrator motor performance and b) transmitting a message to a manufacturer of the mobile communications device via a wireless network connection with the mobile device, to indicate the detected degradation of vibrator motor performance.