Bluetooth Toggle Icon for Handheld Device Battery Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional handheld electronic devices have 'buried' BLUETOOTH® on/off controls, making it difficult for users to enable and disable the BLUETOOTH® communications module, leading to unnecessary battery power consumption as users either rarely use the feature or leave it enabled indefinitely.
Innovation Solution
A simplified mechanism involving 'Turn BLUETOOTH® On' and 'Turn BLUETOOTH® Off' icons on the home screen allows users to easily enable and disable the BLUETOOTH® communications module, reducing battery power wastage by providing direct access to toggle the transmitter/receiver element on and off.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If BLUETOOTH controls are buried in settings screens, then device complexity is reduced, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the BLUETOOTH on/off control function from the buried settings screens and places it directly on the home screen as a standalone icon. This allows users to enable or disable BLUETOOTH immediately without navigating through multiple menu levels, directly resolving the contradiction by improving ease of operation while maintaining acceptable device complexity through the use of a simple icon-based interface.
2Ease of operation
If BLUETOOTH is left enabled indefinitely, then ease of operation is improved, but use of energy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a context-aware system that automatically manages BLUETOOTH power state based on usage patterns. When BLUETOOTH is not actively used for a predetermined period, the system automatically disables it to conserve battery power. This self-service approach resolves the contradiction by maintaining BLUETOOTH availability when needed while automatically reducing energy consumption during idle periods, eliminating the need for users to manually manage the toggle.
Data Source
AI summary
An improved handheld electronic device and an associated method provide a simplified mechanism for enabling and disabling a short-range wireless communications element used to create a connection to a short-range wireless network, such as a Bluetooth™ network. The method, implemented by the handheld electronic device, includes enabling the short-range wireless communications element, pairing the handheld electronic device with a second electronic device using the short-range wireless communications element, and providing a first icon on the handheld electronic device after pairing the handheld electronic device with the second electronic device. Thereafter, the method includes disabling the short-range wireless communications element and providing a second icon on the handheld electronic device whenever the first icon is activated, and enabling the short-range wireless communications element and providing the first icon on the handheld electronic device whenever the second icon is activated.