Context Aware Airplane Mode Protocol Management
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
When airplane mode is activated on a mobile computing device, disabling all wireless protocols can disrupt ongoing activities such as audio streaming, requiring users to manually re-activate protocols and reconnect, which is inconvenient.
Innovation Solution
The mobile computing device selectively maintains certain wireless protocols enabled based on the activity of media sessions, such as maintaining Bluetooth connectivity if audio streaming is active or recently active, to avoid disrupting ongoing media sessions and eliminate the need for manual re-activation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If airplane mode disables all wireless protocols, then aircraft interference is avoided, but ongoing media sessions are disrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the wireless protocols into two categories: those that must be disabled (cellular, Wi-Fi) and those that may be maintained (Bluetooth, NFC). This selective segmentation allows the system to disable only the necessary protocols for aircraft safety while preserving others needed for ongoing media sessions, thus resolving the contradiction between avoiding aircraft interference and maintaining media session continuity.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If airplane mode disables all wireless protocols, then aircraft interference is avoided, but user convenience deteriorates due to manual re-activation required
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically detects ongoing media sessions and self-adjusts the wireless protocol configuration by maintaining Bluetooth and NFC protocols while disabling others. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for users to manually re-activate protocols after entering airplane mode, thereby preserving user convenience while still avoiding aircraft interference.
3Reliability
If airplane mode selectively maintains certain wireless protocols, then media session continuity is preserved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the operational parameters of wireless protocols dynamically based on the detected media session state. When a media session is detected, the system adjusts the enable/disable parameters of specific protocols (maintaining Bluetooth/NFC while disabling cellular/Wi-Fi). This parameter-based control achieves media session continuity without requiring complex structural changes to the device architecture.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
An example method includes, responsive to receiving user input to activate an airplane mode of a mobile computing device: disabling a first wireless protocol; determining, based on activity of a media session, whether to maintain an enabled state of a second wireless protocol of the mobile computing device, wherein the mobile computing device is configured to stream audio data associated with the media session to an audio sink device via a second wireless protocol; and selectively maintaining the enabled state of the second wireless protocol based on the determination.