Input Device Diagnostics for Spurious Interrupt Filtering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inadvertent inputs from user input devices such as stuck keys or ghost touches in Information Handling Systems (IHS) lead to unintended operations, resource wastage, and diminished user experience due to processor load from handling interrupts.
Innovation Solution
Implement diagnostics that detect user proximity using sensors, mask interrupts from user input devices when the user is not present, and route them to an embedded controller for analysis to identify spurious or faulty inputs, reporting results to the user upon return.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the system processes all inputs from user input devices, then complete input responsiveness is achieved, but spurious inputs cause unwanted operations and resource wastage
Solution Approach 1:
An embedded controller is introduced as an intermediary between the user input device and the main processor. The embedded controller monitors inputs and determines whether they are spurious or intentional, routing only legitimate inputs to the main processor while filtering out spurious ones. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining input accuracy through the intermediary's discrimination capability while preventing resource wastage by blocking unwanted inputs before they consume system resources.
2Speed
If the processor handles interrupts from user input devices, then real-time input response is achieved, but stuck inputs generate substantial processor load causing system lags
Solution Approach 1:
The interrupt handling function is segmented between the embedded controller and the main processor. The embedded controller handles the initial interrupt reception and performs preliminary analysis to determine if the input is spurious or stuck. Only legitimate inputs are forwarded to the main processor for full processing. This segmentation maintains fast initial response through the embedded controller while preventing system-wide lags by filtering out problematic inputs before they overwhelm the main processor.
3Reliability
If diagnostics are continuously monitored, then faulty inputs are detected early, but system resources are consumed during normal operation
Solution Approach 1:
The embedded controller performs periodic monitoring of user input device states rather than continuous full-diagnostics. During normal operation, it checks for abnormal patterns such as repeated spurious inputs or stuck states at intervals. Full diagnostic routines are activated only when anomalies are detected. This periodic approach provides early fault detection capability while minimizing diagnostic overhead during normal system operation.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments provide diagnostic operations on user input devices of an Information Handling System (IHS). Sensor capabilities of the IHS are used to detect when a user of the IHS is not in proximity to the IHS. Upon detecting when the user is not in proximity to the IHS, monitoring is initiated for inputs detected by one or more of the user input devices of the IHS. When the monitoring detects an input to a first user input device while the user is not in proximity to the IHS, diagnostics are initiated to identify whether the detected input is a spurious event, or results from a fault in the first user input device. The diagnostics are exited upon detecting the user in proximity to the IHS and faults identified by the diagnostics are reported to the user.