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SamsungGranted patentPhones & computersInterest 4/10

Samsung patents foldable phone sensor check for accurate open/closed state

This patent describes a method for foldable electronic devices to determine if they are open, closed, or partially folded. It uses a magnet-based sensor to get an initial reading, then checks that reading against motion sensors to confirm the device's actual physical position.

Why it mattersThis helps ensure the phone correctly knows its shape, which is important for preventing accidental touches or adjusting the screen orientation properly.

In the filing’s own words

An electronic device includes a first housing; a second housing, a hinge foldably connecting the first housing and the second housing to each other along a folding axis, a plurality of sensors including a hall sensor and at least one inertial sensor; and at least one processor. The at least one processor is configured to: identify, using the hall sensor, first information indicating that a state of the electronic device is a first state, based on identifying the first information, identify, using the at least one inertial sensor, second information indicating the state of the electronic device, based on identifying that the first information corresponds to the second information, identify the state of the electronic device as the first state, and based on identifying that the first information is different from the second information, identify the state of the electronic device based on the second information.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An electronic device comprising: a first housing; a second housing; a hinge foldably connecting the first housing and the second housing to each other along a folding axis; a plurality of sensors comprising a hall sensor and at least one inertial sensor; and at least one processor comprising processing circuitry, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: identify, using the hall sensor, first information indicating that a state of the electronic device is a first state, based on identifying the first information, identify, using the at least one inertial sensor, second information indicating the state of the electronic device, identify whether the first information corresponds to or is different from the second information, based on identifying that the first information corresponds to the second information, identify the state of the electronic device as the first state, and based on identifying that the first information is different from the second information, identify the state of the electronic device based on the second information.

Facts

Company
Samsung (SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.)
Official title
Electronic device, method, and storage medium for identifying state of electronic device using sensor
Patent number
US12750436B2
Application number
18640679
Filed
Apr 19, 2024
Granted
Sep 29, 2026
Inventors
5
Claims
20

Classified under

H04M 1/0216 Electricity & electronicsH04M 2250/12 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.