# US 12,010,770 B2 · Electronic device and operating method of electronic device > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,010,770 B2 - Document ID: US12010770B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/474,834 - Filed: 2021-09-14 - Published: 2022-06-16 - Granted: 2024-06-11 - Earliest claimed: 2020-12-16 - Assignees: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Jeongho Park; Raeyoung Kim; Juhwa Kim; Long Yan; Sungjin Jung - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12010770B2 ## CPC - H05B 45/12: using optical feedback - A61B 5/02416: {using photoplethysmograph signals, e.g. generated by infrared radiation (A61B5/14552 takes precedence)} - A61B 5/7225: {Details of analogue processing, e.g. isolation amplifier, gain or sensitivity adjustment, filtering, baseline or drift compensation (input circuits for detecting, measuring, or recording bioelectric or biomagnetic signals A61B5/30; specific diagnostic methods using bioelectric or biomagnetic signals A61B5/316)} - A61B 5/024: Measuring pulse rate or heart rate - A61B 5/145: Measuring characteristics of blood in vivo, e.g. gas concentration or pH-value {; Measuring characteristics of body fluids or tissues, e.g. interstitial fluid or cerebral tissue} (non-radiation detecting or locating of foreign bodies in blood A61B5/06) - A61B 5/14552: {Details of sensors specially adapted therefor} - A61B 5/7203: {for noise prevention, reduction or removal} - A61B 2560/0247: for compensation or correction of the measured physiological value - H05B 47/11: by determining the brightness or colour temperature of ambient light - H05B: ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) ## Abstract An electronic device includes a light source, a light sensor, and a controller that senses an amount of a coarse ambient light by turning off the light source and performing sensing in a coarse mode by using the light sensor and senses an amount of a fine ambient light by performing sensing in a fine mode by using the light sensor. The controller senses an amount of a target light by turning on the light source and performing sensing by using the light sensor while the light source emits a light, and outputs information based on the amount of the coarse ambient light, the amount of the fine ambient light, and the amount of the target light. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An electronic device comprising: a light source; a light sensor; and a controller configured to sense a coarse amount of ambient light by turning off the light source and performing sensing in a coarse mode by operating an analog-to-digital converter at a first resolution on data based on a first output from the light sensor and to sense a fine amount of the ambient light by performing sensing in a fine mode by operating the analog-to-digital converter at a second higher resolution on data based on a second output from the light sensor, wherein the controller is configured to: sense an amount of a target light by turning on the light source and performing sensing by using the light sensor while the light source emits a light; and output information based on the coarse amount of the ambient light, the fine amount of the ambient light, and the amount of the target light. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The electronic device of claim 1, wherein, during sensing the fine amount of the ambient light and during sensing the amount of the target light, the controller is configured to cancel an amount, which corresponds to the coarse amount of the ambient light, from an amount of a current output from the light sensor. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the controller outputs a value corresponding to an amount obtained by subtracting the coarse amount of the ambient light from the amount of the target light, as the information. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the light source includes a light-emitting diode, wherein the light sensor includes a photodiode, and wherein the information includes a photoplethysmography signal. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the analog-to-digital converter is configured to: convert the coarse amount of the ambient light into a first digital value in a first mode; convert the fine amount of the ambient light into a second digital value in a second mode; and convert the amount of the target light into a third digital value in the second mode. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The electronic device of claim 5, wherein, in the first mode, the analog-to-digital converter operates as a successive approximation (SAR) analog-to-digital converter, and wherein, in the second mode, the analog-to-digital converter operates as a delta-sigma analog-to-digital converter. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the analog-to-digital converter comprises: a loop filter; an internal analog-to-digital converter configured to convert an output signal of the loop filter into “j” bits in the first mode and to convert the output signal of the loop filter into “i” bits in the second mode; a digital-to-analog converter configured to convert the “i” bits into a current in the second mode; a subtractor configured to subtract the current output from the digital-to-analog converter from an input signal of the analog-to-digital converter so as to be provided to the loop filter; and a logic circuit configured to perform filtering on the “i” bits and to output a result of the filtering in the second mode, wherein the “i” is a positive integer greater than “0”, and wherein the “j” is a positive integer greater than the “i”. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The electronic device of claim 7, wherein, in the first mode, the analog-to-digital converter outputs the “j” bits as the first digital value, and wherein, in the second mode, the analog-to-digital converter outputs the “i” bits as the second digital value or the third digital value. ### Claim 9 (depends on 5) The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the controller comprises: a digital-to-analog converter configured to output a current corresponding to the first digital value in the second mode; a subtractor configured to subtract the current output from the digital-to-analog converter from a current received from the light sensor in the second mode so as to be provided to the analog-to-digital converter; a memory configured to store the second digital value and the third digital value in the second mode; and an interface circuit configured to output a difference between the third digital value and the second digital value. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the analog-to-digital converter comprises: a first analog-to-digital converter configured to convert the coarse amount of the ambient light into a first digital value; and a second analog-to-digital converter configured to convert the fine amount of the ambient light into a second digital value and to convert the amount of the target light into a third digital value. ### Claim 11 An operating method of an electronic device which includes a light source and a light sensor, the method comprising: sensing a first current amount by turning off the light source and operating an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) at a first resolution on data based on a first output from the light sensor, during a first time interval; sensing a second current amount by operating the ADC at a second higher resolution on data based on a second output from the light sensor and the first current amount, during the second time interval; and during a third time interval, emitting a light by turning on the light source and sensing a third current amount by using the light sensor and the second current. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, further comprising: outputting a difference between the third current amount and the second current amount. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, further comprising: canceling a current corresponding to the first current amount from an output of the light sensor during a fourth time interval; sensing a fourth current amount by using the light sensor during the fourth time interval; and outputting a difference between the third current amount and an average of the second current amount and the fourth current amount. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, further comprising: sensing a fourth current amount by using the light sensor during a fourth time interval; canceling a current corresponding to the fourth current amount from an output of the light sensor during a fifth time interval; and during the fifth time interval, emitting a light by using the light source and sensing a fifth current amount by using the light sensor. ### Claim 15 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, further comprising: canceling a current corresponding to the first current amount from an output of the light sensor during a fourth time interval and a fifth time interval; sensing a fourth current amount by using the light sensor during the fourth time interval; and during the fifth time interval, emitting a light by using the light source and sensing a fifth current amount by using the light sensor. ### Claim 16 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, further comprising: canceling a current corresponding to the first current amount from an output of the light sensor during a fourth time interval; and during the fourth time interval, emitting a light by using the light source and sensing a fourth current amount by using the light sensor. ### Claim 17 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, wherein the light source includes two or more light sources, and wherein the method further comprises: adjusting a number of active light sources from among the two or more light sources, based on a difference of the third current amount and the second current amount. ### Claim 18 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, wherein the light source is a first light source, and wherein the electronic device further includes a second light source, and wherein the method further comprises: canceling a current corresponding to the first current amount from an output of the light sensor during a fourth time interval; and during the fourth time interval, emitting a light by using the second light source and sensing a fourth current amount by using the light sensor. ### Claim 19 An electronic device comprising: a photoplethysmography device configured to output a photoplethysmography signal; and a processor configured to receive the photoplethysmography signal from the photoplethysmography device and to communicate the photoplethysmography signal to an external device, wherein the photoplethysmography device comprises: a light source; a light sensor; and a controller configured to perform sensing by turning off the light source and operating an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) at a first resolution on data based on a first output from the light sensor to sense a coarse amount of ambient light, in a coarse mode, wherein the controller is configured to: sense a fine amount of the ambient light by performing sensing by operating the ADC at a second higher resolution on data based on a second output from the light sensor in a fine mode and the first output; and sense an amount of a target light by performing sensing by turning on the light source and using the light sensor while the light source emits a light and the second output. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The electronic device of claim 19, wherein the ADC operates in a successive approximation (SAR) manner while sensing the coarse amount of the ambient light and operates in a delta-sigma manner while sensing the fine amount of the ambient light and sensing the amount of the target light.