US 12,244,929 B1
Device with moveable portion including sensors
Michael Risley, San Francisco, CA (US); Michael L. Richards, San Francisco, CA (US); Dean Zachary Dijour, Morganville, NJ (US); Kyle Crouse, Valley Village, CA (US); and Varsha Iyengar, San Francisco, CA (US)
Assigned to AMAZON TECHNOLOGIES, INC., Seattle, WA (US)
Filed by AMAZON TECHNOLOGIES, INC., Seattle, WA (US)
Filed on Sep. 29, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/936,827.
Int. Cl. H04N 23/695 (2023.01); G01L 5/22 (2006.01); H04N 23/51 (2023.01); H04N 23/667 (2023.01); H04R 1/04 (2006.01); H04R 1/40 (2006.01); H04R 3/00 (2006.01)
CPC H04N 23/695 (2023.01) [H04N 23/51 (2023.01); H04N 23/667 (2023.01); H04R 1/04 (2013.01); H04R 1/406 (2013.01); H04R 3/005 (2013.01); G01L 5/22 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A device comprising:
a body portion comprising:
a brushless direct current (DC) motor mechanically coupled to rotate a first gear;
a moveable portion comprising:
a rack comprising a plurality of teeth, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of teeth are mechanically engaged with the first gear;
a camera; and
a microphone array;
wherein the moveable portion is moveable, relative to the body portion, between an extended position and a retracted position;
a position encoder associated with the moveable portion; and
a control module comprising electronics to:
determine first state data indicative of:
a first state of operation of the camera, and
a first state of operation of the microphone array;
determine first encoder data using the position encoder, wherein the first encoder data is indicative of a first position of the moveable portion relative to the body portion;
operate the motor, based on the first encoder data, to maintain the moveable portion at a first setpoint position;
determine applied force data indicative of a first force applied to the moveable portion;
based on the first state data and the applied force data, determine a first action indicative of:
a second setpoint position,
a second state of operation of the camera, and
a second state of operation of the microphone array;
operate the motor, based on the first action, to maintain the moveable portion at the second setpoint position;
operate the camera in the second state of operation of the camera; and
operate the microphone array in the second state of operation of the microphone array.