Door lock user interface

• US 10,140,791 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2017
• Issued: 11/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Neonode, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Neonode, Inc.
• Inventors: Iyer, Sairam, Holmgren, Stefan, Rosengren, Per
• Primary Examiner(s): Brown, Vernal
• Application Number:
  US15/637,183
• Publication Number:
  US 20170309096A1
• Time in Patent Office: 516 Days
• Field of Search: 340 56
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/169 the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/021 Arrangements integrating additional peripherals in a keyboard, e.g. card or barcode reader, optical scanner
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0428 by sensing at the edges of the touch surface the interruption of optical paths, e.g. an illumination plane, parallel to the touch surface which may be virtual sensing beam interruptions in a planar beam grid of an optical touch-screen G06F3/0421
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00396 starting with prompting the keyless data carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00769 with data transmission performed by wireless means
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/20 involving the use of a pass

Abstract

A user interface method for an automated door lock, including providing a sensor operable to identify two-dimensional locations of an object within a detection plane that extends outward from a door, providing an unlocker operative to automatically unlock the door, identifying, by a processor coupled with the sensor and the unlocker, a linear movement of the object within the detection plane, in a first direction of motion, further identifying, by the processor, a linear movement of the object within the detection plane, in a second direction of motion substantially orthogonal to the first direction of motion, and activating, by the processor, the unlocker in response to the identifying and the further identifying.

Claims

1. A user interface method for an automated door lock, comprising:

providing a sensor operable (i) to identify two-dimensional locations of an object within a detection plane that extends outward from a door, and (ii) to estimate a size of the object;

providing an unlocker operative to automatically unlock the door;

identifying, by a processor coupled with the sensor and the unlocker, a movement of the object within the detection plane, in a first direction of motion;

further identifying, by the processor, a movement of the object within the detection plane, in a second direction of motion substantially different than the first direction of motion;

determining, by the processor, whether or not the size of the object is within an expected range; and

contingent upon said determining being affirmative, activating, by the processor, the unlocker in response to said identifying and said further identifying.

2. The user interface method of claim 1 wherein the first direction of motion is toward the door and wherein the second direction of motion is substantially parallel to the door.

3. The user interface method of claim 1 wherein the second direction of motion is substantially orthogonal to the first direction of motion.

4. The user interface method of claim 1, wherein said identifying a movement of the object and said further identifying a movement of the object each comprise calculating a velocity of the object based on the sensor outputs.

5. An automated door lock system comprising:

a sensor operable (i) to identify two-dimensional locations of an object within a detection plane that extends outward from a door, and (ii) to estimate a size of the object;

an unlocker to automatically unlock the door;

a processor in communication with said sensor and with said unlocker; and

a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which cause said processor;

to identify, via said sensor, a movement of the object within the detection plane, in a first direction of motion,

to further identify, via said sensor, a movement of the object within the two-dimensional detection plane, in a second direction of motion substantially different than the first direction of motion,

to determine, based on outputs from said sensor, whether or not the size of the object is within an expected range, and

to activate said unlocker in response to identifying the movements in the two directions of motion, only if the object is within the expected range.

6. The automated door lock system of claim 5 wherein said sensor comprises:

a first sensor, via which said processor identifies the linear movement in the first direction of motion; and

a second sensor, different that said first sensor, via which said processor identifies the movement in the second direction of motion.

7. The automated door lock system of claim 6 wherein said first sensor is reflectance-based.

8. The automated door lock system of claim 5 wherein said unlocker comprises a wireless emitter and detector.

9. The automated door lock system of claim 5 wherein the door is a vehicle door.

10. The automated door lock system of claim 5 wherein the door is a door in a building.

11. The automated door lock system of claim 5 wherein the door comprises a handle, and wherein the detection plane extends outward from the handle.

12. The automated door lock system of claim 5 wherein the second direction of motion is substantially orthogonal to the first direction of motion.

13. The automated door lock system of claim 5, wherein said identify a movement of the object and said further identify a movement of the object each comprise calculating a velocity of the object based on the sensor outputs.