Smartwatch and control method thereof

• US 10,175,656 B2
• Filed: 11/13/2013
• Issued: 01/08/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Park, Hyorim
• Primary Examiner(s): Broome, Said
• Application Number:
  US14/910,940
• Publication Number:
  US 20160202665A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,882 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G04C 3/002 Position, e.g. inclination dependent switches
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 21/00 Input or output devices integrated in time-pieces
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 9/00 Visual time or date indication means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/40 Scaling of whole images or parts thereof, e.g. expanding or contracting

Abstract

A smartwatch and a control method thereof are disclosed. According to an embodiment, the smartwatch includes a tilt sensor unit configured to sense a tilt of the smartwatch; a display unit configured to display an image; and a processor configured to control the tilt sensor unit and the display unit, wherein, when a front of the display unit is directed in a predetermined direction, the processor is further configured to: acquire, using the tilt sensor unit, a first rotation angle in a first direction when the smartwatch rotates in the first direction based on a rotation axis of the smartwatch and perform a first command corresponding to the first direction when the first rotation angle exceeds a first threshold angle, acquire, using the tilt sensor unit, a second rotation angle in a second direction when the smartwatch rotates in the second direction based on the rotation axis and perform a second command corresponding to the second direction when the second rotation angle exceeds a second threshold angle, and wherein the first direction is an opposite direction of the second direction and the first threshold angle is greater than the second threshold angle.

Claims

1. A smartwatch, comprising:

a tilt sensor unit configured to sense a tilt of the smartwatch;

a display unit configured to display visual information; and

a processor configured to control the tilt sensor unit and the display unit,

wherein the processor is further configured to;

determine a reference direction of a front of the display unit of the smartwatch positioned on a user'"'"'s wrist when the user is wearing the smartwatch and the front of the display unit is facing toward a face of the user,

detect, using the tilt sensor unit, an outward rotation of the smartwatch starting from the reference direction and tilting towards a first direction,

perform a first command corresponding to the outward rotation if the smartwatch is outwardly rotated at least in a first rotation degree away from the reference direction,

detect, using the tilt sensor unit, an inward rotation of the smartwatch starting from the reference direction and tilting towards a second direction opposite to the first direction, and

perform a second command corresponding to the inward rotation if the smartwatch is inwardly rotated at least in a second rotation degree away from the reference direction,

wherein the first rotation degree away from the reference direction is opposite to and greater than the second rotation degree away from the reference direction, and

wherein the first rotation degree is set to be greater than the second rotation degree to compensate for physical limitations associated with rotation of the user'"'"'s wrist.

2. The smartwatch according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to detect the outward rotation and the inward rotation of the smartwatch if the front of the display unit is directed in a predetermined direction.

3. The smartwatch according to claim 1, wherein the smartwatch is rotated on the wrist of the user wearing the smartwatch.

4. The smartwatch according to claim 1, wherein the first command is one of a volume-up command and a volume-down command, and the second command is the other of the volume-up command and the volume-down command.

5. The smartwatch according to claim 1, wherein the first command is one of image magnification command and image reduction command, and the second command is the other of the image magnification command and the image reduction command.

6. The smartwatch according to claim 1, wherein the first command is one of scroll-up command and scroll-down command, and the second command is the other of the scroll-up command and the scroll-down command.

7. The smartwatch according to claim 1, wherein the first command and the second command relates to one of audio/video playback control and execution control.

8. The smartwatch according to claim 1, wherein the first command is one of rejecting an incoming call and accepting the incoming call, and the second command is the other of rejecting the incoming call and accepting the incoming call.

9. The smartwatch according to claim 1, wherein the first command is one of confirming a received message and disregarding the received message, and the second command is the other of confirming the received message and disregarding the received message.

10. The smartwatch according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to detect a worn mode or an unworn mode as a mode of the smartwatch and perform the first command or the second command according to a rotation of the smartwatch based on the detected worn mode or unworn mode.

11. The smartwatch according to claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to perform the first command or the second command according to the rotation of the smartwatch if the mode of the smartwatch is the worn mode.

12. The smartwatch according to claim 10, further comprising an input sensor unit configured to sense an input to the smartwatch,

wherein the processor is further configured to determine the mode of the smartwatch based on at least one input on a back of the smartwatch and input to a buckle of the smartwatch.

13. The smartwatch according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to determine the first command and the second command according to a currently executed application type or a currently displayed application execution screen.

14. The smartwatch according to claim 1, wherein the first command and the second command are commands corresponding to each other.

15. The smartwatch according to claim 1, wherein the first rotation degree is a relative degree of the second rotation degree or the second rotation degree is a relative degree of the first rotation degree.

16. The smartwatch according to claim 1, wherein in response to occurrence of an event occurs in the smartwatch, the processor is further configured to:

provide a notification regarding the event, and

perform the first command or the second command corresponding to the notification according to a rotation of the smartwatch if the smartwatch rotates within a predetermined period of time after the notification is provided.

17. The smartwatch according to claim 1, further comprising:

a measurement unit configured to measure a rotation speed of the smartwatch,

wherein the processor is further configured to;

perform the first command or the second command according to the rotation of the smartwatch if the rotation speed exceeds a predetermined speed.

18. The smartwatch according to claim 1, further comprising:

a communication unit configured to transmit and receive data,

wherein the processor is further configured to perform pairing between the smartwatch and an external device using the communication unit.

19. The smartwatch according to claim 18, wherein the processor is further configured to control the external device paired with the smartwatch according to a rotation of the smartwatch.

20. The smartwatch according to claim 1, further comprising a camera unit configured to capture an image,

wherein the processor is further configured to determine that the front of the display unit is directed in the reference direction if the camera unit detects a user image.

21. The smartwatch according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to provide a directional indicator indicating the first direction or the second direction.

22. The smartwatch according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to determine that the front of the display unit is directed in the reference direction if the front of the display unit faces upwardly or downwardly.

23. A method for controlling a smartwatch, comprising:

determining a reference direction of a front of a display unit of the smartwatch positioned on a user'"'"'s wrist when the user is wearing the smartwatch and the front of the display unit is facing toward a face of the user;

detecting, using a tilt sensor unit, an outward rotation of the smartwatch starting from the reference direction and tilting towards a first direction;

performing a first command corresponding to the outward direction if the smartwatch is outwardly rotated at least in a first rotation degree away from the reference direction;

detecting, using the tilt sensor unit, an inward rotation of the smartwatch starting from the reference direction and tilting towards a second direction opposite to the first direction; and

performing a second command corresponding to the inward direction if the smartwatch is inwardly rotated at least in a second rotation degree away from the reference direction,

wherein the first rotation degree away from the reference direction is opposite to and greater than the second rotation degree away from the reference direction, and

wherein the first rotation degree is set to be greater than the second rotation degree to compensate for physical limitations associated with rotation of the user'"'"'s wrist.