Systems, articles, and methods for wearable human-electronics interface devices
First Claim
1. A method of operating a wearable human-electronics interface device, the device comprising a band that in use is worn around an appendage of a user, a set of microelectromechanical systems (“
- MEMS”
) microphones carried by the band and physically spaced apart from one another, a processor carried by the band and communicatively coupled to each MEMS microphone in the set of MEMS microphones, a wireless transmitter carried by the band and communicatively coupled to the processor, and a vibration source carried by the band, wherein the method comprises;
detecting, by at least one MEMS microphone in the set of MEMS microphones, a vibration at the appendage of the user in response to a tapping gesture made by the user, the tapping gesture involving at least one finger of the user;
at least partially cancelling a background vibration at the appendage of the user, the background vibration caused by at least one ambient source other than the tapping gesture, by generating an interference vibration by the vibration source that destructively interferes with at least a portion of the background vibration at the appendage of the user;
providing at least one vibration signal from the at least one MEMS microphone that detects the vibration to the processor, wherein a composition of the at least one vibration signal depends at least in part on the at least one finger involved in the tapping gesture;
classifying, by the processor, the tapping gesture based at least in part on the at least one vibration signal; and
wirelessly transmitting at least one interfacial signal by the wireless transmitter based at least in part on classifying the tapping gesture by the processor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems, articles, and methods for wearable human-electronics interfaces are described. A wearable human-electronics interface device includes a band that in use is worn on an appendage (e.g., a wrist, arm, finger, or thumb) of a user. The band carries multiple sensors that are responsive to vibrations. The sensors are physically spaced apart from one another on or within the band. The band also carries an on-board processor. The sensors detect vibrations at the appendage of the user when the user performs different finger tapping gestures (i.e., tapping gestures involving different individual fingers or different combinations of fingers) and provide corresponding vibration signals to the processor. The processor classifies the finger tapping gesture(s) based on the vibration signals and an on-board transmitter sends a corresponding signal to control, operate, or interact with a receiving electronic device. The sensors include inertial sensors, digital MEMS microphones, or a combination thereof.
54 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method of operating a wearable human-electronics interface device, the device comprising a band that in use is worn around an appendage of a user, a set of microelectromechanical systems (“
- MEMS”
) microphones carried by the band and physically spaced apart from one another, a processor carried by the band and communicatively coupled to each MEMS microphone in the set of MEMS microphones, a wireless transmitter carried by the band and communicatively coupled to the processor, and a vibration source carried by the band, wherein the method comprises;detecting, by at least one MEMS microphone in the set of MEMS microphones, a vibration at the appendage of the user in response to a tapping gesture made by the user, the tapping gesture involving at least one finger of the user; at least partially cancelling a background vibration at the appendage of the user, the background vibration caused by at least one ambient source other than the tapping gesture, by generating an interference vibration by the vibration source that destructively interferes with at least a portion of the background vibration at the appendage of the user; providing at least one vibration signal from the at least one MEMS microphone that detects the vibration to the processor, wherein a composition of the at least one vibration signal depends at least in part on the at least one finger involved in the tapping gesture; classifying, by the processor, the tapping gesture based at least in part on the at least one vibration signal; and wirelessly transmitting at least one interfacial signal by the wireless transmitter based at least in part on classifying the tapping gesture by the processor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
- MEMS”
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12. A human-electronics interface device comprising:
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a band that, in use, is worn around an appendage of a user; a set of microelectromechanical systems (“
MEMS”
) microphones carried by the band, each MEMS microphone in the set of MEMS microphones physically spaced apart from the other MEMS microphones in the set of MEMS microphones, and each MEMS microphone in the set of MEMS microphones responsive to vibrations at the appendage of the user when the user performs a tapping gesture involving at least one finger;a vibration source carried by the band; a processor carried by the band and communicatively coupled to each MEMS microphone in the set of MEMS microphones; a wireless transmitter carried by the band and communicatively coupled to the processor; and a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium carried by the band and communicatively coupled to the processor, wherein the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium stores processor-executable tapping instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to cause the vibration source to at least partially cancel a background vibration at the appendage of the user, the background vibration caused by at least one ambient source other than the tapping gesture, by generating an interference vibration that destructively interferes with at least a portion of the background vibration at the appendage of the user. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification