Multi-mode sensor for surface orientation

• US 10,317,200 B1
• Filed: 09/23/2016
• Issued: 06/11/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Han, Chin San, Land, Brian R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hellner, Mark
• Application Number:
  US15/275,032
• Time in Patent Office: 991 Days
• Field of Search: 356 401
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/26 for measuring angles or tapers; for testing the alignment of axes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1637 Sensing arrangement for detection of housing movement or orientation, e.g. for controlling scrolling or cursor movement on the display of an handheld computer

Abstract

The present disclosure relates generally to wearable devices and methods for detecting relative surface orientation. The wearable devices and methods may include a multi-mode sensor comprising emitter-detector combinations (e.g., sets or pairs) that have various spacings between the light emitter and the photodetector. Proximity curves can be generated based upon the various emitter-detector pair spacings, and used to assess surface distance and angular orientation of the wearable device to a body surface of an individual. In some variations, location and/or orientation of the device relative to the body surface is determined based on mapping data acquired by one or more emitter-detector pairs to surface distance (z distance) values based on proximity curve data stored in a memory of a device controller.

Claims

1. A wearable device comprising:

a wearable housing;

first and second light emitters;

first and second light detectors, wherein the first and second light emitters and the first and second light detectors are located within the housing and are each individually and independently controllable, each of the first and second light detectors associated with at least one of a set of emitter-detector pairs,

the set of emitter-detector pairs comprising;

a first emitter-detector pair comprising the first light emitter and the first light detector,

a second emitter-detector pair comprising the first light emitter and the second light detector, and

a third emitter-detector pair comprising the second light emitter and the first light detector pair,

wherein the position of the emitter relative to the detector in each emitter-detector pair is predetermined; and

a controller within the housing and in communication with the first and second light emitters and the first and second detectors, wherein the controller is configured to;

select one or more of the set of emitter-detector pairs,

activate the light emitter(s) of the one or more of the set emitter-detector pairs,

acquire light data from the one or more emitter-detector pairs, and

determine a relative z-distance and tilt angle of a housing surface to a surface of a user based on the light data from the one of more of the set of emitter-detector pairs.

2. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the set of emitter-detector pairs further comprises a fourth emitter-detector pair comprising the second light emitter and the second light detector.

3. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the first light emitter and the second light emitter both emit green light.

4. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the first light emitter and the second light emitter both emit infrared light.

5. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the first light emitter emits green light and the second light emitter emits infrared light.

6. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the emitter and the detector of each emitter-detector pair have a predetermined separation distance, wherein the separation distance ranges from about 2 mm to about 8 mm.

7. The wearable device of claim 6, wherein the separation distance of the emitter-detector pairs are different from other emitter-detector pairs.

8. The wearable device of claim 6, wherein the separation distance of one of the emitter-detector pairs is the same as the separation distance of at least one other of the emitter-detector pairs.

9. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the first and second light emitters are included in a light emitters array and the first and second light detectors are included in a light detector array, the light emitter array and light detectors array are located on a first plane of the housing, and

the controller is further configured to:

acquire light data from a third emitter-detector pair comprising an emitter from the light emitters array and a detector from the light detectors array, wherein the position of the emitter relative to the detector is predetermined,

map the light data from each of the first, second and third emitter-detector pairs to a surface distance value using proximity curve data generated for each of the first, second and third emitter-detector pairs, and

generate a second plane based on the surface distance values from the first, second and third emitter-detector pairs.

10. The wearable device of claim 9, wherein the controller is further configured to determine the tilt angle from an angle between the first plane and the second plane.

11. The wearable device of claim 10, wherein the tilt angle comprises a pitch angle between a first axis of the first plane and a first axis of the second plane.

12. The wearable device of claim 10, wherein the tilt angle comprises a roll angle between a second axis of the first plane and a second axis of the second plane, wherein the second axes of the first and second planes are perpendicular to the first axes of the first and second planes respectively.

13. A method for detecting relative surface orientation of a wearable device to a body surface of an individual comprising:

providing a wearable device, the wearable device comprising;

a wearable housing,

a first light emitter,

a second light emitter,

a first light detector,

a second light detector, and

a controller in communication with the each of the light emitters and light detectors;

acquiring proximity data from a first emitter-detector pair, the first emitter-detector pair comprising;

the first emitter and the first light detector, wherein acquiring proximity data comprises activating the first light source, measuring light data from the first light detector, and mapping the measured light data to a first separation distance (z distance) using proximity curve data generated for the first emitter-detector pair;

acquiring proximity data from a second emitter-detector pair, the second-emitter detector pair comprising;

the second emitter and the first light detector, wherein acquiring proximity data comprises activating the second light source, measuring light data from the second light detector, and mapping the measured light data to a second separation distance (z distance) using proximity curve data generated for the second emitter-detector pair;

triangulating the proximity data from the first and second emitter-detector pairs to compute a plane that approximates the body surface; and

computing a tilt angle of a plane of the housing with respect to the body surface plane.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first emitter emits light having a first wavelength and the second emitter emits light having a second wavelength different from the first wavelength, and acquiring proximity data from the first emitter-detector pair and acquiring data from the second emitter-detector pair occur concurrently.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the first emitter emits green light and the second emitter emits infrared light.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the first and second emitters emit the same wavelength light, and acquiring proximity data from the first emitter-detector pair and acquiring data from the second emitter-detector pair occur sequentially.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

acquiring proximity data from a third emitter-detector pair, the third emitter-detector comprising;

the first emitter and a second detector, wherein acquiring proximity data comprises activating the first light source, measuring light data from the second light detector, and mapping the measured light data to a third separation distance (z distance) using proximity curve data generated for the third emitter-detector pair.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

re-assigning each of the first emitter, the second emitter, the first light detector, and the second light detector to another emitter-detector pair; and

acquiring proximity data from each another emitter-detector pair.

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

comparing the first and second separation distances to a threshold value; and

determining the device is located off-wrist when the first and second separation distances are above the threshold value.

20. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

comparing the first separation distance to a first threshold value;

comparing the second separation distance to a second threshold value; and

determining the device is located off-wrist when the first separation distance is below the first threshold value and the second separation distance is above the second threshold value.