RF-based dynamic remote control device based on generating and sensing of electrical field in vicinity of the operator

• US 20070175322A1
• Filed: 02/01/2007
• Published: 08/02/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Xpresense, LLC
• Original Assignee: Xpresense, LLC
• Inventors: Baum, Robert, Winter, Jeffrey, Curry, James
• Application Number:
  US11/700,863
• Publication Number:
  US 20070175322A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 84/737
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0083 using wireless transmission, e.g. radio, light, infrared
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0091 Means for obtaining special acoustic effects combined with modulation G10H1/043
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0551 using variable capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/34 Switch arrangements, e.g. keyboards or mechanical switches specially adapted for electrophonic musical instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/348 Switches actuated by parts of the body other than fingers
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/231 Wah-wah spectral modulation, i.e. tone color spectral glide obtained by sweeping the peak of a bandpass filter up or down in frequency, e.g. according to the position of a pedal, by automatic modulation or by voice formant detection; control devices therefor, e.g. wah pedals for electric guitars
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/235 Flanging or phasing effects, i.e. creating time and frequency dependent constructive and destructive interferences, obtained, e.g. by using swept comb filters or a feedback loop around all-pass filters with gradually changing non-linear phase response or delays
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/281 Reverberation or echo
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/311 Distortion, i.e. desired non-linear audio processing to change the tone colour, e.g. by adding harmonics or deliberately distorting the amplitude of an audio waveform
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/331 Ring or other finger-attached control device
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/351 Environmental parameters, e.g. temperature, ambient light, atmospheric pressure, humidity, used as input for musical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/395 Acceleration sensing or accelerometer use, e.g. 3D movement computation by integration of accelerometer data, angle sensing with respect to the vertical, i.e. gravity sensing
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/525 Piezoelectric transducers for vibration sensing or vibration excitation in the audio range; Piezoelectric strain sensing, e.g. as key velocity sensor; Piezoelectric actuators, e.g. key actuation in response to a control voltage
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/211 Wireless transmission, e.g. of music parameters or control data by radio, infrared or ultrasound
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/311 MIDI transmission G10H2240/056 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2250/041 Delay lines applied to musical processing
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 3/186 Means for processing the signal picked up from the strings filtering G10H1/12

Abstract

Circuitry in a wireless remote control apparatus applies a signal to a sensor plate of the device and detects the field, e.g. to sense a parameter related to the field that is responsive to relative position of a part of the body of the operator. In the example, the field generation and sensing are performed during a first time slice. During a second time slice, a reference voltage is applied to the plate, and a transmitter sends a signal via an antenna representing the sensed field state. During the first time slice, however, there is no transmission from the antenna, and the antenna functions as a shield with respect to a lead connecting the circuitry to the plate. The antenna comprises a coaxial conductor around a portion of the electrical lead, and a dielectric material separates the electrical lead and the antenna. The example takes the form of a ring.

Claims

1. A wireless remote control apparatus, comprising:

a sensor plate;

circuitry for applying a signal to the sensor plate to generate an electrical field at a location on a body of an operator, and for sensing the electrical field at the location from the sensor plate as an indication of position of a part of the body of the operator; and

a transmitter for generating a transmit signal representing a result of the sensing of the electrical field;

a transmit antenna coupled to the transmitter, for radiating the transmit signal for wireless communication of the result of the sensing of the electrical field; and

a housing configured for wearing on or attachment to a location on the body of the operator, the housing supporting or containing the sensor plate, the circuitry, the transmitter and the antenna.

2. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

an electrical lead connecting the sensor plate to the circuitry, wherein the antenna comprises a coaxial conductor formed around at least a portion of the electrical lead; and

a dielectric material disposed between the antenna and the coaxial conductor of the antenna.

3. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 2, further comprising:

a conductive band mounted on the housing for electrical contact with skin of the operator,

wherein the conductive band is connected to a reference voltage of the circuitry.

4. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 3, further comprising:

a battery connected to ground of the circuitry and connected to supply a power voltage to the circuitry and the transmitter,

wherein the reference voltage to which the conductive band is connected is the ground.

5. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the housing is configured as a ring for wearing on a finger of a hand of the operator.

6. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 5, wherein the housing comprises:

an enclosure for the circuitry and the transmitter; and

a band connected to the enclosure so as to form the ring of a size to permit passage over the finger of the operator,

wherein the band encloses the sensor plate and the antenna.

7. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 6, further comprising:

an electrical lead connecting the sensor plate to the circuitry, wherein the antenna comprises a coaxial conductor formed around at least a portion of the electrical lead; and

a dielectric material disposed between the electrical lead and the coaxial conductor of the antenna, within the band.

8. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 7, further comprising:

a conductive inner band mounted on an inner surface of the band of the housing, for electrical contact with skin of the finger of the operator,

wherein the conductive band is connected to a reference voltage of the circuitry.

9. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 8, further comprising:

a battery connected to ground of the circuitry and connected to supply a power voltage to the circuitry and the transmitter,

wherein the reference voltage to which the conductive inner band is connected is the ground.

10. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 6, further comprising first and second circuit boards, wherein:

one or more components of the circuitry and/or the transmitter are mounted on a face of the first circuit board,

one or more components of the circuitry and/or the transmitter are mounted on a face of the second circuit board, and

the first and second circuit boards are mounted in the enclosure of the housing such that the face of the first circuit board faces toward the face of the second circuit board.

11. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 10, further comprising a battery contained within the enclosure with the first and second circuit boards.

12. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured for cyclically:

1) sensing the electrical field at the location from the sensor plate, while there is no transmission via the antenna, and the antenna acts as a shield; and

2) controlling the transmitter to supply the transmit signal to the antenna for transmission, while there is no sensing of the electrical field via the sensor plate.

13. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 12, wherein the circuitry is further configured such that in each transition in a cycle between the sensing and the controlling, the controller implements a transition state in which the sensor plate is held at a reference voltage and the antenna is held at a reference voltage without application of any transmit signal from the transmitter.

14. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 12, wherein the wireless transmitter consumes substantially less power during the sensing that it does when controlled to supply the transmit signal to the antenna for transmission.

15. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the transmit signal comprises a plurality of data messages; and

duration between the messages is controlled in response to sensing of the electrical field.

16. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transmitter is a radio frequency (RF) transmitter.

17. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 16, wherein the transmitter modulates width of pulses of the RF transmit signal in response to data from the circuitry.

18. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a rechargeable battery connected to supply power to the circuitry and the transmitter,

wherein the rechargeable battery is contained within the housing.

19. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 18, further comprising a coupling on the housing, for providing a connection of the battery to a charger.

20. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the circuitry includes a programmable controller.

21. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 20, wherein the programmable controller is configured to receive and implement new programming.

22. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 21, wherein the programmable controller is configured to receive the new programming in response to sensing of predetermined variations of the electrical field through the sensor plate.

23. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 20, wherein the controller is programmed to:

monitor the sensing of the electrical field over time; and

the controller transitions the wireless remote control apparatus from an operational state to a low-power sleep mode, upon determining from the sensing that there has been no substantial change in the electrical field for a period of time.

24. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the circuitry comprises:

a capacitance-to-digital converter coupled to sense charge transferred from the sensor plate, for producing a digital value representing a measurement of capacitance at the sensor plate in response to the transferred charge; and

a controller, for controlling the transmitter in response to the measurement of capacitance.

25. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 1, in combination with a base unit configured to receive the wireless transmit signal from the wireless remote control apparatus and to produce a control signal output responsive to the result of the sensing of the electrical field communicated via the received wireless signal.

26. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a sensor for detecting a condition and supplying a condition responsive signal to the circuitry.

27. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 26, wherein the sensor comprises a temperature sensor for detecting temperature in relation to a battery of the remote control apparatus or a voltage detector for detecting voltage of the battery.

28. The wireless remote control apparatus of claim 26, wherein the sensor comprises a sensor of a type selected from the group consisting of an accelerometer, a photo sensor, a Hall Effect detector, a piezo sensor, and a pressure sensor.

29. A method of communicating information responsive to position of a part of a body of a remote control operator, for a wireless remote control application, the method comprising steps of:

applying a signal to a sensor plate to generate an electrical field at a location on the body of the remote control operator, during a first time slice;

sensing a state of the electrical field at the location from the sensor plate representing a relative position of the part of the body of the operator;

applying a reference voltage to the sensor plate, during a second time slice;

wirelessly transmitting a signal representing the sensed state of the electrical field from an antenna, during the second time slice,

wherein during the first time slice, there is no transmission from the antenna, and the antenna functions as a shield with respect to a sensing lead connected to the sensor plate.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising applying a ground voltage to skin of the operator.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein the step of sensing a change in the electrical field comprises repeatedly measuring capacitance at the sensor plate.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the measuring of capacitance is responsive to a transfer of charge from the sensor plate.

33. The method of claim 31, further comprising a step of holding the sensor plate at a reference voltage and holding the antenna at a reference voltage without application of any transmit signal to the antenna, during a time slice between the first and second time slices.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising a step of holding the sensor plate at a reference voltage and holding the antenna at a reference voltage without application of any transmit signal to the antenna, during a time slice after the second time slice.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising repeating the steps following said time slice after the second time slice.

36. The method of claim 29, wherein the sensor plate and the antenna are incorporated in a band of a ring for wearing on a finger of a hand of the operator.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the antenna is coaxial around at least a portion of the sensing lead and is separated by from the sensing lead by a dielectric material.