TOUCH SENSITIVE REMOTE CONTROL SYSTEM THAT DETECTS HAND SIZE CHARACTERISTICS OF USER AND ADAPTS MAPPING TO SCREEN DISPLAY
First Claim
1. A remote control system for an electronic product having a display screen where at least a portion of that screen defines a control region within which a user-controlled selection indicator may be visually displayed,a handheld remote control unit separate from said display screen and having at least one touchpad disposed for actuation by a user'"'"'s thumb to effect movement of said selection indicator;
- a sensor system carried by said control unit and responsive to the user'"'"'s hand to produce observation signals reflecting characteristics of the user'"'"'s hand geometry;
trained model-based pattern classification system that ascertains at least one user-specific attribute in response to said observation signals;
mapping system having at least one parameter controlled by said at least one user-specific attribute;
said mapping system defining a first reference frame associated with said at least one touchpad and defining a second reference frame associated with and corresponding to the geometry of the display screen;
said mapping system using said at least one parameter to perform a transformation of touch points by the user'"'"'s thumb upon the at least one touchpad expressed in the first reference frame into points on the display screen expressed in the second reference frame, thereby assisting the user in moving the selection indicator across the display screen control region regardless of its size or geometric configuration of the control region or of the physical limitations of the user'"'"'s hand and thumb movement geometry.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Sensors around the periphery of the remote control unit detect contact with the user'"'"'s hand. A trained model-based pattern classification system analyzes the periphery sensor data and makes a probabilistic prediction of the user'"'"'s hand size. The hand size is then used to control a mapping system that defines how gestures by the user'"'"'s thumb upon a touchpad of the remote control unit are mapped to the control region upon a separate display screen.
53 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A remote control system for an electronic product having a display screen where at least a portion of that screen defines a control region within which a user-controlled selection indicator may be visually displayed,
a handheld remote control unit separate from said display screen and having at least one touchpad disposed for actuation by a user'"'"'s thumb to effect movement of said selection indicator; -
a sensor system carried by said control unit and responsive to the user'"'"'s hand to produce observation signals reflecting characteristics of the user'"'"'s hand geometry; trained model-based pattern classification system that ascertains at least one user-specific attribute in response to said observation signals; mapping system having at least one parameter controlled by said at least one user-specific attribute; said mapping system defining a first reference frame associated with said at least one touchpad and defining a second reference frame associated with and corresponding to the geometry of the display screen; said mapping system using said at least one parameter to perform a transformation of touch points by the user'"'"'s thumb upon the at least one touchpad expressed in the first reference frame into points on the display screen expressed in the second reference frame, thereby assisting the user in moving the selection indicator across the display screen control region regardless of its size or geometric configuration of the control region or of the physical limitations of the user'"'"'s hand and thumb movement geometry. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of controlling an electronic product with a handheld remote control unit, comprising:
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sensing contact between a user'"'"'s hand and the remote control unit to derive an observation signal; submitting said observation signal to a trained model-based pattern classification system that ascertains at least one user-specific attribute; using said user-specific attribute to control a mapping system that performs transformations between a control surface reference frame associated with the remote control unit and another reference frame that differs from the control surface reference frame; using said mapping system to transform gestural contact with a surface of the remote control unit by the user'"'"'s hand into control instructions that are sent to the electronic product to effect control thereof.
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Specification