Mobile Apparatus

• US 20100105432A1
• Filed: 10/27/2009
• Published: 04/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Sugahara, Hiroto
• Granted Patent: US 8,838,170 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/556.100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1684 Constructional details or arrangements related to integrated I/O peripherals not covered by groups G06F1/1635 - G06F1/1675
• 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 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10

Abstract

A mobile apparatus which is carriable by a user includes a force-sense generating mechanism which imparts, to the user, a force-sense in a predetermined direction to induce an input operation to the user; a motion sensor which detects a motion imparted by the user while the force-sense generating mechanism imparts the force-sense to the user or after the force-sense generating mechanism has imparted the force-sense to the user; and a controller which controls the force-sense generating mechanism, and which recognizes the input operation by the user, based on the motion detected by the motion sensor.

Claims

1. A mobile apparatus which is carriable by a user, comprising:

a force-sense generating mechanism which imparts, to the user, a force-sense in a predetermined direction to induce an input operation to the user;

a motion sensor which detects a motion imparted by the user while the force-sense generating mechanism imparts the force-sense to the user or after the force-sense generating mechanism has imparted the force-sense to the user; and

a controller which controls the force-sense generating mechanism, and which recognizes the input operation by the user, based on the motion detected by the motion sensor.

2. The mobile apparatus according claim 1, further comprising a casing which is holdable by the user.

3. The mobile apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the force-sense generating mechanism includes a weight which is reciprocatable in the predetermine direction, and the force-sense generating mechanism generates in the weight a positive acceleration directed to one side of the predetermined direction and a negative acceleration directed to the other side of the predetermined direction by making the weight reciprocate to impart to the user a pseudo force-sense of a translational force in one side of or the other side of the predetermined direction.

4. The mobile apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the controller drives the force-sense generating mechanism such that the force-sense in the predetermined direction is imparted to the user while waiting for the input operation from the user;

and the controller recognizes the motion detected by the motion sensor as one of a plurality of input operations of different types according to whether or not a direction of the motion is substantially same as the predetermined direction.

5. The mobile apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the controller stops an operation of the force-sense generating mechanism when the motion sensor detects the motion within a predetermined time after starting an operation of imparting the force-sense by the force-sense generating mechanism, and when the predetermined time is elapsed, without the motion sensor detecting the motion, after the force-sense generating mechanism has started the operation.

6. The mobile apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a holding sensor which detects whether or not the casing is held by the user,

wherein while the force-sense generating mechanism carries out an operation of imparting the force-sense, the controller makes the holding sensor detect as to whether or not the casing is held by the user, and after the holding sensor has detected that the casing is held by the user, the controller recognizes an input operation from the user based on the motion detected by the motion sensor.

7. The mobile apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the controller drives the force-sense generating mechanism such that a force-sense of a translational force toward one side of the predetermined direction is imparted to the user so as to induce to the user an input operation of selecting one of YES and NO,

when the motion sensor detects a translational motion toward substantially same side as the one side in the predetermined direction while the force-sense generating mechanism imparts the force-sense to the user or after the force-sense generating mechanism has imparted the force-sense to the user, the controller recognizes the motion as an operation of inputting YES, and

when the motion sensor detects a translational motion toward a direction substantially opposite to the one side of the predetermined direction while the force-sense generating mechanism imparts the force-sense to the user or after the force-sense generating mechanism has imparted the force-sense to the user, the controller recognizes the motion as an operation of inputting NO.

8. The mobile apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the controller drives the force-sense generating mechanism, according to a character stroke order of a predicted character which is predicted to be input, to induce an input operation of a character to the user, such that a force-sense in a direction determined in advance for each of predetermined strokes of the character stroke order and

the controller compares a direction of the force-sense to be applied to the user by the force-sense generating mechanism in each of the strokes, and a direction of motion which is detected by the motion sensor;

and

when the direction of the force-sense in each of the strokes and the direction of movement are substantially same, the controller makes a judgment of whether or not a candidate character of letter shape which is definable based on a trajectory of motion up to each of the strokes, is limited only to the predicted character, and the controller makes a judgment that the predicted character is inputted when the candidate character is limited only to the predicted character.

9. The mobile apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the controller drives the force-sense generating mechanism such that a force-sense in an extending direction of a reference line showing an arrangement direction of characters is imparted to the user so as to induce a character-inputting operation of inputting characters to the user.

10. The mobile apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the motion sensor detects a motion imparted to the casing by the user while the force-sense generating mechanism carries out an operation of imparting the force-sense and during a period of time until a certain time has elapsed after the operation has stopped.

11. The mobile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller selects one input operation from at least two options of input operations, based on the motion detected by the motion sensor.

12. The mobile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mobile apparatus is a mobile telephone including a transceiving section which transmits and receives a signal upon converting an audio signal including audio information to a high-frequency signal;

a microphone which converts audio to the audio signal; and

a speaker which outputs the audio based on the audio signal in which the high-frequency signal received by the transceiving section is converted.

13. The mobile apparatus according to claim 4, wherein when the mobile telephone receives an incoming call, the controller controls the force-sense generating mechanism to generate a force-sense directed toward one side of the predetermined direction, and

during a period of time in which the incoming call is received and before a predetermined time is elapsed after the force-sense generating mechanism has generated the force-sense, the controller permits the incoming call when the motion sensor detects a translational motion toward substantially same side as the one side in the predetermined direction;

and

during the period of time in which the incoming call is received, and before a predetermined time is elapsed after the force-sense generating mechanism has generated the force-sense, and the controller rejects the incoming call when the motion sensor detects a translational motion toward a side substantially opposite to the one side in the predetermined direction.

14. The mobile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mobile apparatus is a head-mounted display including a display section which is arranged to cover an eye of the user and which displays an image, and two frame-rod sections which are extended from the display section and which are arranged to sandwich temples of the user;

and

the force-sense generating mechanism includes two pieces of the force-sense generating mechanisms arranged in the two frame-rod sections, respectively.

15. The mobile apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a sensor which detects whether or not the mobile apparatus is held or worn by the user.