COMBINED TAP SEQUENCE AND CAMERA BASED USER INTERFACE

• US 20100134421A1
• Filed: 11/30/2008
• Published: 06/03/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo PC International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Yang, Jinping, Rutledge, James S., Challener, David C.
• Granted Patent: US 8,797,274 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/169 the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0428 by sensing at the edges of the touch surface the interruption of optical paths, e.g. an illumination plane, parallel to the touch surface which may be virtual sensing beam interruptions in a planar beam grid of an optical touch-screen G06F3/0421

Abstract

The invention includes a method, apparatus, and program storage device for providing a combined tap sequence and camera based user interface. The invention provides, among other features, an apparatus comprising: an accelerometer; a laser light generating module; wherein the laser light generating module provides a plane of laser light over a surface coupled to the accelerometer; at least one camera; at least one processor; and a memory; wherein the memory stores instructions, executable by the at least one processor, enabling the apparatus to ascertain an occurrence of an input event utilizing inputs from the accelerometer and a location of the input event utilizing inputs from the at least one camera.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

an accelerometer;

a laser light generating module;

wherein the laser light generating module provides a plane of laser light over a surface coupled to the accelerometer;

at least one camera;

at least one processor; and

a memory;

wherein the memory stores instructions, executable by the at least one processor, enabling the apparatus to ascertain an occurrence of an input event utilizing inputs from the accelerometer and a location of the input event utilizing inputs from the at least one camera.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inputs from the at least one camera comprise X, Y coordinates of an interruption of the plane of laser light.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the accelerometer is adapted to detect an input event comprising a tap sequence.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions enabling, upon detecting the tap sequence, the apparatus to execute a program application.

5. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions enabling the apparatus to toggle to a virtual mode upon detecting an interruption of the plane of laser light and a tap sequence at a predetermined portion of the surface.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions enabling the apparatus, in the virtual mode, to accept user input from an area of the surface comprising:

a palm rest.

7. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the program application is an Internet browser application.

8. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the apparatus is enabled to accept user input from any area of the surface covered by the plane of laser light and coupled to the accelerometer upon toggling to the virtual mode.

9. A method comprising:

providing a plane of laser light over a surface coupled to an accelerometer;

ascertaining an occurrence of an input event utilizing inputs from the accelerometer; and

ascertaining a location of the input event utilizing inputs from at least one camera.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the inputs from the at least one camera comprise X, Y coordinates of an interruption of the plane of laser light.

11. The method according to claim 10 wherein the accelerometer is adapted to detect an input event comprising a tap sequence.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising:

upon detecting the tap sequence, executing a program application.

13. The method according to claim 11, further comprising:

upon detecting the interruption of the plane of laser light and the tap sequence at a predetermined portion of the surface, toggling to a virtual mode.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the predetermined portion of the surface comprises:

a palm rest.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein the program application is an Internet browser application.

16. The method according to claim 13, further comprising:

accepting a user input from any area of the surface covered by the plane of laser light and coupled to the accelerometer upon toggling to the virtual mode.

17. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method, the method comprising:

providing a plane of laser light over a surface coupled to an accelerometer;

ascertaining an occurrence of an input event utilizing inputs from the accelerometer; and

ascertaining a location of the input event utilizing inputs from at least one camera.