EDGE HAND AND FINGER PRESENCE AND MOTION SENSOR
First Claim
1. A system that facilitates entry of user input for an electronic device, comprising:
- one or more sensors affixed to respective side or back edges of the electronic device;
a processor that identifies presence of one or more skin contacts with the one or more sensors and infers presence and location of one or more hands or fingers of a user relative to the one or more sensors; and
a control component that provides input for the electronic device based on respective hand or finger locations relative to the one or more sensors inferred by the processor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methodologies for controlling an electronic device are provided herein. As described herein, sensors (e.g. capacitive, resistive, touch-sensitive, etc.) are applied to respective outer edges of a device to detect presence and/or motion of a user'"'"'s fingers and/or hands, thereby leveraging the outer edges of the device as an input mechanism. For example, points along an edge sensor can be mapped to soft keys to enable inferred hand and finger locations to be utilized for device input. Further, characteristics of a user'"'"'s hands and/or fingers can be discovered over time and/or learned based on an initial calibration procedure, and these characteristics can subsequently be utilized to adjust sensor operation for optimal accuracy and user comfort. In addition, selected device features can be secured by utilizing an identifying set of sensor contacts from a user as a passcode that requires duplication before the selected device features can be accessed.
130 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system that facilitates entry of user input for an electronic device, comprising:
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one or more sensors affixed to respective side or back edges of the electronic device; a processor that identifies presence of one or more skin contacts with the one or more sensors and infers presence and location of one or more hands or fingers of a user relative to the one or more sensors; and a control component that provides input for the electronic device based on respective hand or finger locations relative to the one or more sensors inferred by the processor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of controlling an electronic device, comprising:
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applying sensors to one or more outer edges of the electronic device; obtaining information relating to user contact at one or more points along the outer edges of the electronic device using the sensors; and providing control input to one or more applications at the electronic device based on the obtained information. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A system that facilitates control input for a handheld device, comprising:
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means for sensing one or more points of contact between a user and one or more side or back edges of the handheld device; means for mapping the sensed points of contact to respective input functions for the handheld device; and means for providing control input to the handheld device at least in part by performing at least a portion of the input functions mapped to the sensed points of contact.
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Specification