METHOD OF PROVIDING A USER INTERFACE

• US 20100257491A1
• Filed: 11/21/2008
• Published: 10/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Dick, Angus David, Proctor, Gavin Mark, Crompvoets, Floris Maria Hermansz, Pill, Stuart Ronald, Pezzutti, Daniel Karl, Geurts, Lucas Jacobus Franciscus
• Granted Patent: US 8,881,064 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/863
• 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 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range

Abstract

A method of providing a user interface for controlling a system (1;27) includes observing a presence of a body or body part of a user in a certain environment of a device (6,14-17;30). At least a perceptible part (28,34) of the user interface is made available to the user in association with a particular functionality for interacting with the system (1;27) controlled by the user interface in dependence on a rate of displacement of the body or body part of the user observed in the certain environment.

Claims

1. Method of providing a user interface for controlling a system (1;

27), including the steps of;

observing a presence of a body or body part of a user in a certain environment of a device (6,14-17;

30); and

making at least a perceptible part (28,34) of the user interface available to the user in association with a particular functionality for interacting with the system (1;

27) controlled by the user interface in dependence on a rate of displacement of the body or body part of the user observed in the certain environment.

2. Method according to claim 1, including changing a state of availability of at least an element of the user interface in response to a change in the rate of displacement of the body or body part of the user observed in the certain environment.

3. Method according to claim 1, wherein at least the perceptible part (28,34) of the user interface is caused to be made available to the user in a manner dependent on a location at which the body or body part of the user is observed to be present in the certain environment and the rate of displacement of the body or body part of the user.

4. Method according to claim 1, including adjusting at least part of a configuration of the user interface at a rate dependent on the rate of displacement of the body or body part of the user observed in the certain environment.

5. Method according to claim 1, wherein the user interface includes a device (11;

34) for providing a visible output, which method includes providing a signal to configure the visible output to the device (11;

34).

6. Method according to claim 5, including detecting at least one of presence at and approach to a part of the device (11;

34) providing a visible output, which part corresponds to an element of the visible output.

7. Method according to claim 5, including adjusting a state of visibility of at least an element of the visible output associated with a particular functionality at a rate determined by the rate of displacement of the body or body part of the user observed in the certain environment.

8. Method according to claim 1, including providing one of a plurality of controls associated with respective different actions of the system controlled by the user interface in dependence on the rate of displacement of the body or body part of the user observed in the certain environment.

9. Method according to claim 1, wherein the user interface is provided for controlling a user interface of a consumer electronics system.

11. Computer programme including a set of instructions capable, when incorporated in a machine-readable medium, of causing a system having information processing capabilities to perform a method according to claim 1.

10. System (1;

27), including

a signal processing component (6-8;

29) for processing at least one signal from an observation component for observing the presence of a body or body part of a user in a certain environment of a device (6,14-17;

30), and

a control component (6-8;

29) for making at least a perceptible part (28,34) of the user interface available to the user in association with a particular functionality for interacting with the system (1;

27) controlled by the user interface in dependence on a rate of displacement of the body or body part of the user observed in the certain environment.