PORTABLE DEVICE WITH MULTIPLE MODALITY INTERFACES

• US 20110074573A1
• Filed: 11/30/2009
• Published: 03/31/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies General IP PTE Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Seshadri, Nambirajan
• Application Number:
  US12/627,850
• Publication Number:
  US 20110074573A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/539.13
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0381 Multimodal input, i.e. interface arrangements enabling the user to issue commands by simultaneous use of input devices of different nature, e.g. voice plus gesture on digitizer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means

Abstract

A portable device includes a plurality of interface modules and a processing module. The processing module is operably coupled to detect a user input and determine a user interface mode of operation. When the user interface mode of operation is in a first mode, the processing module enables a first one of the plurality of user interface modules to process data corresponding to the user input as the first type of human sensory data and enables a second one of the plurality of user interface modules to process the data corresponding to the user input as the second type of human sensory data.

Claims

1. A portable device comprises:

a plurality of user interface modules, wherein a first one of the plurality of user interface modules processes a first type of human sensory data and a second one of the plurality of user interface modules processes a second type of human sensory data; and

a processing module operably coupled to;

detect a user input;

determine a user interface mode of operation; and

when the user interface mode of operation is in a first mode, enable the first one of the plurality of user interface modules to process data corresponding to the user input as the first type of human sensory data and enable the second one of the plurality of user interface modules to process the data corresponding to the user input as the second type of human sensory data.

2. The portable device of claim 1, wherein the processing module determines the user interface mode of operation by at least one of:

interpreting a mode of operation setting;

determining an environmental state of the portable device and, based on the environmental state, access a state look up table;

determining task type of the user input and, based on the task type, accessing a task type look up table; and

determining state of a user and, based on the state of the user, accessing a user state look up table.

3. The portable device of claim 1 further comprises:

a plurality of environmental sensing interface modules, wherein an environmental sensing interface module of the plurality of environmental sensing interface modules generates environmental data from a sensed environmental condition; and

wherein the processing module is further operably coupled to;

determine a task based on the user input; and

determine the user interface mode of operation based on the task and the environmental data.

4. The portable device of claim 3, wherein the processing module is further operably coupled to:

determine a state of the portable device based on at least one of the environmental data and a user profile; and

access a look up table based on the state and the task to determine the user interface mode of operation.

5. The portable device of claim 4, wherein state comprises at least one of:

indoors and stationary;

indoors and moving;

outdoors and stationary;

outdoors and moving;

outdoors and low ambient light;

outdoors and high ambient light;

in a vehicle;

hearing impaired;

sight impaired; and

physically impaired.

6. The portable device of claim 3, wherein the user mode of operation comprises at least one of:

the first type;

a second type for hands free operation;

a third type for a noisy area;

a fourth type for a quiet area;

a fifth type for high ambient light;

a sixth type for low ambient light;

a seventh type for in vehicle use;

an eighth type for stationary use;

a ninth type for mobile use; and

a tenth type based on a user profile.

7. The portable device of claim 3 further comprises:

a plurality of user interface devices operably coupled to the plurality of user interface modules; and

a plurality of environmental sensing devices operably coupled to the plurality of environmental sensing interface modules, wherein the plurality of user interface devices and the plurality of user interface modules include, respectively, two or more of;

a display and a display driver;

a visual touch screen and a visual touch screen driver;

a key pad and a key pad driver;

a tactile touch screen and a tactile touch screen driver;

one or more speakers and corresponding audio processing circuitry;

one or more microphones and a speech coding module;

the one or more microphones and a voice recognition module;

an image sensor and digital image processing circuitry; and

wherein the plurality of environmental sensing devices and the plurality of environmental sensing interface modules include, respectively, two or more of;

a compass and a compass driver;

a weather condition sensor and a weather conditions driver;

a gyroscope and a gyroscope driver;

a distance detector and a distance detector driver; and

a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver.

8. The portable device of claim 1 further comprises:

a radio frequency (RF) transceiver operably coupled to;

convert an inbound RF signal into an inbound symbol stream; and

convert an outbound symbol stream into an outbound RF signal; and

wherein the processing module is further operably coupled to;

convert outbound data into the outbound symbol stream in accordance with the user input;

convert the inbound symbol stream into inbound data; and

provide the inbound data to the first and second ones of the plurality of user interface modules for presentation as the first type of human sensory data and the second type of human sensory data.

9. The portable device of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second types of human sensory data comprises at least one of:

audible data;

visual data; and

tactile data.

10. The portable device of claim 1 further comprises:

an integrated circuit that supports the processing module and at least some of the plurality of user interface modules.

11. A portable device comprises:

a plurality of interface modules; and

a processing module operably coupled to;

detect state of the portable device based on input from at least one of the plurality of interface modules;

determine a current task of the portable device; and

determine an interface configuration of at least some of the plurality of interface modules based on the state and the current task.

12. The portable device of claim 11, wherein the plurality of interface modules comprises:

a plurality of user interface modules, wherein a user interface module of the plurality of interface modules generates data corresponding to the current task; and

a plurality of environmental sensing interface modules, wherein an environmental sensing interface module of the plurality of environmental sensing interface modules generates environmental data from a sensed environmental condition, wherein the input includes information from at least one of the plurality of user interface modules and one of the plurality of environmental sensing interface modules.

13. The portable device of claim 12, wherein the processing module is further operably coupled to:

determine the state based on at least one of the environmental data and user data; and

access a look up table based on the state and the current task to determine the interface configuration.

14. The portable device of claim 13, wherein state comprises at least one of:

indoors and stationary;

indoors and moving;

outdoors and stationary;

outdoors and moving;

outdoors and low ambient light;

outdoors and high ambient light;

in a vehicle;

hearing impaired;

sight impaired; and

physically impaired.

15. The portable device of claim 12 further comprises:

a plurality of user interface devices operably coupled to the plurality of user interface modules; and

a plurality of environmental sensing devices operably coupled to the plurality of environmental sensing interface modules, wherein the plurality of user interface devices and the plurality of user interface modules include, respectively, two or more of;

a display and a display driver;

a visual touch screen and a visual touch screen driver;

a key pad and a key pad driver;

a tactile touch screen and a tactile touch screen driver;

one or more speakers and corresponding audio processing circuitry;

one or more microphones and a speech coding module;

the one or more microphones and a voice recognition module;

an image sensor and digital image processing circuitry; and

wherein the plurality of environmental sensing devices and the plurality of environmental sensing interface modules include, respectively, two or more of;

a compass and a compass driver;

a weather condition sensor and a weather conditions driver;

a gyroscope and a gyroscope driver;

a distance detector and a distance detector driver; and

a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver.

16. The portable device of claim 11 further comprises:

a radio frequency (RF) transceiver operably coupled to;

convert an inbound RF signal into an inbound symbol stream; and

convert an outbound symbol stream into an outbound RF signal; and

wherein the processing module is further operably coupled to;

convert outbound data into the outbound symbol stream in accordance with the current task;

convert the inbound symbol stream into inbound data; and

provide the inbound data to first and second ones of the plurality of user interface modules for presentation as a first type of human sensory data and a second type of human sensory data.

17. The portable device of claim 16, wherein each of the first and second types of human sensory data comprises at least one of:

audible data;

visual data; and

tactile data.

18. The portable device of claim 11 further comprises:

an integrated circuit that supports the processing module and at least some of the plurality of interface modules.