Apparatus and method sensing motion

• US 20110077903A1
• Filed: 09/23/2010
• Published: 03/31/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Bho Ram, Bang, Won-Chul
• Granted Patent: US 8,700,356 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/151
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/183 Compensation of inertial measurements, e.g. for temperature effects
• 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 1/1694 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 2200/1637 Sensing arrangement for detection of housing movement or orientation, e.g. for controlling scrolling or cursor movement on the display of an handheld computer

Abstract

Provided is a motion sensing apparatus that measures a first angle using at least one first rotational angle sensor, estimates a second angle using at least one second rotational angle sensor and at least one 2-axis angular velocity sensor that is different from the at least one first rotational angle sensor, and estimates a third angle using at least one third rotational angle sensor and the at least one 2-axis angular velocity sensor.

Claims

1. An apparatus of sensing a motion, the apparatus comprising:

a first angle estimation unit to measure a first angle of an object with respect to a reference frame using at least one first rotational angle sensor;

a second angle estimation unit to estimate a second angle of the object with respect to the reference frame using at least one second rotational angle sensor and at least one 2-axis angular velocity sensor that is different from the at least one first rotational angle sensor; and

a third angle estimation unit to estimate a third angle of the object with respect to the reference frame using at least one third rotational angle sensor and the at least one 2-axis angular velocity sensor.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, when the first estimation unit estimates plural first angles, and when a number of the estimated first angles is greater than or equal to two, the first angle estimation unit estimates one of the estimated first angles based on an angle estimation algorithm.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, the second angle estimation unit estimates plural second angles, and when a number of the estimated second angles is greater than or equal to two, the second angle estimation unit estimates one of the estimated second angles based on an angle estimation algorithm.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, the third angle estimation unit estimates plural third angles, and when a number of the estimated third angles is greater than or equal to two, the third angle estimation unit estimates one of the estimated third angles based on an angle estimation algorithm.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one first rotational angle sensor, the at least one second rotational angle sensor, and the at least one third rotational angle sensor are distinct from the at least one 2-axis angular velocity sensor and include at least one of an accelerometer sensor, an infrared sensor (IR sensor), an ultrasound sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, a camera, and a global positioning system (GPS).

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first angle estimation unit measures the first angle based on an output signal of the at least one first rotational angle sensor.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the second angle estimation unit estimates the second angle based on the measured first angle measured based on the output signal of the at least one first rotational angle sensor, and based on an output signal of the at least one 2-axis angular velocity sensor.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the third angle estimation unit estimates the third angle based on the measured first angle measured based on the output signal of the at least one first rotational angle sensor, the estimated second angle, and an output signal of the at least 2-axis angular velocity sensor.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a setting unit to selectively control to not estimate the third angle or to reset the estimated third angle to be a predetermined value, when the estimated third angle is outside a range of predetermined threshold values, with the estimated third angle being estimated based on a predetermined tilting angle and an output signal of the at least one 2-axis angular velocity.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the setting unit resets the estimated third angle based on information associated with the estimated third angle.

11. A user interface method, the method comprising:

sensing motion information of a terminal with respect to a reference frame; and

controlling a display of at least one content on the terminal based on the sensed motion information.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the sensed motion information includes horizontal motion information of the terminal or vertical motion information of the terminal with respect to the reference frame.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein:

the terminal is at least one device of sensing motion of a user; and

the sensed motion information is horizontal motion information or vertical motion information, with respect to the reference frame, that is sensed by at least one of the at least one device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the terminal is at least one of a handheld terminal, a wearing terminal for a head or an eye of the user, and a head mounted display (HMD) terminal.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the sensing comprises:

measuring a first angle of the terminal with respect to the reference frame corresponding to the motion information; and

measuring a second angle of the terminal with respect to the reference frame corresponding to the motion information.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein:

the horizontal motion information comprises horizontal information that is a measurement of at least one of a velocity of a horizontal motion of the terminal, an angular velocity of the horizontal motion, a distance of the horizontal motion, and a rotational angle of the horizontal motion; and

the vertical motion information comprises vertical information that is a measurement of at least one of a velocity of a vertical motion of the terminal, an angular velocity of the vertical motion, a distance of the vertical motion, and a rotational angle of the vertical motion.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the measuring of the first angle comprises estimating the first angle based on the vertical information as measured by at least one rotational angle sensor and at least one 2-axis angular velocity sensor.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the at least one rotational angle sensor is at least one of an accelerometer sensor, an IR sensor, an ultrasound sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, a camera, and a GPS.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the measuring of the second angle comprises:

estimating the second angle based on the measured first angle and the horizontal information as measured by the at least one 2-axis angular velocity sensor.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the second angle is panning information measured based on the horizontal information.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the first angle is tilt information measured based on the vertical information.

22. The method of claim 11, wherein the controlling of the display comprises:

displaying, on the terminal, a portion of an area or an entire area of the contents; and

changing a spatial visible area of the portion of the area or the entire area of the contents based on the sensed motion information.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the changing of the spatial visual area comprises:

performing displaying by continuously moving, in a direction corresponding to the motion information, the portion of the area or the entire area of the contents displayed on the terminal.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the controlling of the display further comprises:

holding a scene of contents being displayed to not have a change in the at least one content based on the sensed motion information.

52. A non-tangible computer readable recoding medium comprising computer readable code to control at least one processing device to implement the method of claim 11.

25. A method of sensing a motion, the method comprising:

measuring a first angle of an object with respect to a reference frame using at least one first rotational angle sensor;

estimating a second angle of the object with respect to the reference frame using at least one second rotational angle sensor and at least one 2-axis angular velocity sensor that is different from the at least one first rotational angle sensor; and

estimating a third angle of the object with respect to the reference frame using at least one third rotational angle sensor and the at least one 2-axis angular velocity sensor.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the measuring of the first angle includes measuring plural estimated first angles, and when a number of the estimated first angles is greater than or equal to two, the estimating of the first angle estimates one of the estimated first angles based on an angle estimation algorithm.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the estimating of the second angle includes estimating plural estimated second angles, and when a number of the estimated second angles is greater than or equal to two, the estimating of the second angle estimates one of the estimated second angles based on an angle estimation algorithm.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein the estimating of the third angle includes estimating plural third angles, and when a number of the estimated third angles is greater than or equal to two, the estimating of the third angle estimates one of the estimated third angles based on an angle estimation algorithm.

29. The method of claim 25, wherein the at least one first rotational angle sensor, the at least one second rotational angle sensor, and the at least one third rotational angle sensor are distinct from the at least one 2-axis angular velocity sensor and include at least one of an accelerometer sensor, an IR sensor, an ultrasound sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, a camera, and a GPS.

30. The method of claim 25, wherein the measuring of the first angle measures the first angle based on an output signal of the at least one first rotational angle sensor.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the estimating of the second angle estimates the second angle based on the measured first angle, measured based on the output signal of the at least one first rotational angle sensor, and based on an output signal of the at least one 2-axis angular velocity sensor.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the estimating of the third angle estimates the third angle based on the measured first angle, measured based on the output signal of the at least one first rotational angle sensor, the estimated second angle, and the output signal of the at least one 2-axis angular velocity.

33. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

controlling to selectively not estimate the third angle or reset the estimated third angle to be a predetermined value, when the estimated third angle is outside a range of predetermined angles, with the estimated third angle being estimated based on a predetermined tilting angle and the output signal of the at least one 2-axis angular velocity sensor.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

resetting the estimated third angle based on information associated with the estimated third angle.

53. A non-tangible computer readable recoding medium comprising computer readable code to control at least one processing device to implement the method of claim 25.

35. A method of sensing a motion, the method comprising:

measuring a first angle of an object with respect to a reference frame using at least one first rotational angle sensor;

estimate plural second angles of the object with respect to the reference frame based on the measured first angle, at least one second rotational angle sensor, and at least one 2-axis angular velocity sensor that is included in a separate physical sensor device from the at least one first rotational angle sensor;

estimating plural third angles of the object with respect to the reference frame using at least one third rotational angle sensor and the at least one 2-axis angular velocity sensor; and

controlling an operation of a mobile device based on motion information represented by the measured first angle, estimated plural second angles, and estimated plural third angles.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the measuring of the first angle further comprises estimating the first angle of the object based on vertical information as measured by the at least one first rotational angle sensor and the at least one 2-axis angular velocity sensor.

37. The method of claim 35, wherein the measured first angle is a roll angle, the estimated plural second angles are pitch angles, and the estimated plural third angles are yaw angles.

38. The method of claim 35, wherein the at least one first rotational angle sensor, at least one second rotation angle sensor, and at least one third rotation angle sensor are included in a single rotational sensor device that can sense motion in three respective axes.

39. The method of claim 35, wherein the rotational sensor device and 2-axis angular velocity sensor are included in the mobile device, as the object.

40. The method of claim 35, wherein the controlling of the operation of the mobile device includes changing a displaying on the mobile device based on the motion information such that the displaying includes displaying only a portion of an entire image, with the displayed portion of the image changing based upon the motion information.

41. The method of claim 35, wherein the controlling of the operation of the mobile device includes changing a displaying on the mobile device based on the motion information such that the displaying includes displaying different user selectable menu items, with the displayed user selectable menu items changing based upon the motion information.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the displayed user selectable menu items are selected by a user input device.

43. The method of claim 35, wherein the controlling of the operation of the mobile device includes displaying a rendered image provided to the mobile device until another rendered image is provided to the mobile device, and displaying the other rendered image upon receipt by the mobile device, with the mobile device receiving different rendered images based upon the motion information.

54. A non-tangible computer readable recoding medium comprising computer readable code to control at least one processing device to implement the method of claim 35.

44. A mobile device sensing motion, the apparatus comprising:

a display;

a rotational angle sensor including a first rotational sensor, a second rotational sensor, and a third rotational sensor;

a 2-axis angular velocity sensor, with the 2-axis angular velocity sensor being included in a separate physical sensor device from one or more sensor devices including the rotational angle sensor; and

a controller controlling an operation of the mobile device based on sensed motion information defined by a measured first angle, estimated plural second angles, and estimated plural third angles, with the measured first angle of the mobile device being measured with respect to a reference frame using the first rotational angle sensor, the estimated plural second angles of the mobile device being estimated with respect to the reference frame using the second rotational angle sensor and the 2-axis angular velocity sensor, and the estimated plural third angles of the mobile device being estimated with respect to the reference frame using the third rotational angle sensor and the 2-axis angular velocity sensor.

45. The mobile device of claim 44, wherein the measuring of the first angle further comprises estimating the first angle of the mobile device based on vertical information as measured by the first rotational angle sensor and the 2-axis angular velocity sensor.

46. The mobile device of claim 44, wherein the measured first angle is a roll angle, the estimated plural second angles are pitch angles, and the estimated plural third angles are yaw angles.

47. The mobile device of claim 44, wherein the rotational angle sensor is a single rotational sensor device that can sense motion in three axes.

48. The mobile device of claim 44, wherein the controlling of the operation of the mobile device includes changing a displaying on the display of the mobile device based on the motion information such that the displaying includes displaying only a portion of an entire image, with the displayed portion of the image changing based upon the motion information.

49. The mobile device of claim 44, wherein the controlling of the operation of the mobile device includes changing a displaying on the display of the mobile device based on the motion information such that the displaying includes displaying different user selectable menu items, with the displayed user selectable menu items changing based upon the motion information.

50. The mobile device of claim 49, wherein the displayed user selectable menu items are selected by a user input device.

51. The mobile device of claim 44, wherein the controlling of the operation of the mobile device includes displaying on the display a rendered image provided to the mobile device until another rendered image is provided to the mobile device, and displaying the other rendered image on the display upon receipt by the mobile device, with the mobile device receiving different rendered images based upon the motion information.