SPATIALLY AWARE POINTER FOR MOBILE APPLIANCES
First Claim
1. A spatially aware pointer for use with a host appliance that is mobile and handheld, comprising:
- a control unit disposed within a housing;
a data coupler disposed in association with the housing to enable communication between the pointer and the host appliance;
an indicator projector positioned in the housing and operatively coupled to the control unit, wherein the indicator projector illuminates a pointer indicator on an at least one remote surface; and
a viewing sensor positioned in the housing and operatively coupled to the control unit, wherein the viewing sensor captures one or more light views of the at least one remote surface.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A spatially aware pointer that can augment a pre-existing mobile appliance with remote control, hand gesture detection, and/or 3D spatial depth sensing abilities. In at least one embodiment, a spatially aware pointer can be operatively connected to the data port of a mobile appliance (e.g., mobile phone or tablet computer) to provide remote control, hand gesture detection, and 3D spatial depth sensing abilities to the mobile appliance. Such an enhancement may, for example, allow a user with a mobile appliance to make a 3D spatial model of at least a portion of an environment, or remotely control a TV set with hand gestures, or engage other mobile appliances to create interactive projected images.
54 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A spatially aware pointer for use with a host appliance that is mobile and handheld, comprising:
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a control unit disposed within a housing; a data coupler disposed in association with the housing to enable communication between the pointer and the host appliance; an indicator projector positioned in the housing and operatively coupled to the control unit, wherein the indicator projector illuminates a pointer indicator on an at least one remote surface; and a viewing sensor positioned in the housing and operatively coupled to the control unit, wherein the viewing sensor captures one or more light views of the at least one remote surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A spatially aware pointer for use with a host appliance, comprising:
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a housing separate from the host appliance; a control unit disposed within the housing; a data coupler positioned to communicate between the control unit of the pointer and the host appliance; an indicator projector positioned in the housing and operatively coupled to the control unit to illuminate a pointer indicator on at least one remote surface; and a viewing sensor positioned in the housing and operatively coupled to the control unit to capture one or more light views of the at least one remote surface, wherein the control unit communicates a data event to the host appliance through the data coupler such that the host appliance operates based upon the data event from the pointer. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for utilizing a spatially aware pointer in association with a host appliance that is mobile and handheld, the method comprising:
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establishing a communication link between the host appliance and the pointer through a data coupler, the pointer comprising; a housing; the data coupler disposed in association with the housing; a control unit disposed within the housing; an indicator projector operatively coupled to the control unit and operable to illuminate a pointer indicator on an at least one remote surface; and a viewing sensor operatively coupled to the control unit and operable to capture one or more light views of the at least one remote surface; generating a data event signal in the control unit based upon the one or more light views; and controlling the operation of the host appliance based upon the data event signal from the pointer. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification