EXTERNAL USER INTERFACE FOR HEAD WORN COMPUTING

• US 20150205384A1
• Filed: 02/21/2014
• Published: 07/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Osterhout Design Group
• Original Assignee: Osterhout Design Group
• Inventors: Border, John N., Nortrup, Edward H., Osterhout, Ralph F.
• Application Number:
  US14/185,968
• Publication Number:
  US 20150205384A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0138 comprising image capture systems, e.g. camera
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/014 comprising information/image processing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0178 Eyeglass type eyeglass details G02C
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0187 slaved to motion of at least a part of the body of the user, e.g. head, eye
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 17/08 Housings
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 17/083 Watches distributed over several housings
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 21/00 Input or output devices integrated in time-pieces
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 21/025 for measuring physiological data
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 21/08 Touch switches specially adapted for time-pieces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/005 Input arrangements through a video camera
• 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 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03542 Light pens for emitting or receiving light
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0386 for light pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 : Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 : Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 : for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1454 : involving copying of the display data of a local workstation or window to a remote workstation or window so that an actual copy of the data is displayed simultaneously on two or more displays, e.g. teledisplay
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 : Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/06 : Consumer Electronics Control, i.e. control of another device by a display or vice versa
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/22 : Detection of presence or absence of input display information or of connection or disconnection of a corresponding information source
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/12 : Synchronisation between the display unit and other units, e.g. other display units, video-disc players

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to external user interfaces used in connection with head worn computers (HWC). Embodiments relate to an external user interface that has a physical form intended to be hand held. The hand held user interface may be in the form similar to that of a writing instrument, such as a pen. In embodiments, the hand held user interface includes technologies relating to writing surface tip pressure monitoring, lens configurations setting a predetermined imaging distance, user interface software mode selection, quick software application launching, and other interface technologies.

Claims

1. An optical pen, comprising:

A hand-held housing including a user interface mode selection interface;

wherein upon activation of the user interface mode selection interface, the optical pen is adapted to cause a HWC to launch a software application and to select a user interface mode for the optical pen that is adapted to interoperate with the software application.

2. The optical pen of claim 1, wherein the software application is a communication application and the selected user interface mode is a writing mode.

3. The optical pen of claim 2, wherein the communication application is an email application.

4. The optical pen of claim 2, wherein the communication application is a messaging application.

5. The optical pen of claim 2, wherein the communication application is a texting application.

6. The optical pen of claim 1, wherein the software application is a note application and the selected user interface mode is a writing mode.

7. The optical pen of claim 1, wherein the software application is a social networking application and the selected user interface mode is a writing mode.

8. The optical pen of claim 1, wherein the software application is a social networking application and the selected user interface mode is a wand mode.

9. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a hand-held user interface, an indication that a quick application launch button has been activated;

launching a predetermined application that correlates with the launch button settings; and

causing the hand-held user interface to activate a predetermined user interface mode in accordance with the predetermined application.

10. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a hand-held user interface, an indication that a quick application launch button of an optical pen has been activated;

presenting, in a display of a head-worn computer, a plurality of applications; and

causing, upon receipt of a selection command at the hand-held user interface, the head-worn computer to launch an application from the plurality of applications.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the selection command is based on a force detected by a force monitor at a writing surface end of the hand-held user interface.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the hand-held user interface operates in a wand mode following the activation of the quick application launch button.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the hand-held user interface operates in a mouse mode following the activation of the quick application launch button, wherein the hand-held user interface images a writing surface to provide an indication of a desired cursor movement.