Hand-held wireless electronic device with accelerometer for interacting with a display

• US 20150248157A9
• Filed: 10/15/2012
• Published: 09/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pierre A. Touma
• Original Assignee: Pierre A. Touma
• Inventors: Touma, Pierre A., Murr, Hadi, Bachaalany, Elias, Maalouf, Imad
• Granted Patent: US 9,317,108 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0384 Wireless input, i.e. hardware and software details of wireless interface arrangements for pointing devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/01 Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer G06F3/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/014 Hand-worn input/output arrangements, e.g. data gloves
• 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 3/0383 Signal control means within the pointing device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object

Abstract

A device and method for interacting with a display using an accelerometer sensitive to tilt about two perpendicular axes and a third signal having a magnitude responsive to user input. The device and method allow a user to change a characteristic of an object on the display by converting pitch information, roll information, and a linear dimension into Cartesian coordinates for use by the display.

Claims

1. A hand-held wireless electronic device for interacting with a display, the device comprising:

a MEMS accelerometer responsive to tilt of the device in a plurality of axes wherein;

the accelerometer comprises an integrated circuit that generates a digital tilt signal responsive to the projection of static gravity on the tilted accelerometer;

the accelerometer is most sensitive to tilt when the accelerometer is perpendicular to gravity; and

the digital tilt signal comprises an accelerometer pitch signal and an accelerometer roll signal where pitch and roll are rotations about two perpendicular axes orthogonal to the gravitational vector;

a linear input element that generates an electrical signal having a magnitude responsive to user input;

a digital electronic circuit connected to the accelerometer and connected to the linear input element wherein the circuit;

calculates pitch information using an inverse trigonometric function in response to said accelerometer pitch signal;

calculates roll information using an inverse trigonometric function in response to said accelerometer roll signal;

calculates radius information in response to the electrical signal from the linear input element; and

calculates at least one characteristic of an object in an inertial reference frame in Cartesian coordinates in response to said radius information, said pitch information, and said roll information wherein said object characteristic is chosen from the group of a position, an orientation, or a size;

a communications module electrically coupled to the electronic circuit wherein;

the communications module communicates said object characteristic to a receiving element of a display; and

the communications module further comprises a wireless communications element that sends a digital serial data transmission signal;

a battery that powers the accelerometer, the linear input element, the digital electronic circuit and the communications module; and

a circuit that manages the battery and optimizes power consumption for the device.

2. The hand-held wireless electronic device of claim 1 wherein said inverse trigonometric function comprises an arcsin functions and wherein calculation of said object characteristic further comprises a coordinate system tranformation using Euler angles.

3. The hand-held wireless electronic device of claim 2 wherein

said arcsin function further comprises calculation of the pitch information and calculation of the roll information from the tilt angles according to the following equations

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the device further comprises a display.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein the device is a wearable device.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the device further comprises a device selected from the group of a glove, a sports device, a military device, a medical device, a portable game console, a handheld computer, and/or a portable phone.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the digital serial communications protocol used by the wireless communications element further is selected from the group of Bluetooth or WiFi.

8. The device of claim 1 wherein the digital serial communications protocol used by the wireless communications element further comprises communication of said object characteristic.

9. The device of claim 1 wherein said user input comprises a sliding motion.

10. The device of claim 1 wherein said user input comprises a translation motion of at least part of the device.

11. The device of claim 1 wherein said user input comprises a rotation of at least part of the device.

12. The device of claim 1 further comprising a second inertial sensor that generates a yaw signal about an axis substantially aligned with the gravitational acceleration vector and wherein said second inertial sensor comprises a sensor from the group of a gyroscope, an acoustic sensor, a magnetic sensor, and/or an optical sensor.

13. The device of claim 12 wherein said second inertial sensor comprises a gyroscope based on MEMS technology and wherein at least one of said object characteristics is responsive to an output of the gyroscope.

14. The device of claim 12 wherein said second inertial sensor comprises a gyroscope and wherein the gyroscope further generates a gyroscope pitch and a gyroscope roll signal and wherein at least one of said object characteristics is responsive to at least one of the set of said gyroscope pitch signal and said gyroscope roll signal.

15. A portable device for manipulating a graphical object in Cartesian space on a two-dimensional display, the device comprising:

an accelerometer responsive to tilt of the device in a plurality of axes wherein;

the accelerometer comprises a circuit that generates a tilt signal responsive to the projection of static gravity on the tilted accelerometer;

the accelerometer is most sensitive to tilt when the accelerometer is perpendicular to gravity; and

the tilt signal comprises an accelerometer pitch signal and an accelerometer roll signal where pitch and roll are rotations about two perpendicular axes orthogonal to the gravitational vector;

an input element that generates an electrical signal having a magnitude responsive to user input;

an electronic circuit connected to the accelerometer and connected to the input element wherein the circuit;

comprises a control unit, a memory unit, a communications unit, and a battery, wherein the control unit further comprises a micro-controller and a machine readable storage device;

calculates pitch information using an inverse trigonometric function in response to said accelerometer pitch signal;

calculates roll information using an inverse trigonometric function in response to said accelerometer roll signal;

calculates radius information in response to the electrical signal from the input element; and

calculated at least one characteristic of an object in an inertial reference frame in Cartesian coordinates in response to said radius information, said pitch information, and said roll information;

a communications module electrically coupled to the electronic circuit which generates a digital signal responsive to said pitch information, said roll information, and said roll information wherein;

the digital signal is transmitted electronically to a receiving element connected to the display; and

the digital signal can be used by circuitry coupled to the display to manipulate the graphical object on the display.

16. The device of claim 15 wherein the communications module furhther gnerates a wireless digital serial communications protocol selected from the group of Bluetooth or WiFi.

17. The device of claim 15 wherein the electronic circuit further calculates a yaw signal.

18. A method for presenting user manipulation of a portable device onto a display, the method comprising the steps of:

establishing the portable device;

establishing an inertial sensor in the portable device that generates a tilt signal responsive to a gravitational vector in the device wherein the inertial sensor comprises an accelerometer;

measuring pitch and roll about two perpendicular axes orthogonal to the gravitational vector in response to the projection of static gravity on the tilted inertial sensor;

establishing an additional input element that generates a signal in response to user input;

using the additional input element to generate an electrical signal of a magnitude controlled by the user'"'"'s input;

establishing an electronic circuit that comprises a control unit, a memory unit, and a communications unit, and an electrical storage device, wherein the control unit further comprises a micro-controller;

connecting the circuit to the inertial sensor;

connecting the circuit to the additional input element;

using the circuit to calculate pitch and roll from the tilt signals;

determining a distance in response to the electrical signal from the additional input element;

establishing a display that shows objects in a minimum of two dimensions;

using Cartesian coordinates to determine the location of a graphical object on the display by using the generated tilt information and the distance from the additional input element and a mathematical transformation from polar coordinates to Cartesian coordinates;

establishing a battery to power the portable device; and

establishing a circuit that manages the battery.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein establishing a portable device further comprises a device selected from the group of a wearable device, a hand-held device, a sports device, a medical device, a portable game console, a handheld computer, and/or a portable phone.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein using Cartesian coordinates further comprises using Euler angles.