CONTROL OF A HOST STATION THROUGH MOVEMENT OF A MOVING DEVICE

• US 20150339021A1
• Filed: 12/30/2013
• Published: 11/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Starbreeze Paris
• Original Assignee: EPAWN
• Inventors: DUTEIL, Christophe, LEFEVRE, Valentin
• Granted Patent: US 10,678,421 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/235 using a wireless connection, e.g. infrared or piconet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1068 being specially adapted to detect the point of contact of the player on a surface, e.g. floor mat, touch pad
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 3/00643 Electric board games; Electric features of board games electric word or number games A63F3/0421; computer chess G06F; electric raffle games A63F3/081
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 9/0468 Electronic dice; electronic dice simulators
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0382 Plural input, i.e. interface arrangements in which a plurality of input device of the same type are in communication with a PC
• 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 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/046 by electromagnetic means
• 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 3/0487 using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser

Abstract

A method for controlling a host device for at least one moving device including the following steps: determining a current position of the at least one moving device relative to an interaction surface of the host station using at least one electrical signal induced by at least one inductive magnetic field in at least one electric circuit of the host device associated with the interaction surface; recording the current position in a position history; using the history to compare a change of the position of the at least one device with at least one reference change diagram, the reference change diagram being associated with at least one reference movement; and activating a command of the host station on the basis of the reference movement, if the change corresponds to the reference movement.

Claims

1. A method of controlling a host device for at least one mobile device comprising the following steps of:

determining (1300) a current position of said at least one mobile device relative to an interacting surface of the host station by means of at least one electrical signal induced by at least one inductor magnetic field in at least one electrical circuit (115) of the host device associated with said interacting surface,

saving (1301) said current position in a position history, said position history comprising a set of positions of said at least one mobile device over a sliding temporal window,

comparing (1302), by means of said history, a change in the position of said at least one mobile device relative to the interacting surface of the host station with at least one reference movement diagram, said reference movement diagram being associated with at least one reference movement of the mobile device relative to the interacting surface of the host station, and

triggering (1304) a command of the host station according to said reference movement, if said change corresponds (1303) to said reference movement.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said position comprises at least one of:

a distance between the mobile device and said interacting surface,

a coordinate of the mobile device in a frame of reference associated with said interacting surface, and

an orientation of the mobile device according to an axis orthogonal to said interacting surface.

3. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the following steps:

displaying on a screen at least one contextual item for selecting said command, said at least one contextual item being displayed at a position on the screen representing the position of said mobile device relative to said interacting surface,

selecting said contextual item according to a first identification of a first reference movement, and

triggering said command according to a second identification of a second reference movement.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein said interacting surface is superposed on said screen.

5. A method according to claim 3, wherein said screen is situated away from said host station.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein:

the change in position of said mobile device comprises a fast variation in the distance between the mobile device and the interacting surface, and

said reference movement is a click.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein said command comprises the activation of a selected action.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein:

the change in the position of said mobile device comprises a succession of fast variations in the distance between the mobile device and a reference position in a frame of reference associated with said interacting surface, and

said reference movement is a shake.

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein said command comprises the cancellation of an action in course.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein:

the change in the position of said mobile device comprises a slow rectilinear movement of the mobile device relative to said interacting surface, and

said reference movement is a slide.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein said command comprises the variation of a slider according to the movement of the mobile device.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein:

the change in the position of said mobile device comprises a rotation thereof relative to an axis orthogonal to said interacting surface, and

said reference movement is a rotation of the mobile device between a first direction and a second direction.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein said command comprises selecting a contextual item displayed on a screen and situated in said second direction.

14. A method according to claim 1, further comprising a prior step of receiving an activation signal generated by the mobile device further to the actuation of a user interface on the mobile device to activate the determination of the current position of the mobile device.

15. A computer program comprising instructions for implementing a method according to claim 1 when it is loaded and executed by a processor of a host device for a mobile device.

16. A host device (105, 500) comprising at least one interacting surface (502) with at least one mobile device (501, 505), said host device comprising a processing unit (255) configured for implementing the steps of a method according to claim 1.

17. A mobile device (501, 505) comprising at least one location module to generate an inductor magnetic field configured to induce an electrical signal in at least one electrical circuit (115) of a host device according to claim 16, said mobile device further comprising a user interface configured to trigger the sending, by the mobile device, of a command signal of the host device.

18. A device according to claim 17, wherein said signal is a signal for activating the determination by the host device, of the current position of the mobile device relative to an interacting surface of the host device.

19. A device according to claim 17, wherein said interface comprises a plurality of successive positions, and wherein said signal is a signal representing a current position of the interface.

20. A device according to claim 17, comprising at least two location modules, a first location module being installed in a main body of the mobile device, a second location module being installed in a secondary body of the mobile device, the secondary body being adapted to move relative to the main body.

21. A system comprising a host device according to claim 16 and at least one mobile device (501, 505) comprising at least one location module for generating an inductor magnetic field configured to induce an electrical signal in at least one electrical circuit (115) of the host device.

22. A system comprising a host device comprising at least one interacting surface (502) with at least one mobile device (501, 505), said host device comprising a processing unit (255) configured for implementing the steps of a method according to claim 1, and at least one mobile device comprising at least one location module to generate an inductor magnetic field configured to induce an electrical signal in at least one electrical circuit (115) of the host device, said mobile device further comprising a user interface configured to trigger the sending, by the mobile device, of a command signal of the host.