TOUCHLESS USER INTERFACES

• US 20160224235A1
• Filed: 02/12/2016
• Published: 08/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Elliptic Laboratories AS
• Original Assignee: Elliptic Laboratories AS
• Inventors: FORSSTRM, Erik, BANG, Hans Jrgen
• Application Number:
  US15/043,411
• Publication Number:
  US 20160224235A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04108 Touchless 2D- digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface without distance measurement in the Z direction
• 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 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

An electronic device (2) comprises a touch-sensitive screen (8) and a touchless detecting system for detecting movement of an input object (10). The device (2) is configured to detect a touchless movement of an input object (10) towards or away from the screen (8) and is arranged to change at least one aspect of the appearance of a graphical user interface element (6) as the distance from the touch-sensitive screen (8) to the input object (10) changes, wherein the change in the graphical user interface element (6) is independent of the coordinates of the input object (10) in a plane parallel to the screen (8).

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising a touch-sensitive screen and a touchless detecting system for detecting movement of an input object;

the device being configured to detect a touchless movement of an input object towards or away from the screen and arranged to change at least one aspect of the appearance of a graphical user interface element as a distance from the touch-sensitive screen to the input object changes only if the input object exceeds a minimum speed, wherein the change in the graphical user interface element is independent of the coordinates of the input object in a plane parallel to the screen.

2. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the graphical user interface element gradually appears or disappears based on the detection of the touchless movement.

3. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the graphical user interface element changes size based on the distance between the screen and the input object.

4. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the appearance of the graphical user interface element changes in a discrete manner as the distance of the input object changes.

5. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the distance is defined as a shortest distance from the input object to any point on the screen.

6. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the distance is defined as a distance from the screen to said input object in a direction normal to the screen.

7. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the distance is defined as a distance from a specific transmitter to the input object and back to a specific receiver.

8. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the appearance of the graphical user interface element is also dependent on a direction in which the input object is moving.

9. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, arranged to change the aspect of the appearance of the graphical user interface element only if the input object is within a set range of distances.

10. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, arranged to activate the touch-sensitive screen when the input object is at a predetermined distance from the screen.

11. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, arranged to continue to detect touchless gestures once the aspect of the appearance of the graphical user interface element has changed.

12. A method of operating an electronic device comprising a touch-sensitive screen and a touchless detecting system for detecting movement of an input object comprising detecting a touchless movement of an input object towards or away from the screen and changing at least one aspect of the appearance of a graphical user interface element as the distance from the touch-sensitive screen to the input object changes only if the input object exceeds a minimum speed, wherein the change in the graphical user interface element is independent of the coordinates of the input object in a plane parallel to the screen.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, comprising the graphical user interface element gradually appearing or disappearing based on the detection of a touchless movement.

14. The method as claimed in claim 12, comprising changing a size of the graphical user interface element changes based on the distance between the screen and the input object.

15. The method as claimed in claim 12, comprising changing the appearance of the graphical user interface element in a discrete manner as the distance of the input object changes.

16. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the distance is defined as a shortest distance from the input object to any point on the screen.

17. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the distance is defined as a distance from the screen to said input object in a direction normal to the screen.

18. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the distance is defined as a distance from a specific transmitter to the input object and back to a specific receiver.

19. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the appearance of the graphical user interface element is also dependent on a direction in which the input object is moving.

20. The method as claimed in claim 12, comprising changing the aspect of the appearance of the graphical user interface element only if the input object is within a set range of distances.

21. The method as claimed in claim 12, comprising activating the touch-sensitive screen when the input object is at a predetermined distance from the screen.

22. The method as claimed in claim 12, comprising continuing to detect touchless gestures once the aspect of the appearance of the graphical user interface element has changed.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 23, wherein the software comprises logic carrying out the method as claimed in claim 12.

23. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising software for operating an electronic device comprising a touch-sensitive screen and a touchless detecting system for detecting movement of an input object, the software comprising logic detecting a touchless movement of an input object towards or away from the screen and logic changing at least one aspect of the appearance of a graphical user interface element as the distance from the touch-sensitive screen to the input object changes only if the input object exceeds a minimum speed, wherein the change in the graphical user interface element is independent of the coordinates of the input object in a plane parallel to the screen.