MANAGING SENSORY INFORMATION OF A USER DEVICE

• US 20160370935A1
• Filed: 08/23/2016
• Published: 12/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ricks, James Edward
• Granted Patent: US 9,746,957 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3231 Monitoring the presence, absence or movement of users
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04106 Multi-sensing digitiser, i.e. digitiser using at least two different sensing technologies simultaneously or alternatively, e.g. for detecting pen and finger, for saving power or for improving position detection
• 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 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0425 using a single imaging device like a video camera for tracking the absolute position of a single or a plurality of objects with respect to an imaged reference surface, e.g. video camera imaging a display or a projection screen, a table or a wall surface, on which a computer generated image is displayed or projected tracking a projected light spot to determine a position on a display surface G06F3/0386
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/043 using propagating acoustic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0436 in which generating transducers and detecting transducers are attached to a single acoustic waves transmission substrate
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/172 Classification, e.g. identification
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

External mobile device sensors may be provided that are configured to manage sensory information associated with motion of objects external to the mobile device. In some examples, the object motion may be detected independent of contact with the device. In some examples, a device may include a screen with a first sensor (e.g., a touch sensor). The device may also include at least a second sensor external to the screen. Instructions may be executed by a processor of the device to at least determine when an object is hovering over a first graphical user interface (GUI) element of the screen. Additionally, in some cases, a second GUI element may be provided on the screen such that the second GUI element is rendered on the screen adjacent to a location under the hovering object.

Claims

1. A computing device, comprising:

a screen;

a first sensing means for sensing, at a first fidelity, movement of an object external to and independent of contact with the screen;

a second sensing means for sensing the movement at a second fidelity higher than the first fidelity; and

a memory that stores computer-executable instructions; and

a processor means for accessing the memory and executing the computer-executable instructions to at least;

receive, from the first sensing means, first information indicative of the movement based at least in part on the movement being sensed by the first sensing means;

determine a potential action of a user of the computing device based at least in part on the first information;

perform an instruction corresponding to the potential action of the user prior to receiving a request to perform the potential action;

receive, from the second sensing means, an indication of the request based at least in part on the movement being sensed by the second sensing means; and

provide second information corresponding to the performed instruction based at least in part on the indication of the request.

2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the first sensing means and the second sensing means form a sensor grid external to the screen.

3. The computing device of claim 2, wherein the sensor grid is configured to sense at least one of:

the object or the movement of the object occurring external to the screen.

4. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the first sensing means comprises an ambient sensor, and wherein the second sensing means comprising an effective sensor.

5. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the first sensing means comprises at least one of an infrared sensor or an ultrasonic sensor, and wherein the second sensing means comprises a touch screen sensor.

6. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the processor means upon executing the computer-executable instructions further activates the second sensing means based at least in part on the movement being sensed by the first sensing means.

7. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the first information indicative of the movement identifies a parameter associated with the movement, and wherein the potential action is determined based at least in part on the parameter.

8. The computing device of claim 7, wherein the parameter comprises at least one of:

a speed of the movement, a direction of the movement, a difference in time between the movement monitored by the first sensor means and movement of the object sensed by the second sensing means, or a difference in time between sensing of the object by the first sensing means and sensing of the object by the second sensing means.

9. The computing device of claim 1, wherein performing the instruction comprises at least one of:

providing a request to a server, providing information to an external computing system, requesting information processing by a web service, or processing data associated with the potential action.

10. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

a step for receiving, from a first sensor of a computing device, first information indicative of a movement of an object external to and independent of contact with a screen of the computing device, the movement sensed by the first sensing sensor at a first fidelity;

a step for determining a potential action of a user of the computing device based at least in part on the first information;

a step for performing an instruction corresponding to the potential action of the user prior to receiving a request to perform the potential action;

a step for receiving, from a second sensing sensor of the computing device, an indication of the request based at least in part on the movement being sensed by the second sensor at a second fidelity higher than the first fidelity; and

a step for providing second information corresponding to the performed instruction based at least in part on the indication of the request.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the potential action comprises at least one of:

a hover over a user interface element at the screen or a selection of the user interface element.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the movement of the object is associated with a first user interface element displayed at the screen, and wherein the second information comprises a second user interface element displayed on an area of the screen adjacent to the first user interface element.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further comprising:

determining a viewable area of the screen based at least in part on one or more of a size of the object or a location of the object, wherein the viewable area is sized for displaying the second user interface element.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the potential action comprises a user selection of at least one of:

the first user interface element or the second user interface element.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein performing the instruction comprises pre-fetching the instruction prior to receiving the request to perform the potential action.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein performing the instruction further comprises displaying an indication of the potential action on the screen.

17. A computing device, comprising:

a screen;

a first sensing means for sensing, at a first fidelity, movement of an object external to and independent of contact with the screen;

a second sensing means for sensing the movement at a second fidelity higher than the first fidelity; and

a management means for managing actions of the computing device based at least in part on the movement, the managing comprising;

receiving, from the first sensing means, first information indicative of the movement based at least in part on the movement being sensed by the first sensing means;

determining a potential action of a user of the computing device based at least in part on the first information;

performing an instruction corresponding to the potential action of the user prior to receiving a request to perform the potential action;

receiving, from the second sensing means, an indication of the request based at least in part on the movement being sensed by the second sensing means; and

providing second information corresponding to the performed instruction based at least in part on the indication of the request.

18. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the first sensing means and the second sensing means form a sensor grid for identifying the object independent of the contact with the screen.

19. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the second sensing means is configured to sense the movement of the object independent of the contact of the object with the screen.

20. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the first information indicative of the movement of the object identifies a location of the object relative to a user interface element on the screen, wherein performing the instruction comprises indicating on the screen a hover over the user interface element based at least in part on the location of the object.