APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DISAMBIGUATING INFORMATION INPUT TO A PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE

• US 20170192465A1
• Filed: 05/29/2015
• Published: 07/06/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Infinite Potential Technologies LP
• Original Assignee: Infinite Potential Technologies LP
• Inventors: Lazaridis, Mihal, Pecen, Mark
• Application Number:
  US15/314,787
• Publication Number:
  US 20170192465A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1662 Details related to the integrated keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• 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 3/023 Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

An electronic device with multiple user interfaces configured such that more than one interface ambiguously responds to a user gesture intended as input to the device. To remove ambiguity, the device may operate in one of a plurality of input modes, in which outputs of different ones of the user interfaces are selectively processed. The user input mode may be specified by a user such that the device unambiguously responds to a gesture as intended. The device may be a portable electronic device with closely spaced user interfaces that each respond to a user gesture near the device. The device may be a portable electronic device with non-contact sensors that detect a user gesture in a three dimensional space above a surface of the device. Such a device may distinguish such gestures, intended as navigational information, from gestures associated with location-based or other types of inputs.

Claims

1. A method of selecting an input mode for an electronic device operable in a plurality of input modes, the electronic device having a display, the method comprising:

selecting an input mode of the plurality of input modes based on a user input, wherein the plurality of input modes comprises a location-based input mode and a gesture-based input mode;

responding, selectively, to a user activity based on the selected mode, the responding comprising;

when the location-based input mode is selected and the user activity designates a location on the device, modifying information presented on the display based on designated location information associated with the user activity; and

when the gesture-based input mode is selected and the user activity is a gesture detected by a sensor, modifying information presented on the display based on generated sensor output information associated with the user activity.

2. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

deselecting the location-based input mode when the gesture-based input mode is selected.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the location-based input mode and the gesture-based input mode are mutually exclusive.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the device has a keyboard, the method further comprising:

generating keyboard output information based on the user designating a key of a plurality of keys on the keyboard while in the location-based input mode; and

generating navigational information based on the user gesturing on a surface of the keyboard while in the gesture-based input mode.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the user input is a pressing of at least one key on the keyboard exceeding a threshold time.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the user input is received through a component residing on the device external to the keyboard.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the user input comprises a movement of the electronic device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the user input comprises moving the electronic device to have a tilt with respect to an inertial coordinate system in a predetermined range of angles.

9. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

selecting, after a predetermined time, a second input mode of the plurality of input modes.

10. An electronic device associated with a display, the electronic device comprising:

a keyboard comprising a plurality of keys, the keyboard being configured to generate keyboard output information based on a user making a gesture designating a key of the plurality of keys;

at least one sensor configured to generate sensor output information based on a user making a gesture on a surface of the device; and

at least one processor configured to;

based on mode-indicating input received from the user, select an operating mode of a plurality of operating modes, wherein the plurality of operating modes comprises a keyboard input mode and a navigation mode;

selectively respond to a user gesture based on the selected mode, comprising;

when the keyboard input mode is selected, modify information presented on the display based on generated keyboard output information associated with the user gesture; and

when the navigation mode is selected, modify the information presented on the display based on sensor output information associated with the user gesture.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein the at least one sensor comprises at least one touch-based sensor and the at least one processor is further configured to generate navigational information based on the user touching the keyboard while in the navigation mode.

12. The device of claim 10, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive the mode-indicating input via at least one key on the keyboard.

13. The device of claim 10, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive the mode-indicating input via at least one button residing on the device external to the keyboard.

14. The device of claim 10, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to deselect the keyboard input mode when the navigation mode is selected.

15. The device of claim 10, wherein the keyboard input mode and the navigation mode are mutually exclusive.

16. The device of claim 10, wherein the keyboard is on a surface of the device and the at least one sensor is within the device adjacent to the keyboard.

17. The device of claim 10, wherein the at least one sensor is within the keyboard.

18. The device of claim 10, wherein the at least one sensor comprises at least one of a plurality of resistive elements, a plurality of optical elements, and a plurality of capacitive elements.

19. The device of claim 10, wherein the display is a screen mounted on the device.

20. The device of claim 10, wherein the display is a separate device.

21. The device of claim 20, wherein the display is configured to be worn by a user.

22. The device of claim 20, wherein the display is a heads-up display.

23. The device of claim 10, wherein the keyboard is a physical keyboard.

24. The device of claim 10, wherein the keyboard is a virtual keyboard.

25. The device of claim 10, wherein the at least one sensor is integrally connected to the keyboard.

26. The device of claim 10, wherein the electronic device is a smartphone.

27. The device of claim 10, wherein the electronic device is a tablet.

28. The device of claim 10, wherein:

the electronic device further comprises an inertial sensor; and

the mode-indicating input comprises an output of the inertial sensor.

29. The device of claim 10, wherein:

the at least one processor is further configured to select a default input mode after a duration of time based on a timer;

the default input mode is set to at least one of the keyboard input mode and the navigation mode; and

the timer is reset when at least one of the keyboard input mode and the navigation mode is selected by mode-indicating input received by the user.

30. At least one non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions, that when executed by a processor, perform a method of selecting an input mode for an electronic device operable in a plurality of input modes, the electronic device having a keyboard and a display, the method comprising:

selecting an input mode of the plurality of input modes based on a user input, wherein the plurality of input modes comprises a location-based input mode and a navigation mode;

responding, selectively, to a user gesture based on the selected mode, the responding comprising;

when the location-based input mode is selected, modifying information presented on the display based on designated location information associated with the user gesture; and

when the navigation mode is selected, modifying information presented on the display based on navigational sensor output information associated with the user gesture.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the designated location information and the navigational sensor output information is based on the user touching the keyboard.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the generated location output information is keyboard output information based on the user gesture designating a key of a plurality of keys on the keyboard while in the location-based input mode.

33. The method of claim 30, wherein the generated navigational sensor output information is based on the user gesture made on a surface of a keyboard associated with the device while in the navigation mode.

34. The method of claim 30, wherein the user input is a pressing of at least one key on the keyboard exceeding a threshold time.

35. The method of claim 30, wherein the user input is received through a component residing on the device external to the keyboard.