Proximity sensor for screen saver and password delay
First Claim
1. Apparatus comprising:
- an interface module operatively couple able to provide input to a computer;
a proximity sensor operatively coupled to said interface, said proximity sensor operative to detect the presence of a user; and
a control module, said control module controllably coupled to said proximity sensor and said interface module, said control module having a state machine operative to cause information emulating a user input from a peripheral device of the computer to be transmitted to said computer via said interface module based on an output signal provided by said proximity sensor to prevent the activation of a computer program.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatuses and methods of the present invention provide improved control over the activation and deactivation of a computer program. For example, the computer program may be a screen saver program and/or a password protection program. The computer program is prevented from being activated when the user has not recently provided input to a computer system via an input-output device, but the user is still in the vicinity of the computer system. When no person is detected in the vicinity, the present invention allows the computer program'"'"'s activation to be controlled using standard known methods. In one embodiment, the present invention provides enhanced screen saver activation and deactivation control without the need to modify existing computer hardware or software. Embodiments of modified computer hardware and software systems are also provided where it is desirable to integrate enhanced screen saver activation and deactivation control into a hardware or software system. Other aspects of the present invention deal with program activation control, user authentication, and methods for providing the most economical implementations.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. Apparatus comprising:
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an interface module operatively couple able to provide input to a computer;
a proximity sensor operatively coupled to said interface, said proximity sensor operative to detect the presence of a user; and
a control module, said control module controllably coupled to said proximity sensor and said interface module, said control module having a state machine operative to cause information emulating a user input from a peripheral device of the computer to be transmitted to said computer via said interface module based on an output signal provided by said proximity sensor to prevent the activation of a computer program. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
a coupling interposed between said control module and a user input-output device, said coupling operative to carry a signal indicative of the presence of an input produced by said user input-output device;
whereby said regulation further inhibits said information from being transmitted at regular intervals when said proximity sensor detects said user to be present and said control module detects said signal.
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8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said information comprises a mouse-data signal.
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9. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said information comprises a keyboard-data signal.
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10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control module is further operative to cause said information to be transmitted substantially when said proximity sensor detects a transition from said user not being present to said user being present.
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11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said output signal of said proximity sensor indicates a delta, and said control module is further operative to preprocess said output signal using a state machine to convert said delta into a user-present signal.
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12. Apparatus comprising:
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an interface module interpretable between a user-input device and a computer-input port of a computer, said interface module including a first connector connectable to said user-input device and a second connector connectable to said computer-input port;
a proximity sensor operatively coupled to said interface module, said proximity sensor operative to detect the presence of a user; and
a control module, said control module controllably coupled to said proximity sensor and said interface module, said control module having a state machine operative to cause information emulating a user input from a peripheral device of the computer to be transmitted to said computer via said interface module based on an output signal provided by said proximity sensor to prevent the activation of a computer program. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification