Body-mounted selective control device

• US 7,298,360 B2
• Filed: 09/20/2004
• Issued: 11/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Harmonic Research, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Harmonic Research, Inc.
• Inventors: Howard, Robert Bruce
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Kevin M.
• Application Number:
  US10/943,939
• Publication Number:
  US 20050041016A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,156 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/157, 345/158, 345/168, 345/169, 341 20- 22
• US Class Current: 345/158
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/014 Hand-worn input/output arrangements, e.g. data gloves
• 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 3/0202 Constructional details or processes of manufacture of the input device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0423 using sweeping light beams, e.g. using rotating or vibrating mirror
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0008 Associated control or indicating means
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/201 for movement interpretation, i.e. capturing and recognizing a gesture or a specific kind of movement, e.g. to control a musical instrument
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/321 Garment sensors, i.e. musical control means with trigger surfaces or joint angle sensors, worn as a garment by the player, e.g. bracelet, intelligent clothing
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/405 Beam sensing or control, i.e. input interfaces involving substantially immaterial beams, radiation, or fields of any nature, used, e.g. as a switch as in a light barrier, or as a control device, e.g. using the theremin electric field sensing principle
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/211 Wireless transmission, e.g. of music parameters or control data by radio, infrared or ultrasound

Abstract

A small, lightweight housing includes a plurality of light signal transmitters and can be attached to the body such as the wrist of an operator such that another part of the body or another object can be brought into the beam of a particular light transmitter to reflect or scatter the light signal from one of the light signal transmitters and coded such that a particular light transmitter can be distinguished. A receptor associated with the housing receives the reflected or scattered or scattered light and alters the signal applied to a light signal transmitter, such as by increase of power, increase of the number of similarly modulated light transmitters which are driven or coding such as imposition of additional modulation. A signal is then received from an optical link by an optical receptor at a base station.

Claims

1. A system for providing an input signal to an apparatus over an electro-magnetic communication link, said system including

a base station including an electro-magnetic receiver,

a housing associated with a body of an operator,

a plurality of electro-magnetic signal transmitters associated with said housing,

a plurality of receptors at said housing,

means for supplying distinctive signals to each of said plurality of optical transmitters such that reflected electro-magnetic signals therefrom can be distinguished when reflected from a body portion of said operator or another object, and

means for modifying said distinctive signals responsive to a said receptor of said plurality of signal receptors.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said electro-magnetic signal receiver and transmitters are a radio receiver and radio transmitters.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said electro-magnetic signal receiver and transmitters are an optical receiver and optical transmitters.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein said optical transmitters are light emitting diodes or laser diodes.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein said light emitting diodes project well-defined beams of energy over a limited emission angle.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said electro-magnetic signal is illuminating light emitted from said plurality of electro-magnetic transmitters, and said illuminating light is reflected or scattered from an operator'"'"'s fingertip and detected by at least one of said plurality of receptors.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising, means for transmitting said electro-magnetic signals from said plurality of transmitters to at least one of said plurality of receptors.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein

said electro-magnetic signals are optical signals,

said plurality of transmitters are light emitting diodes emitting said optical signals, and

said transmitting means is at least one optical fiber.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein said at least one optical fiber is at least two optical fibers which terminate at different locations, said at least two optical fibers include optical fiber terminations to limit an acceptance angle of the optical signals.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein said at least two optical fibers have an inward curve toward an operator'"'"'s fingers such that regions of acceptance of each of said optical fibers are directed approximately orthogonal to the optical signals emitted from said light emitting diodes.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising a transmission signal between said plurality of electro-magnetic transmitters and said electro-magnetic receiver, said transmission signal being associated with a matrix of regions which are individually discriminated when an operator'"'"'s finger or other object provides reflection or scattering of said electro-magnetic signals at any such location, said matrix of regions being a correlation between well-defined beams emitted from said plurality of electro-magnetic transmitters and respective regions of acceptances.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein said transmission signal is multiplexed by time, frequency, pulse or pulse width coding, or modulated.

13. The system of claim 11, further comprising a sensor to control a mode of operation of said base station.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein said sensor further decodes or encodes said transmission signal over a transmission link.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein said plurality of transmitters are light emitters which are energized in a time-multiplexed fashion or a frequency modulation or pulse width coding.

16. The system of claim 1, further comprising a body condition sensor associated with said electro-magnetic signal transmitters, said body condition sensor collects operator bio-metric information to be transmitted to said base station.

17. The system of claim 1, further comprising a body condition sensor associated with said electro-magnetic signal transmitters, said body sensor exploiting biological signatures unique to each operator to confirm an identity of the operator.

18. The system of claim 1, further comprising an environmental condition sensor said electro-magnetic signal transmitters, said environmental condition sensor collects environmental information to be transmitted to said base station.

19. The system of claim 1, further comprising a feedback responsive system associated with said electro-magnetic signal transmitters, said feedback responsive system responsive to an operator movement or input.

20. The system of claim 1, further comprising a motion sensor associated with said electro-magnetic signal transmitters for detecting a motion of the operator.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein said electro-magnetic receiver is capable of discriminating between two or more signals.

22. The system of claim 1, further comprising a keypad supporting a plurality of moveable keys and a mirror array, said keypad being mounted on said housing, said mirror array being moveable in and out of a transmission path when a corresponding moveable key is pressed.