Methods circuits device systems and associated computer executable code for facilitating interfacing with a computing platform display screen

• US 8,878,779 B2
• Filed: 05/10/2012
• Issued: 11/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jungo Connectivity Ltd. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Extreme Reality Ltd.
• Inventors: Givon, Dor, Kottel, Ilya
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, JENNIFER T
• Application Number:
  US13/468,282
• Publication Number:
  US 20120218183A1
• Time in Patent Office: 908 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/157, 345/173, 715/705, 715/708, 715/711, 715/715, 715/851, 715856-863
• US Class Current: 345/156
• 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

Abstract

Disclosed are methods, circuits, apparatus, systems and computer executable code for providing a multimode touchless human machine interface (TLHMI). The TLHMI may include one or more touchless sensors to sense a position or a movement of a subject portion within a sensing zone of the one or more sensors. Tracking logic may receive an output of the one or more sensors and may track a position or movement of a portion of a computing platform user within the sensing zone. A user input generator may convert an output of the tracking logic into signals indicative of a user input and may provide the user input signals to a functionally associated computing platform.

Claims

1. A multimode touchless human machine interface (TLHMI) comprising:

one or more touchless sensors to sense a position or a movement of a subject portion within a sensing zone of said one or more sensors;

a tracking engine to receive an output of said one or more sensors and to;

(a) track a movement of a portion of a computing platform user within the sensing zone to determine a gesture being performed by the portion of a computing platform user, within the sensing zone, and (b) determine one or more parameters of tracked movements of the portions of the user within the sensing zone;

a mode transition module configured to monitor the determined one or more parameters of the motion, identify one or more mode transitioning parameters within the determined one or more parameters and determine a mode of operation of the TLHMI, based on the identified mode transitioning parameters; and

a user input generator to convert an output of said tracking engine indicating the determined gesture into signals indicative of a user input and to provide said user input signals to a functionally associated computing platform, wherein said generator is adapted to generate;

(1) a first output signal in response to a given determined gesture while the TLHMI is operating in a first mode of operation, and (2) a second output signal, which second output signal is a modification of the first output signal, in response to the same given determined gesture while the TLHMI is operating in a second mode of operation;

wherein the modification of the first output signal is a modification of a ratio between the tracked movement and a movement of a control element of the computer platform associated with the input signals.

2. The multimode touchless human machine interface (TLHMI) according to claim 1, wherein said one or more sensors are image sensors.

3. The multimode touchless human machine interface (TLHMI) according to claim 1, wherein said one or more mode transitioning parameters is a parameter selected from the group consisting of:

tracked movement speed, tracked movement direction, tracked movement gesture, orientation of tracked user portion, and configuration of tracked user portion.

4. The multimode touchless human machine interface (TLHMI) according to claim 1, wherein said mode transition module is further adapted to cause said TLHMI to transition into the determined mode of operation.

5. The multimode touchless human machine interface (TLHMI) according to claim 4, wherein the determined gesture is a hand movement of a given distance, and the first output signal responsive to the determined gesture is a pointer movement signal intended to cause a screen pointer to be displaced by a first displacement value.

6. The multimode touchless human machine interface (TLHMI) according to claim 5, wherein the second output signal responsive to the determined gesture is a pointer movement signal intended to cause a screen pointer to be displaced by a second displacement value different from the first displacement value.

7. The multimode touchless human machine interface (TLHMI) according to claim 6, further comprising a detected motion to screen element deviation mapper storing different movement to deviation ratio values for each of two or more modes of said TLHMI.

8. The multimode touchless human machine interface (TLHMI) according to claim 1, further comprising Display Augmentation Logic to alter a rendering aspect of one or more screen elements in response to said TLHMI transitioning into one or more of a set of possible modes.

9. The multimode touchless human machine interface (TLHMI) according to claim 8, wherein said Display Augmentation Logic is adapted to either enlarge or frame a screen region around a user interface element upon said TLHMI entering a given mode.

10. A computing device comprising:

a screen;

a multimode touchless human machine interface (TLHMI) comprising;

(1) one or more touchless sensors to sense a position or a movement of a subject portion within a sensing zone of said one or more sensors;

(2) a tracking engine to receive an output of said one or more sensors and to;

(a) track a movement of a portion of a computing platform user portion within the sensing zone to determine a gesture being performed by the portion of a computing platform user within the sensing zone, and (b) determine one or more parameters of tracked movements of the portions of the user within the sensing zone;

(3) a mode transition module configured to monitor the determined one or more parameters of the motion, identify one or more mode transitioning parameters within the determined one or more parameters and determine a mode of operation of the TLHMI, based on the identified mode transitioning parameters; and

(4) a user input generator to convert an output of said tracking engine indicating the determined gesture into signals indicative of a user input, wherein said generator is adapted to generate;

(a) a first output signal in response to a given determined gesture while the TLHMI is operating in a first mode of operation, and (b) a second output signal, which second output signal is a modification of the first output signal, in response to the same given determined gesture while the TLHMI is operating in a second mode of operation;

wherein the modification of the first output signal is a modification of a ratio between the tracked movement and a movement of a control element of the computer platform associated with the input signals.

11. The device according to claim 10, wherein said one or more sensors are image sensors.

12. The device according to claim 10, wherein said one or more mode transitioning parameters is a parameter selected from the group consisting of:

tracked movement speed, tracked movement direction, tracked movement gesture, orientation of tracked user portion, and configuration of tracked user portion.

13. The device according to claim 10, wherein said mode transition module is further adapted to cause said TLHMI to transition into the determined mode of operation.

14. The device according to claim 13, wherein the determined gesture is a hand movement of a given distance, and the first output signal responsive to the determined gesture is a pointer movement signal intended to cause a screen pointer to be displaced by a first displacement value.

15. The device according to claim 14, wherein the second output signal responsive to the determined gesture is a pointer movement signal intended to cause a screen pointer to be displaced by a second displacement value different from the first displacement value.

16. The device according to claim 15, further comprising a detected motion to screen element deviation mapper storing different movement to deviation ratio values for each of two or more modes of said TLHMI.

17. The device according to claim 10, further comprising Display Augmentation Logic to alter a rendering aspect of one or more screen elements in response to said TLHMI transitioning into one or more of a set of possible modes.

18. The device according to claim 17, wherein said Display Augmentation Logic is adapted to either enlarge or frame a screen region around a user interface element upon said TLHMI entering a given mode.