Sensor managed apparatus, method and computer program product

• US 8,988,386 B2
• Filed: 01/27/2012
• Issued: 03/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Mobile Communications Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ward, Anatol, Takashima, Kouichiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Jr., Kenneth B
• Application Number:
  US13/359,544
• Publication Number:
  US 20130194223A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,152 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-183
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3262 Power saving in digitizer or tablet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3296 by lowering the supply or operating voltage
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/36 by graphic or iconic representation
• 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 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus

Abstract

An apparatus, method and computer program product provide a simplified method for unlocking an electronic device that uses soft keys, such as capacitive touch keys, or proximity detection areas and patterns. The keys may be implemented in the form of areas of a sensor, and a processing circuit observes a touch pattern (or proximity pattern, or characteristic pattern such as a capacitance pattern of a user'"'"'s finger) and compares the same with the registered pattern to determine if there is a likeness. In doing so, the electronic device is operated at a low power state, and in that low power state observes whether a predetermined pattern is observed and when it is, unlocks the electronic device for interaction with a user at a fully operational state.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

an interactive display having a sensor that detects a user interaction with a sub-portion of the interactive display; and

a processing circuit configured to execute a state change of the interactive display from a low power state to an operational state in response to only one detected user interaction with the electronic device, said user interaction being one of a touch event, a proximity event and a gesture, wherein

the processing circuit is configured to perform the state change after determining that a detected pattern, caused by an object used to generate the user interaction, matches a preregistered pattern within a predetermined amount,

the one user interaction is a touch event that includes a movement of said object over said front lens while remaining in contact with said front lens

the sub-portion includes a plurality of soft key regions that includes at least a first soft key and a second soft key,

the touch event includes a movement across the soft key regions that include the first soft key region and the second soft key region, and

the processing circuit is configured to determine that the first soft key region is included in the touch event before determining that the second soft key region is included in the touch event.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein

the sub-portion is disposed at an end portion of the interactive display, and is visually separated from a main display portion of said interactive display by a material that optically covers at least a portion of said sub-portion but not said main display portion.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising:

a front lens having an external surface that separates the sensor from the object, wherein

the interactive display being a touch panel, and the sensor being a capacitance sensor that is reactive to a touch of the object.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein

the processing circuit is configured to determine the first soft key region is included in the touch event by receiving a signal from the sensor indicating that a change in detected capacitance amount exceeded a predetermined level for a portion of the sensor that corresponds with the first soft key region.

5. The electronic device of claim 3, further comprising:

a computer storage medium that has data stored therein describing the preregistered pattern, the preregistered pattern being a capacitance pattern, wherein

the processing circuit is configured to perform the state change after determining that a detected capacitance pattern caused by the object matches the preregistered capacitance pattern within a predetermined amount.

6. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein

the one user interaction is a proximity detection that includes a movement of said object over said front lens without contacting said front lens.

7. The electronic device of claim 6, further comprising:

a computer storage medium that has data stored therein describing the preregistered pattern, the preregistered pattern being a proximity pattern, wherein

the processing circuit performs the state change after determining that a detected proximity pattern caused by the object matches the preregistered proximity pattern within a predetermined amount.

8. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein

the processing circuit is configured to perform a cross-correlation operation to determine that the detected proximity pattern caused by the object matches the preregistered proximity pattern within a predetermined amount.

9. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein

the one user interaction is a multi-point gesture that includes a movement of said object over said front lens.

10. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising:

a feedback mechanism that provides a haptic response when the only one detected user interaction is recognized by the processing circuit as being a user interaction that is associated with a wake up and an unlock instruction.

11. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein

said feedback mechanism includes at least one of an illumination device, and a tactile sensation device.

12. A method for managing operation of a user interface in an electronic device comprising:

detecting with a sensor a user interaction with a sub-portion of an interactive display; and

executing with a processing circuit a state change of the interactive display from a low power state to an operational state in response to only one detected user interaction with the electronic device, said user interaction being one of a touch event, a proximity event and a gesture, wherein

said executing includes determining that a detected pattern, caused by an object used to generate the user interaction, matches a preregistered pattern within a predetermined amount,

the one user interaction is a touch event that includes a movement of said object over a front lens but does not contact said front lens, said front lens separating said sensor from the object that generates the user interaction, and

the preregistered pattern is a proximity pattern, and

said executing includes determining that a detected proximity pattern caused by the object matches the preregistered proximity pattern within a predetermined amount.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein

the one user interaction is a touch event that includes a movement of said object over a front lens while remaining in contact with said front lens, said front lens separating said sensor from the object that generates the user interaction.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein

said executing includes determining that a change in detected capacitance exceeds a predetermined level for a portion of the sensor that corresponds with a first soft key region.

15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable instructions that when executed by a processing circuit implement a method of managing a user interface in an electronic device, said method comprising:

detecting with a sensor a user interaction with a sub-portion of an interactive display; and

executing with a processing circuit a state change of the interactive display from a low power state to an operational state in response to only one detected user interaction with the electronic device, said user interaction being one of a touch event, a proximity event and a gesture, wherein

said executing includes determining that a detected pattern, caused by an object used to generate the user interaction, matches a preregistered pattern within a predetermined amount,

the one user interaction is a touch event that includes a movement of said object over a front lens but does not contact said front lens, said front lens separating said sensor from the object that generates the user interaction, and

the preregistered pattern is a proximity pattern, and

said executing includes determining that a detected proximity pattern caused by the object matches the preregistered proximity pattern within a predetermined amount.