Motion-based display effects in a handheld device

• US 8,988,439 B1
• Filed: 06/06/2008
• Issued: 03/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DP Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: DP Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Fitzgibbons, John Michael, Cooper, Colin McClarin, Kinsolving, Arthur, Kahn, Philippe
• Primary Examiner(s): Tung, Kee M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Liu, Zhengxi
• Application Number:
  US12/135,129
• Time in Patent Office: 2,482 Days
• Field of Search: 345/418
• US Class Current: 345/475
• 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 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/00 Animation
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0261 in the context of movement of objects on the screen or movement of the observer relative to the screen
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/10 Mixing of images, i.e. displayed pixel being the result of an operation, e.g. adding, on the corresponding input pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T

Abstract

A method or apparatus to provide motion-based display effects in a mobile device is described. The method comprises determining a motion of the mobile device using an accelerometer. The method further comprises utilizing the motion of the mobile device to overlay a motion-based display effect on the display of the mobile device, in one embodiment to enhance the three-dimensional affect of the image.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

defining a neutral position of a handheld device;

displaying an image on a display of the handheld device, the image including a first image component that is parallel to the display of the handheld device and a second image component that is not parallel to the display of the handheld device, the first image component associated with a first glimmer layer, the second image component associated with a second glimmer layer, the first glimmer layer moved away from the display of the handheld device when the handheld device is at the neutral position, such that no glimmer display effect is shown at the neutral position;

in response to detecting a tilting of the handheld device,

determining whether the tilting of the handheld device is sufficient to trigger the first glimmer layer; and

when the tilting of the handheld device is sufficient to trigger the first glimmer layer, moving the first glimmer layer across the display of the handheld device in an opposite direction of a direction of the tilting of the handheld device, the first glimmer layer displaying a first glimmer display effect for the first image component, the first glimmer display effect altering a visual experience of the first image component on the display of the handheld device to provide a visual indication of responsiveness to the tilting of the handheld device, and

displaying a second glimmer display effect for the second image component associated with the second glimmer layer, the second glimmer display effect offset to the first glimmer display effect, the second glimmer display effect altering a visual experience of the second image component on the display of the handheld device, the visual experience of the second image component different than the visual experience of the first image component.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the image includes a plurality of image components with at least two of the image components having separate glimmer layers.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of whether the tilting of the handheld device is sufficient is based on a combination of identifying a sufficient motion level and a randomness factor such that the display of the first glimmer layer is unpredictable.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein moving displaying the first glimmer display effect comprises:

providing a mask layer with one or more cut-outs corresponding to image portions to which the first glimmer display effect applies, the mask layer fixed with respect to the image on the display; and

moving the first glimmer layer set to an additive blend mode across the display, such that the first glimmer display effect is visible in the one or more cut-outs of the mask layer.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a shadow effect, the shadow effect chosen to be visible when the device is at a normal plane.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein displaying the shadow effect comprises:

positioning a virtual light source at an angle to the normal plane, the virtual light source used to calculate a shadow;

in response to the tilting of the handheld device, recalculating the shadow based on a changed angle between the virtual light source and a current angle of the handheld device, wherein the current angle of the handheld device is based on the tilting of the display of the handheld device; and

displaying an updated shadow effect based on the recalculated shadow.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a 3-dimensional perspective effect for at least one 3-dimensional image component on the display of the handheld device, the 3-dimensional perspective effect displayed as a shadowing effect.

8. A handheld device including a display, comprising:

a tilt sensor to receive motion data, the tilt sensor further to detect a tilting of the handheld device;

a display logic to display an image on the display of the handheld device, the image including a first image component that is parallel to the display of the handheld device and a second image component that is not parallel to the display of the handheld device, the first image component associated with a first glimmer layer, the second image component associated with a second glimmer layer, the first glimmer layer moved away from the display of the handheld device when the handheld device is at a neutral position, such that no glimmer display effect is shown at the neutral position;

a motion analysis logic to determine whether the tilting of the handheld device is sufficient to trigger the first glimmer layer; and

the display logic to display a first glimmer display effect on the first image component on the display when the motion analysis logic determines that the tilting of the handheld device is sufficient to trigger the first glimmer display effect;

a glimmer effect logic triggered when the tilting of the handheld device is sufficient to trigger the first glimmer display effect, the glimmer effect logic

determining whether the tilting of the handheld device is sufficient to trigger the first glimmer layer; and

when the tilting of the handheld device is sufficient to trigger the first glimmer layer, moving the first glimmer layer across the display of the handheld device in an opposite direction of a direction of the tilting of the handheld device, the first glimmer layer displaying the first glimmer display effect for the first image component, the first glimmer display effect altering a visual experience of the first image component on the display of the handheld device to provide a visual indication of responsiveness to the tilting of the handheld device, and

displaying a second glimmer display effect for the second image component associated with the second glimmer layer, the second glimmer display effect offset to the first glimmer display effect, the second glimmer display effect altering a visual experience of the second image component on the display of the handheld device, the visual experience of the second image component different than the visual experience of the first image component.

9. The handheld device of claim 8, wherein the motion analysis logic determines whether the tilting is sufficient based on a combination of a motion level above a threshold and a randomness factor, such that the first glimmer display effect is unpredictable.

10. The handheld device of claim 8, wherein the glimmer effect logic comprises:

a mask layer associated with the image, the mask layer having one or more cut-outs associated with at least one image portion to which the first glimmer display effect applies, the mask layer fixed with respect to the of image on the display;

the first glimmer layer moving across the display in an additive blend mode with the mask layer such that the first glimmer display effect is observed in the one or more cut-outs of the mask layer.

11. The handheld device of claim 8, wherein the display logic further comprises a shadow effect logic.

12. The handheld device of claim 11, wherein the shadow effect logic is to calculate an effect of a virtual light source positioned at an angle to a normal plane, to calculate a shadow, and recalculate the shadow based on a changed angle between the virtual light source and a current angle of the handheld device based on the motion data from the tilt sensor.

13. The handheld device of claim 8, wherein the display logic comprises a 3-dimensional perspective effect logic.

14. A method comprising:

displaying an image including a plurality of image components on a display of a mobile device, the plurality of image components comprising a first image component that is parallel to the display of the mobile device and a second image component that is not parallel to the display of the handheld device, the first image component not having a first glimmer effect when the image is initially displayed, the second image component not having a second glimmer effect when the image is initially displayed;

detecting a motion of the mobile device;

determining whether the motion of the mobile device is sufficient to trigger the first glimmer effect; and

in response to determining that the motion is sufficient to trigger the first glimmer effect, determining whether or not a glimmer layer associated with the first image component should be activated based on a randomness factor;

when the glimmer layer associated with the first image component should be activated, moving the glimmer layer associated with the first image component across the display of the mobile device, such that the movement of the glimmer layer associated with the first image component displays the first glimmer effect and corresponds to the motion of the mobile device, the first glimmer effect altering a visual experience of the first image component on the display of the mobile device and designed to provide a visual indication of responsiveness to the motion of the mobile device, and

displaying the second glimmer effect, the second glimmer effect offset to the first glimmer effect, the second glimmer effect altering a visual experience of the second image component on the display of the mobile device, the visual experience of the second image component different than the visual experience of the first image component.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein moving the glimmer layer associated with the first image component comprises:

providing a mask layer fixed with respect to the image on the display, the mask layer including one or more cut-outs corresponding to a portion of the plurality of image components to which the first glimmer effect applies; and

moving the glimmer layer associated with the first image component with light colored streaks set to an additive blend mode with the mask layer across the display for the first glimmer effect.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein a texture for the first glimmer effect comprises a hemisphere reflection map.