Wristband having a user interface and method of using thereof

• US 9,134,834 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2013
• Issued: 09/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Made In Sense Limited
• Original Assignee: Made In Sense Limited
• Inventors: Reshef, Gilad
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Kevin M
• Application Number:
  US13/873,338
• Publication Number:
  US 20130293494A1
• Time in Patent Office: 868 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 368/13, 368/282, 368/255
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0339 Touch strips, e.g. orthogonal touch strips to control cursor movement or scrolling; single touch strip to adjust parameter or to implement a row of soft keys
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/16 Use of wireless transmission of display information
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2092 Details of a display terminals using a flat panel, the details relating to the control arrangement of the display terminal and to the interfaces thereto suitable for both CRT and flat panel G09G5/003; specific for a CRT G09G1/165

Abstract

A user input system that includes a wristband sized for at least partly encircling a wearer'"'"'s wrist and having an outer surface, a touch surface operative to detect at least one movement vector of at least one fingertip which slide contiguously against the outer surface, a touch controller for analyzing the at least one movement vector to identify a computing device operation command, and a wireless communication unit for wirelessly transmitting the computing device operation command to the computing device.

Claims

1. A user input system, comprising:

a wristband structure sized for at least partly encircling a central wrist axis of a wearer'"'"'s wrist and having an outer surface;

a curved touch surface operative to detect at least one finger swipe of a fingertip which slides contiguously against said outer surface;

a touch controller adapted to analyze said at least one finger swipe to identify a data query; and

a wireless communication unit adapted to wirelessly transmit said data query to a computing device which is external to said user input system and to receive a response to said data query from said computing device,

wherein said at least one finger swipe is held around said central wrist axis and along a curve of a curved portion of said curved touch surface;

wherein said system further comprising a plurality of different vibrating elements located to provide a plurality of different haptic feedbacks on said wearer'"'"'s wrist and a controller which is adapted to select one of said plurality of different vibrating elements according to said response and operate at least two of said plurality of vibrating elements which is located in said curved portion to provide at least one of said plurality of different haptic feedbacks in response to said reception of said response;

wherein said controller is adapted to operate said at least two of said plurality of vibrating elements to vibrate simultaneously with different intensities or different frequencies.

2. The user input system of claim 1, further comprising a wristband communication module which is set to be installed in said computing device and to translate said computing device operation command to an application operation applied on an active application executed on said computing device.

3. The user input system of claim 2, wherein said wristband communication module is adapted to automatically identify said active application among a plurality of optional applications and to select said application operation accordingly.

4. The user input system of claim 2, wherein said wristband communication module is adapted to automatically identify a status of said active application and to select said application operation accordingly.

5. The user input system of claim 1, wherein said at least one finger swipe comprises a plurality of simultaneous finger swipes which are generated by a plurality of fingertips which slide simultaneously and contiguously against one another along said outer surface.

6. The user input system of claim 1, wherein said curved touch surface completely encircles said outer surface.

7. The user input system of claim 1, wherein said wristband is sized for encircling at least 40% of the perimeter of said wearer'"'"'s wrist.

8. The user input system of claim 1, wherein said curved touch surface comprises a plurality of touch sensors positioned below said outer surface.

9. The user input system of claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of vibrating elements is positioned in a different quarter of said wristband.

10. The user input system of claim 1, wherein said plurality of vibrating elements are sequentially operable according to various vibrating sequences.

11. The user input system of claim 1, wherein said wireless communication unit is adapted to wirelessly receive an operation command from said computing device;

said system further comprising a presentation unit and a controller which is adapted to operate said presentation unit according to said operation command.

12. The user input system of claim 1, wherein said wristband structure is without any visual indication required to be viewed for operating said wristband structure.

13. The user input system of claim 1, wherein said curved touch surface includes a plurality of sensing surfaces arranged along the length of the wristband structure, and wherein said wristband structure encircles at least 50% of the outer surface.

14. The user input system of claim 13, wherein said wristband structure encircles 100% of the outer surface.

15. The user input system of claim 1, wherein said at least one finger swipe comprises a plurality of simultaneous finger swipes which are moved toward each other or away from each other while touching said curved touch surface.

16. A user input method, comprising:

detecting at least one finger swipe of at least one fingertip which slide contiguously along a curve of at least one curved portion of a curved touch surface mounted along a curved surface of a wristband structure sized for at least partly encircling a central wrist axis of a wearer'"'"'s wrist;

wireless transmitting a data query identified by an analysis of said at least one finger swipe to a computing device which is external to said user input system;

receiving a response to said data query from said computing device,

in response to said reception of said response, selecting to provide one of a plurality of different haptic feedbacks on said wearer'"'"'s wrist using at least two of a plurality of vibrating elements which are located in a plurality of curved portions of said wristband device which is sized for at least partly encircling said wearer'"'"'s wrist; and

operating said at least two vibrating elements to vibrate simultaneously with different intensities or different frequencies for providing said selected haptic feedback on said wearer'"'"'s wrist in response to said detection of said at least one finger swipe so that said at least two vibrating element vibrates said at least one curved portion;

wherein said at least one finger swipe is held around said central wrist axis.

17. The user input method of claim 16, wherein said method involves no viewing of said wristband structure.

18. A user input system, comprising:

a wristband structure sized for at least partly encircling a central wrist axis of a wearer'"'"'s wrist and having a plurality of portions;

a plurality of vibrating elements each positioned to vibrate another said portion, said plurality of vibrating elements are set to provide a plurality of different haptic feedbacks on said wearer'"'"'s wrist;

a curved touch surface operative to detect at least one finger swipe held around said central wrist axis, said at least one finger swipe is performed by a fingertip which slides contiguously against an outer surface of said curved touch surface;

a wireless communication unit adapted to wirelessly transmit a data query to a computing device which is external to said user input system and adapted to wirelessly receive a response to said data query to from said computing device; and

a controller adapted to operate at least two of said plurality of vibrating elements to provide one of said plurality of different haptic feedbacks on said wearer'"'"'s wrist in response to the reception of said response;

wherein said controller is adapted to operate said at least two of said plurality of vibrating elements to vibrate simultaneously with different intensities or different frequencies.

19. A method of pulling data from a communication device, comprising:

recording, using a curved touch surface of a wristband device, at least one finger swipe of a fingertip which touches at least one curved portion of an outer surface of said curved touch surface of said wristband device sized for at least partly encircling a central wrist axis of a wearer'"'"'s wrist, said at least one finger swipe is indicative of a data query;

analyzing said at least one finger swipe on said wristband device to identify said data query;

wirelessly transmitting said data query to a communication device;

receiving at said wristband device, a response to said data query from said communication device,

selecting one of a plurality of possible different haptic feedbacks on said wearer'"'"'s wrist according to said response, each one of said plurality of possible different haptic feedbacks comprises instructions to operate at least some of a plurality of vibrating elements installed in said wristband device,

operating at said wristband at least two of said plurality of vibrating elements to vibrate simultaneously with different intensities or different frequencies for providing said selected haptic feedback that comprises a predefined vibrating sequence induced by said at least two vibrating element.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising receiving from a user instructions defining said data query and associating said at least one finger swipe with said data query.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein said data query is encoded in a message selected from a group consisting of:

a missing call message, a voice mail message, a short message service (SMS), a multimedia messaging service (MMS), an instant messaging (IM) message, and an application notification.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein said method involves no viewing of said wristband structure.