Touch-enabled remote control

• US 9,146,616 B2
• Filed: 11/08/2012
• Issued: 09/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ROVI Product Corporation (Xperi Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Fanhattan, Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Smelzer, Gregory, Jiang, William, Vinckier, Christopher, BianRosa, Gilles Serge, Chalouhi, Olivier
• Primary Examiner(s): Balaoing, Ariel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Haile, Benyam
• Application Number:
  US13/672,426
• Publication Number:
  US 20130176243A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,055 Days
• Field of Search: 220/230, 340/4.31, 292/251.5
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B23P 11/00 Connecting or disconnecting metal parts or objects by metal-working techniques not otherwise provided for connecting sheet metal or metal tubes, rods or profiles B21D39/00; riveting B21J; soldering, unsoldering, welding B23K; hand tools for connecting wire or strip B25B25/00; connecting metal parts by adhesives F16B11/00
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 65/006 for covers or panels for manholes E02D29/1427; for holes enabling access to installations in buildings E04F19/08; for pressure vessels F16J13/00
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 65/0067 for portable computers, e.g. for locking the screen panel to the keyboard panel
• CPC Class Codes: E05C 19/16 Devices holding the wing by magnetic or electromagnetic attraction E05C17/56 takes precedence
• 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 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/32 Remote control based on movements, attitude of remote control device
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 23/02 using infrasonic, sonic or ultrasonic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 23/04 using light waves, e.g. infrared
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 7/0252 PM holding devices H01F7/021, H01F7/0215, H01F7/0226 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 7/0263 Closures, bags, bands, engagement devices with male and female parts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0262 for a battery compartment
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 5/0086 portable, e.g. battery operated apparatus casings for switching devices H01H9/02
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49002 Electrical device making

Abstract

A remote control device comprises a housing cover configured to mate with a touch-enabled surface configured to receive input gestures, and a battery holder disposed between the housing cover and the touch-enabled surface. A first plurality of magnets is disposed in the housing cover. A second plurality of magnets is disposed in the battery holder. The first plurality of magnets in the housing cover is attracted to the second plurality of magnets in a first position of the housing cover relative to the battery holder. The first plurality of magnets in the housing cover is repelled from the second plurality of magnets in a second position of the housing cover relative to the battery holder. The first position and the second position share a rotational axis normal to the touch-enabled surface.

Claims

1. A remote control device, comprising:

a housing cover configured to mate with a touch-enabled surface configured to receive input gestures;

a battery holder disposed between the housing cover and the touch-enabled surface, wherein the housing cover and the battery holder form a substantially square shape with rounded edges;

a center magnet disposed in a center region of the housing cover, the center magnet configured to be attracted to a battery in the battery holder;

a first pair of magnets disposed on opposite sides of the center magnet in the housing cover; and

a second pair of magnets disposed on the opposite sides of the center magnet in the battery holder,

the first pair of magnets in the housing cover configured to be attracted to the second pair of magnets in a first position of the housing cover relative to the battery holder, the first pair of magnets in the housing cover configured to repel the second pair of magnets in a second position of the housing cover relative to the battery holder, the center magnet configured to be attracted to the battery in the battery holder in both the first position and second position of the housing cover relative to the battery holder, the first position and the second position sharing a rotational axis normal to the touch-enabled surface.

2. The remote control device of claim 1, wherein the housing cover mates with the touch-enabled surface in the first position, wherein the housing cover disengages from the touch-enabled surface in the second position.

3. The remote control device of claim 1, wherein the second position is a 15 degrees rotation from the first position along the rotational axis.

4. The remote control device of claim 1, wherein the first pair of magnets comprise a first set of magnets configured to provide attraction to the battery holder along the rotational axis, and a second set of magnets configured to provide rotation along the rotational axis.

5. The remote control device of claim 1, wherein the second pair of magnets comprise a first set of magnets configured to provide attraction to the housing cover along the rotational axis, and a second set of magnets configured to provide rotation along the rotational axis.

6. The remote control device of claim 1, wherein the first pair of magnets are aligned with the second pair of magnets in the first position.

7. The remote control device of claim 1, wherein the battery holder has chassis walls to allow clearance for rotation of the housing cover in relation to the battery holder.

8. The remote control device of claim 1, wherein the housing cover comprises hooks configured to lock in the chassis walls of the battery holder when in the first position.

9. The remote control device of claim 1, further comprising:

a transmitter configured to transmit the input gestures to a client device, the input gestures being translatable into commands for navigating a user interface presented on the client device, the navigating of the user interface presented on the client device providing visual feedback of the input gestures.

10. The remote control device of claim 1, further comprising:

a battery located within the battery holder for powering the remote control device; and

an input port in the battery holder configured to receive a cable connected to a power source for charging the battery.

11. The remote control device of claim 1, further comprising:

an audio interface configured to receive audio input, the audio input being translatable into further commands for navigating the user interface presented on the client device.

12. The remote control device of claim 1, further comprising:

an accelerometer configured to detect and measure movements of the remote control device; and

an activation module configured to;

place the remote control device in a power conservation mode based on a detection of a lack of movement of the remote control device for a predetermined period of time by the accelerometer; and

awaken the remote control device from the power conservation mode based on a detection of movement of the remote control device by the accelerometer while the remote control device is in the power conservation mode.

13. The remote control device of claim 1, further comprising:

an orientation module configured to configure the remote control device according to user preferences.

14. The remote control device of claim 1, further comprising an orientation module configured to:

identify a user of the remote control device; and

configure the touch-enabled surface to account for a handedness of the identified user.

15. The remote control device of claim 1, wherein the touch-enabled surface comprises a capacitive touch interface, wherein the battery cover is concave and the touch-enabled surface is flat.

16. The remote control device of claim 1, wherein the touch-enabled surface includes a pair of sections, each section having an assigned function performed in response to a predetermined type of input gesture.

17. A remote control device comprising:

a housing comprising a touch-enabled interface, a battery holder, and a battery cover, the touch-enabled interface configured to receive input gestures, the input gestures including a first input gesture corresponding to a command to concurrently move a user interface element and a focus element visually emphasizing the user interface element on a user interface of an application executing on a client device in communication with the remote control device wherein the housing cover and the battery holder form a substantially square shape with rounded edges;

a first pair of magnets disposed on opposite sides of a center magnet in the housing cover and a second pair of magnets disposed on the opposite sides of the center magnet in the battery holder, the first pair of magnets in the housing cover configured to be attracted to the second pair of magnets in a first position of the housing cover relative to the battery holder, the first pair of magnets in the housing cover configured to repel the second pair of magnets in a second position of the housing cover relative to the battery holder, the first position and the second position sharing a rotational axis normal to a surface of the touch-enabled interface; and

the center magnet disposed in a center region of the housing cover, the center magnet configured to be attracted to a battery in the battery holder in both the first position and second position of the housing cover relative to the battery holder.

18. A method for opening a remote control device:

providing a housing cover configured to mate with a touch-enabled surface configured to receive input gestures, wherein the housing cover and the battery holder form a substantially square shape with rounded edges, and a battery holder disposed between the housing cover and the touch-enabled surface, a first pair of magnets disposed on opposite sides of a center magnet in the housing cover, a second pair of magnets disposed on the opposite sides of the center magnet in the battery holder, and the center magnet disposed in a center region of the housing cover, the center magnet configured to be attracted to a battery in the battery holder, the first pair of magnets in the housing cover configured to be attracted to the second pair of magnets in a first position of the housing cover relative to the battery holder, the first pair of magnets in the housing cover configured to repel the second pair of magnets in a second position of the housing cover relative to the battery holder, the center magnet configured to be attracted to the battery in the battery holder in both the first position and second position of the housing cover relative to the battery holder, the first position and the second position sharing a rotational axis normal to the touch-enabled surface; and

rotating the housing cover about the rotational axis from the first position to the second position to disengage the housing cover from the battery holder.