Touch control for immersion in a tablet goggles accessory

• US 9,158,115 B1
• Filed: 09/16/2013
• Issued: 10/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Worley, Connor Spencer Blue, Zarraga, John Aaron, Moscovich, Tomer, Doan, Oliver Huy
• Primary Examiner(s): SHENG, TOM V
• Application Number:
  US14/027,982
• Time in Patent Office: 757 Days
• Field of Search: 345/7, 345/8, 345/9, 349/13, 359/228, 359/630
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0178 Eyeglass type eyeglass details G02C
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0187 slaved to motion of at least a part of the body of the user, e.g. head, eye
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0384 Wireless input, i.e. hardware and software details of wireless interface arrangements for pointing devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04804 Transparency, e.g. transparent or translucent windows
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/36 using liquid crystals

Abstract

Single-touch immersion control of head-mounted display (HMD) systems is described. One method outputs video from an electronic device to a HMD system that includes a display layer and a variable-transparency layer. The electronic device controls the variable-transparency layer to operate in a first state in which the variable-transparency layer is transparent and to operate in a second state in which the variable-transparency layer is opaque. The electronic device switches between the second state and the first state in response to a single-touch event detected by the electronic device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

outputting, by a tablet device, video to a first display layer of a head-mounted display (HMD) system coupled to the tablet device;

while displaying the video on the first display layer, setting a second display layer of the HMD system to be opaque to limit an amount of light that passes through the HMD system for viewing the video on the first display layer, wherein the outputting and the setting are performed by the tablet device while the tablet device is in a first mode in which an entire touch surface of the tablet device is configured to operate as a touch-sensitive button;

detecting, by the tablet device, a touch event on the touch surface when the tablet device is configured to operate as the touch-sensitive button; and

in response to the detected touch event,

setting, by the tablet device, the second display layer to be transparent to increase the amount of light that passes through the HMD system for exposing a user of the HMD system to an outside-world view of the tablet device in response to the detected touch event, and

setting, by the tablet device, the first display layer to be transparent.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the setting the first display layer to be transparent comprises:

stopping the outputting of the video to the first display layer; and

setting the first display layer in a transparent state.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the setting the second display layer to be transparent and the first display layer to be transparent are performed by the tablet device while the tablet device is in a second mode in which the entire touch surface is not configured to operate as the touch-sensitive button, wherein the method further comprises:

detecting, by the tablet device, a second touch event while in the second mode;

in response to the detected second touch event,

setting the second display layer of the HMD system to be opaque; and

outputting the video on the first display layer.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the detecting the second touch event comprises detecting that the user has started playback of the video in a full-screen mode.

5. A method comprising:

outputting images from an electronic device to a display layer of a head-mounted display (HMD) system coupled to the electronic device;

controlling, by the electronic device, a variable-transparency layer of the HMD system to operate in a first state in which the variable-transparency layer is set at a first transparency level, wherein the first transparency level allows a first amount of light to pass through the variable-transparency layer;

controlling, by the electronic device, the variable-transparency layer to operate in a second state in which the variable-transparency layer is set to a second transparency level, wherein the second transparency level allows a second amount of light to pass through the variable-transparency layer, wherein the second amount of light is less than the first amount of light;

detecting a touch event by the electronic device while at least a portion of a touch surface of the electronic device is configured to operate as a touch-sensitive button; and

switching the variable-transparency layer between the second state and the first state in response to the touch event.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising controlling, by the electronic device, the display layer to be transparent while the variable-transparency layer is in the first state, wherein the controlling the display layer comprises stopping the outputting the images to the display layer.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the outputting images comprises outputting the images to the display layer while the variable-transparency layer is in the second state.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the outputting the images further comprises:

displaying an image on the display layer of a first lens of the HMD system while shuttering the display layer of a second lens of the HMD system; and

displaying another image on the display layer of the second lens while shuttering the display layer of the first lens.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein,

while the electronic device is in a first mode, an entire touch surface of the electronic device is configured to operate as the touch-sensitive button.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the images are frames of a video, and wherein the method further comprises:

while the electronic device is in a second mode in which the entire touch surface of the electronic device is not configured to operate as the touch-sensitive button, detecting, by the electronic device, a second touch event; and

in response to the second touch event,

switching the variable-transparency layer from the first state to the second state; and

outputting the images from the electronic device to the display layer.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

outputting audio from the electronic device to headphones; and

activating noise canceling operations of the headphones in response to the second touch event.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising setting the headphones to a predefined volume level in response to the second touch event.

13. The method of claim 5, wherein the switching comprises gradually adjusting a transparency metric between the first transparency level and the second transparency level when transitioning between the first state and the second state.

14. The method of claim 5, wherein the variable-transparency layer comprises at least one of variable-transparency glass or variable-transparency plastic.

15. An electronic device comprising:

a video interface to output images to a display layer of a head-mounted display (HMD) system, wherein the HMD system further comprises a variable-transparency layer;

a control interface to output control signals to the HMD system to control at least the variable-transparency layer; and

a processing device coupled to the video interface and the control interface, wherein the processing device is configured to execute an immersion control tool, wherein the immersion control tool is configured to;

control the variable-transparency layer to a first transparency level, wherein the first transparency level allows a first amount of light to pass through the variable-transparency layer;

control the variable-transparency layer to a second transparency level, wherein the second transparency level allows a second amount of light to pass through the variable-transparency layer;

detect a touch event while the electronic device is in a first mode in which at least a portion of a touch surface of the electronic device is configured to operate as a touch-sensitive button; and

in response to the detected touch event, switch the variable-transparency layer between the first transparency level and the second transparency level.

16. The electronic device of claim 15, further comprising an audio interface to output audio to headphones, and wherein the immersion control tool is further configured to activate noise canceling operations of the headphones in response to the touch event.

17. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein

an entire touch surface of the electronic device is configured to operate as the touch-sensitive button in the first mode.

18. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the images are frames of a video, and wherein the immersion control tool is further configured to:

while the electronic device is in a second mode in which the entire touch surface of the electronic device is not configured to operate as the touch-sensitive button, detect a second touch event; and

in response to the second touch event, switch the variable-transparency layer from the second transparency level to the first transparency level.

19. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the HMD system comprises a first lens and a second lens, wherein the processing device is configured to control the HMD system over the control interface to:

display an image on the display layer of the first lens while shuttering the display layer of the second lens; and

display another image on the display layer of the second lens while shuttering the display layer of the first lens.

20. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the immersion control tool is further configured to gradually adjust a transparency metric of the variable-transparency layer when switching the variable-transparency layer between the first transparency level and the second transparency level.