Adjusting font sizes

• US 9,183,806 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2011
• Issued: 11/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Felt, Michelle
• Primary Examiner(s): Hon, Ming
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le, Sarah
• Application Number:
  US13/167,432
• Publication Number:
  US 20120327123A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,601 Days
• Field of Search: 345/472
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/14 Solving problems related to the presentation of information to be displayed
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/26 for modifying the character dimensions, e.g. double width, double height

Abstract

A device may determine a baseline size of a font, obtain a distance between a user and a mobile device when the baseline size is determined, determine, via a sensor, a current distance between the mobile device and the user, determine a target size of the font based on the current distance, the distance, and the baseline size, set a current size of the font to the target size of the font, and display, on the mobile device, characters in the font having the target size.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

an output component to provide an audio or visual output;

a sensor to determine a distance between a user and the device;

one or more processors to;

obtain, as a baseline distance between the user and the device, a particular distance between the user and the device via the sensor;

provide test values for the audio or visual output to the user when the distance between the user and the device is the baseline distance;

determine a baseline value based on a test value selected from the test values according to the baseline distance;

after determining the baseline value, determine, via the sensor, a first current distance between the user and the device;

determine a first target value for the audio or visual output based on the first current distance, the baseline distance, and the baseline value;

provide, via the output component, an audio or visual output having a magnitude specified by the first target value;

determine a second current distance between the user and the device;

determine a second target value for the audio or visual output based on the second current distance, the baseline distance, and the baseline value; and

provide, via the output component, the audio or visual output, changing a magnitude of the audio or visual output toward a magnitude specified by the second target value at a speed that is dependent on a user-specified speed preference and a speed of a change from the first current distance to the second current distance; and

a memory to store the determined baseline value, associating with the obtained baseline distance.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the baseline value, the first target value, and the second target value are represented by:

speaker volume;

or a font size.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the sensor includes:

a range finder;

an ultrasound sensor;

or an infrared sensor.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein when providing test values for the audio or visual output to the user when the distance between the user and the device is the baseline distance, the one or more processors are further configured to:

provide an eye examination to the user;

or

provide a hearing test to the user.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein when the one or more processors provide the eye examination to the user, the one or more processors are configured to:

determine sizes of test fonts to be displayed to the user based on a resolution of the display,

wherein the one or more processors decreases the sizes of the test fonts when the resolution of the display increases, and increases the sizes of the test fonts when the resolution of the display decreases.

6. The device of claim 4, wherein when the one or more processors provide the eye examination to the user, the one or more processors are further configured to:

receive a user selection of a smallest font that the user can read.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein when the one or more processors determine the baseline value, the one or more processors are further configured to:

set the baseline value to be a size of approximately the smallest font that the user can read when the user and the device are apart by the baseline distance.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors is further configured to:

provide a plurality of characters to the user, wherein the plurality of characters have different font sizes, respectively;

receive a selection of a smallest font size, as selection of the test values, among the different font sizes, that the user can read at the particular distance; and

set the baseline value to approximately the smallest font size.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

after changing the magnitude of the audio or visual output toward the second target value, wait for a predetermined period of time before rendering further changes to the magnitude of the audio or visual output.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein when the one or more processors determine the first target value, the one or more processors determines the first target value to be no greater than a predetermined upper limit.

11. A method comprising:

obtaining, as a baseline distance between the user and the mobile device, a particular distance between the user and the mobile device via a sensor;

providing test font sizes to the user when the distance between the user and the device is the baseline distance;

after determining the baseline font size, determining, via the sensor, a first current distance between the mobile device and the user;

determining a first target font size based on the first current distance, the baseline distance, and the baseline font size;

displaying, on the mobile device, characters in the font having the first target font size;

determining a second current distance between the user and the device;

determining a second target font size based on the second current distance, the baseline distance, and the baseline font size; and

displaying, on the mobile device, character, changing a font size of the characters toward the second target font size at a user-selected speed.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the sensor includes a component for auto-focusing a camera of the mobile device.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein providing test font sizes to the user when the distance between the user and the device is the baseline distance includes:

providing a graphical user interface for conducting an eye examination;

or

receiving user input that specifies visual acuity of the user.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the conducting the eye examination includes:

receiving a user selection of a smallest font that the user can read at the distance; and

determining the baseline font size to be approximately the smallest font.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the providing the graphical user interface includes:

displaying test fonts whose sizes are determined based on a resolution of a display of the mobile device,

wherein the test font sizes are decreased when the resolution of the display increases, and the test font sizes are increased when the resolution of the display decreases.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the determining the first target font size includes:

determining the first target font size to be no greater than a predetermined upper limit.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising computer-executable instructions for configuring one or more processors to:

obtain, as a baseline distance between a user and the mobile device, a particular distance between the user and the mobile device via the sensor;

provide test volume levels to the user when the distance between the user and the device is the baseline distance;

determine a baseline volume level based on a test volume level selected from the test volume levels according to the baseline distance;

determine, via the sensor, a first current distance between the user and the mobile device;

determine a first target volume level of the speaker based on at least the first current distance, the baseline distance, and the baseline volume level;

set a first current volume level of the speaker to the first target volume level of the speaker;

generate, from the mobile device, sounds having the first target volume level;

determine a second current distance between the user and the mobile device;

determine a second target volume level of the speaker based on at least the second current distance, the baseline distance, and the baseline value;

change a volume of the speaker at a speed that is dependent on a speed of a change from the first current distance to the second current distance; and

generate, from the mobile device, sounds, changing a volume level of the sounds toward the second target volume level at a speed that is dependent on a user-specified speed preference and a speed of a change from the first current distance to the second current distance.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising computer-executable instruction for configuring the one or more processors to determine ambient noise, wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instruction for configuring the one or more processors to,

when the one or more processors determine the first target volume level,

determine the first target volume level of the speaker based on the first current distance, the distance, the baseline volume level, and the ambient noise level.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the computer-executable instruction for configuring the one or more processors to provide test volume levels to the user when the distance between the user and the device is the baseline distance includes a computer-executable instruction for configuring the one or more processors to provide a hearing test to the user.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the computer-executable instruction for configuring the one or more processors to determine the first target volume level includes a computer-executable instruction for configuring the one or more processors to determines the first target volume level to be no greater than a predetermined upper limit.