Operation terminal, electronic unit, and electronic unit system

• US 9,210,459 B2
• Filed: 05/26/2011
• Issued: 12/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Saturn Licensing LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ito, Shin, Yamada, Eiju, Ohashi, Yoshinori
• Primary Examiner(s): SIMPSON, LIXI CHOW
• Application Number:
  US13/116,338
• Publication Number:
  US 20110298700A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,657 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 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 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• 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 2201/92 Universal remote control
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/93 Remote control using other portable devices, e.g. mobile phone, PDA, laptop
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72415 for remote control of appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42206 characterized by hardware details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42222 Additional components integrated in the remote control device, e.g. timer, speaker, sensors for detecting position, direction or movement of the remote control, microphone or battery charging device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42224 Touch pad or touch panel provided on the remote control

Abstract

An operation terminal includes: a posture detection section detecting a posture of the operation terminal, a change of the posture, or both thereof; a mode selection section selecting, based on a detection result of the posture detection section, an operation mode from a plurality of operation modes including a gesture mode and a non-gesture mode; and a transmission section sending a control command corresponding to the detection result of the posture detection section to an electronic unit when the gesture mode is currently selected.

Claims

1. An operation terminal comprising:

a mode selection section to select an operation mode from a plurality of operation modes including a gesture mode and a non-gesture mode;

a plurality of input sections to accept a plurality of types of inputs, in which each type of input is different from each other, and in which one type of input is a non-gesture input for use in the non-gesture mode wherein a user utilizes a button to select a desired operation without utilizing a posture or a change in posture of the operational terminal and another type of input is a gesture input for use in the gesture mode wherein the user utilizes one or both of the posture and the change in posture of the operation terminal to select a desired operation without utilizing any buttons; and

a transmission section to send a control command corresponding to at least one of the gesture input or the non-gesture input,

in which one of the input sections is an operation input section having a display screen with a touch panel disposed in an overlapping manner thereon and a number of buttons associated therewith to accept a desired non-gesture input from the user by use of a respective button in which the number of buttons are one or both of physical type buttons or touch type buttons, and another of the input sections is a gesture input section which includes (i) a posture detection section to detect the posture of the operation terminal, the change of the posture, or both thereof and (ii) a gesture determination section to determine a respective gesture input made by the user of said operation terminal based on a detection result of the posture detection section, and

in which when the non-gesture mode is currently selected the mode selection section automatically switches the operation mode from the non-gesture mode to the gesture mode when a detection result of the posture detection section indicates a change in posture to a first new posture in which the display screen and touch panel are arranged so as not to face the user and have remained in the first new posture for a predetermined period of time, and when the gesture mode is currently selected the mode selection section automatically switches the operation mode from the gesture mode to the non-gesture mode when a detection result of the posture detection section indicates a change in posture to a second new posture in which the display screen and touch panel are arranged so as to face the user and have remained in the second new posture for a predetermined period of time.

2. The operation terminal according to claim 1, wherein the operation terminal is a mobile terminal.

3. The operation terminal according to claim 2, in which the touch panel is configured to capture information through a panel-touch operation;

and further comprising a control command generation section generating the control command, based on both a detection result of the posture detection section and the information captured through the touch panel.

4. The operation terminal according to claim 1, wherein

the plurality of operation modes include a plurality of gesture modes different from one another.

5. The operation terminal according to claim 1, wherein

the transmission section sends control command information representing a relationship between the control command and contents of operation to be executed in response to the control command.

6. The operation terminal according to claim 5, wherein

the control command information further includes information related to the posture of the operation terminal, information related to the change of the posture, or both thereof.

7. The operation terminal according to claim 1, in which the gesture input section determines the respective gesture input made by the user without using the touch panel.

8. The operation terminal according to claim 1, in which the predetermined period of time is one second or more.

9. An electronic unit system comprising:

an electronic unit; and

an operation terminal performing an operation to allow the electronic unit to work, the operation terminal including;

a mode selection section to select an operation mode from a plurality of operation modes including a gesture mode and a non-gesture mode;

a plurality of input sections to accept a plurality of types of inputs, in which each type of input is different from each other, and in which one type of input is a non-gesture input for use in the non-gesture mode wherein a user utilizes a button to select a desired operation without utilizing a posture or a change in posture of the operational terminal and another type of input is a gesture input for use in the gesture mode wherein the user utilizes one or both of the posture and the change in posture of the operation terminal to select a desired operation without utilizes any buttons; and

a transmission section to send a control command corresponding to at least one of the gesture input or the non-gesture input,

in which one of the input sections is an operation input section having a display screen with a touch panel disposed in an overlapping manner thereon and a number of buttons associated therewith to accept a desired non-gesture input from the user by use of a respective button in which the number of buttons are one or both of physical type buttons or touch type buttons, and another of the input sections is a gesture input section which includes (i) a posture detection section to detect the posture of the operation terminal, the change of the posture, or both thereof and (ii) a gesture determination section to determine a respective gesture input made by the user of said operation terminal based on a detection result of the posture detection section, and

in which when the non-gesture mode is currently selected the mode selection section automatically switches the operation mode from the non-gesture mode to the gesture mode when a detection result of the posture detection section indicates a change in posture to a first new posture in which the display screen and touch panel are arranged so as not to face the user and have remained in the first new posture for a predetermined period of time, and when the gesture mode is currently selected the mode selection section automatically switches the operation mode from the gesture mode to the non-gesture mode when a detection result of the posture detection section indicates a change in posture to a second new posture in which the display screen and touch panel are arranged so as to face the user and have remained in the second new posture for a predetermined period of time.

10. The electronic unit system according to claim 9, in which the gesture input section determines the respective gesture input made by the user without using the touch panel.

11. The electronic unit system according to claim 9, in which the predetermined period of time is one second or more.