Apparatus and method for inputting information based on events

• US 9,223,405 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2012
• Issued: 12/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: Ryoo, Dong Wan, Park, Jun Seok
• Primary Examiner(s): HOFFNER, LINH NGUYEN
• Application Number:
  US13/420,407
• Publication Number:
  US 20120235906A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,385 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/158, 340/573.1, 382/103, 463/36
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 3/0346 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 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

Disclosed are an apparatus and a method for inputting events. An embodiment of the present invention can generate left and right click events in addition to activating and stopping pointers by sensing a rolling of a wrist and calculate and output a coordinate displacement according to the motion of the hand at the time of activating the pointers according to the events. Further, the embodiment of the present invention can be applied to a large-sized display or a contactless spatial input apparatus of an HMD, entertainment such as games, and the like, and can overcome restricted environments by a gesture input scheme under special environment.

Claims

1. An apparatus for inputting information based on events, comprising:

an inertial sensor unit configured to sense a rolling of a wrist and a motion of a hand;

an event determination unit configured to determine the events solely through the rolling of the wrist sensed by the inertial sensor unit;

a coordinate calculation unit configured to calculate a moving displacement for the motion of the hand sensed by the inertial sensor unit; and

a control unit configured to transmit control commands corresponding to the events and transmit coordinate values for the moving displacement input from the coordinate calculation unit, when the event determination unit determines the rolling of the wrist as the events,

wherein the event determination unit is configured to determine the rolling of the wrist as a pointer activation or deactivation event, and is configured to determine the rolling of the wrist as click events during pointer deactivation,

wherein the inertial sensor unit is disposed on single wrist, and

wherein the event determination unit;

is configured to determine the rolling of the wrist as a pointer activation event when the rolling of the wrist is generated in one direction in a pointer stopping state and determine the rolling of the wrist as a pointer stopping event when the rolling of the wrist is generated in another direction at a pointer activation state, and

is configured to determine the rolling of the wrist as a left click event when the rolling of the wrist is generated to the left and then, is generated and recovered to the right within a set time and determine the rolling of the wrist as a right click event when the rolling of the wrist is generated to the right and then, is generated and recovered to the left within the set time.

2. The apparatus for inputting information based on events of claim 1, wherein the inertial sensor unit measures a slope, acceleration, angular velocity according to the rolling of the wrist and the motion of the hand.

3. The apparatus for inputting information based on events of claim 1, further comprising:

a feedback generation unit configured to inform the event generation when the event determination unit determines the rolling of the wrist as the events and the control unit outputs the control commands.

4. The apparatus for inputting information based on events of claim 1, further comprising:

a data storage unit configured to store the rolling of the wrist for determining the events and store the control commands according to the events.

5. The apparatus for inputting information based on events of claim 1, further comprising:

a communication unit configured to transmit the control commands and the coordinate values transmitted from the control unit to an electronic device.

6. The for inputting information based on events of claim 1, wherein the control unit outputs the coordinate values for the moving displacement when the event is the pointer activation event and stops the output of the coordinate values when the events are the pointer stopping event.

7. A method for inputting information based on events, comprising:

sensing a rolling of a wrist and a motion of a hand;

determining event generation solely based on the rolling of the wrist;

calculating a moving displacement by the motion of the hand; and

outputting control commands corresponding to the events and outputting coordinate values for the moving displacement according to the events, when the event generation is determined and thus, the events are generated,

wherein the determining event generation comprises determining the rolling of the wrist as a pointer activation or deactivation event, and is configured to determine the rolling of the wrist as click events during pointer deactivation,

wherein the inertial sensor unit is disposed on single wrist, and

wherein determining event generation further comprises;

determining the rolling of the wrist as a pointer activation event when the rolling of the wrist is generated in one direction in a pointer stopping state and determining the rolling of the wrist as a pointer stopping events when the rolling of the wrist is generated in another direction at a pointer activation state, and

determining the rolling of the wrist as a left click event when the rolling of the wrist is generated to the left and then, is generated and recovered to the right within a set time and determining the rolling of the wrist as a right click event when the rolling of the wrist is generated to the right and then, is generated and recovered to the left within the set time.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

when the control commands are output, outputting a feedback signal informing the event generation.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein at the outputting of the coordinate values for the moving displacement, the coordinate values for the moving displacement are output when the event is the pointer activation event and the output of the coordinate values stops when the events is the pointer stopping event.