Gesture-based small device input

• US 9,292,097 B1
• Filed: 12/02/2013
• Issued: 03/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Miller, James B., Gossweiler, Richard C. III
• Primary Examiner(s): Dharia, Prabodh M
• Application Number:
  US14/093,914
• Time in Patent Office: 841 Days
• Field of Search: 345/8, 345/102, 345156-179, 345/204, 345/213, 345/418, 345/581, 345/589, 345/629, 734/95, 455/566.1, 361/728, 600/462, 600/540
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 21/04 using radio waves radio-controlled time-pieces G04R
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/169 the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04101 2.5D-digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup
• 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 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0425 using a single imaging device like a video camera for tracking the absolute position of a single or a plurality of objects with respect to an imaged reference surface, e.g. video camera imaging a display or a projection screen, a table or a wall surface, on which a computer generated image is displayed or projected tracking a projected light spot to determine a position on a display surface G06F3/0386
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0426 tracking fingers with respect to a virtual keyboard projected or printed on the surface virtual keyboards on touch screens G06F3/04886
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus

Abstract

A computer-implemented method is described that includes providing a watch defining a body and a watch face on a surface of the body, the body having one or more sensors arranged to sense user inputs in an area adjacent to the body. The method further comprises sensing a motion of an object in the area adjacent to, but not touching, the body using the one or more sensors and changing a display of a pointing element on a graphical user interface on the watch in coordination with the sensed motion.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

displaying, by a device that is being worn by a user, a graphical user interface;

determining, by the device, that a detection area on a surface of the user'"'"'s body has been contacted;

identifying, by the device and in response to determining that the detection area on the surface of the user'"'"'s body has been contacted, a gesture performed in the detection area on the surface of the user'"'"'s body; and

performing, by the device and in response to identifying the gesture performed in the detection area on the surface of the user'"'"'s body, one or more operations that correspond to the identified gesture.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising determining a path that is being traced by the gesture in the detection area on the surface of the user'"'"'s body,

wherein performing the one or more operations that correspond to the identified gesture comprises changing the display of the graphical user interface in coordination with the path that is being traced by the gesture.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining that the detection area on the surface of the user'"'"'s body has been contacted comprises receiving an indication, from one or more sensors included in a body of the device, that an object has entered the detection area.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, further comprising:

illuminating, using one or more light sources included in the body of the device, the detection area on the surface of the user'"'"'s body; and

monitoring, using the one or more sensors included in the body of the device, light reflected from the detection area,

wherein receiving the indication that the object has entered the detection area comprises receiving information about the light reflected from the detection area.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the one or more light sources comprise one or more light emitting diodes, and wherein the one or more sensors comprise one or more photodiodes.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein identifying the gesture comprises identifying a tapping motion performed on the surface of the user'"'"'s body in the detection area, the method further comprising:

in response to identifying the tapping motion performed on the surface of the user'"'"'s body in the detection area, determining one or more operations that correspond to a clicking event; and

performing the one or more operations that correspond to the clicking event.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a plurality of applications on the computing device;

detecting, using an accelerometer included in the device, motion of the device;

in response to detecting the motion of the device, selecting one or more applications from the plurality of applications; and

providing information to the selected one or more applications that indicates the detected motion of the device.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the device is being worn in a first region of a forearm, wrist, or back of hand of the user,

the detection area is in a second region of the forearm, wrist, or back of hand of the user, and

the second region is adjacent to the first region.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the device includes an electronic display in a body of the device that is being worn by the user, and the graphical user interface is displayed by the electronic display.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the device comprises a device body and a band that straps the device body to the user, and

the method further comprises;

receiving, by the device, an indication that user input has contacted a surface of the band of the device and has performed a second gesture on the surface of the band; and

in response to receiving the indication that user input has contacted the surface of the band of the device and performed the second gesture, changing the display of the graphical user interface based on the second gesture.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein identifying the gesture performed in the detection area on the surface of the user'"'"'s body comprises identifying that an object has been dragged from a first location in the detection area to a second location in the detection area on the surface of the user'"'"'s body.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein a location of the detection area on the surface of the user'"'"'s body is separated by a non-zero distance from a location at which the device that is worn by the user contacts the user.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the detection area on the surface of the user'"'"'s body is located adjacent to a body of the device when the device is worn by the user.

14. A system comprising:

a wearable computing device that includes a device body;

one or more sensors that are coupled to the device body of the wearable computing device and that are configured to sense user input in a detection area on a surface of a body of a user who is wearing the wearable computing device;

a processor in the device body of the wearable computing device that is configured to

(i) determine, using information sensed by the one or more sensors, that the surface of the body of the user who is wearing the wearable computing device has been contacted in the detection area, and

(ii) identify, using information sensed by the one or more sensors, a gesture performed in the detection area on the surface of the body of the user who is wearing the wearable computing device; and

an electronic display that includes a graphical user interface that is configured to change responsive to the processor identifying the gesture performed in the detection area on the surface of the body of the user.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the detection area comprises an area on a forearm, wrist, or back of hand of the user adjacent to the device body.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein:

the one or more sensors comprise light detectors that are arranged to measure light reflected from the detection area; and

the processor is further configured to determine that the surface of the body of the user has been contacted in the detection area in response to an indication from the one or more sensors of a change in the light reflected from the detection area.

17. The system of claim 14, further comprising one or more light sources that are coupled to the device body of the wearable computing device and that are configured to illuminate the detection area.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the one or more light sources are further configured to superimpose an image of one or more graphical elements onto the detection area on the surface of the body of the user.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to identify a path that is being traced by the gesture performed in the detection area on the surface of the body of the user, and to cause the electronic display to move a graphical pointing element displayed in the graphical user interface in coordination with the path that is being traced by the gesture.

20. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

displaying, by a device, a graphical user interface, the device having a flexible band that straps the device to a user;

determining, by the device, that a surface of the band has been contacted;

identifying, by the device and in response to determining that the surface of the band has been contacted, a gesture performed on the surface of the band; and

changing, based on the identified gesture performed on the surface of the band, the display of the graphical user interface of the device.

21. The computer-implemented method of claim 20, wherein the device comprises a watch being worn on a forearm, wrist, or back of hand of the user, and wherein the band includes one or more sensors that the device is configured to use to determine whether the surface of the band has been contacted and to identify the gesture performed on the surface of the band.

22. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein changing the display of the graphical user interface of the device comprises sensing a dragging motion performed on the surface of the band and moving a graphical pointing element displayed in the graphical user interface in coordination with the sensed dragging motion on the surface of the band.