Alarm operation by touch-less gesture

• US 9,367,137 B2
• Filed: 07/01/2013
• Issued: 06/14/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Mankowski, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, KIMNHUNG T
• Application Number:
  US13/932,280
• Publication Number:
  US 20150002472A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,079 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-158, 345173-179
• 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 3/0304 Detection arrangements using opto-electronic means constructional details of pointing devices not related to the detection arrangement using opto-electronic means G06F3/033; optical digitisers G06F3/042

Abstract

A method and system to control an alarm application being executed by a device using a touch-less gesture are described. The system includes two or more ambient light sensors arranged at respective surface locations on a same side of a device, each of the two or more ambient light sensors measuring light intensity at the respective surface location. The system also includes a processor to detect a gesture as a detected gesture based on the light intensity measured by the ambient light sensors and output a control signal to the alarm application based on the detected gesture, wherein at least one other gesture also corresponds with the control signal.

Claims

1. A system to control an alarm application executed by a device using a touch-less gesture, the system comprising:

two or more ambient light sensors arranged at respective surface locations on a same side of the device, each of the two or more ambient light sensors configured to measure light intensity at the respective surface location;

a processor configured to detect a gesture as a detected gesture based on the light intensity measured by the ambient light sensors and output a control signal to the alarm application based on the detected gesture, wherein at least one other gesture also corresponds with the control signal; and

a gesture library configured to store two or more gestures, and one or more control signals corresponding to the two or more gestures,

wherein the gesture library stores a correspondence between the detected gesture and the control signal and stores a correspondence between the at least one other gesture and the control signal.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the two or more ambient light sensors on the same side of the device are on a first side coincident with a screen of the device or on a second side of the device, the second side being opposite the first side of the device.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the control signal is output to control an operation of the alarm application and to activate another application on the device when the processor detects the at least one other gesture.

4. The system according to 1, wherein when the detected gesture is not one of the two or more gestures stored in the gesture library, the processor outputs the control signal to stop an alarm sound of the alarm application as a default control signal.

5. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a gesture library configured to store a correspondence between a type of the detected gesture and the control signal, wherein the type of the detected gesture and the type of the at least one other gesture are a same type.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein the processor identifies the type of the detected gesture to determine the control signal corresponding with the detected gesture according to the correspondence stored in the gesture library.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the processor identifies the type of the detected gesture based on a motion and irrespective of an orientation of an object making the motion relative to the device.

8. A method of controlling an alarm application being executed by a device using a touch-less gesture, the method comprising:

storing, in a gesture library, two or more gestures, and one or more control signals corresponding to the two or more gestures;

measuring, using two or more ambient light sensors arranged at respective surface locations on a same side of a device, light intensity at the respective surface locations;

detecting a gesture as a detected gesture, using a processor, based on the light intensity measured by the ambient light sensors; and

outputting, using the processor, a control signal to the alarm application based on the detected gesture, wherein at least one other gesture also corresponds with the control signal,

wherein storing the correspondence in the gesture library includes storing a correspondence between the detected gesture and the control signal and storing a correspondence between the at least one other gesture and the control signal.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the measuring the light intensity is with the two or more ambient light sensors on the same side of the device being on a first side coincident with a screen of the device or on a second side of the device, the second side being opposite the first side of the device.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein detecting the at least one other gesture causes the control signal to control an operation of the alarm application and to activate another application on the device.

11. The method according to claim 8, further comprising the processor outputting the control signal to stop an alarm sound of the alarm application as a default control signal when the detected gesture is not one of the two or more gestures stored in the gesture library.

12. The method according to claim 8, further comprising storing, in a gesture library, a correspondence between a type of the detected gesture and the control signal, the type of the detected gesture and the type of the at least one other gesture being a same type.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising the processor identifying the type of the detected gesture to determine the control signal corresponding with the detected gesture according to the correspondence stored in the gesture library.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising the processor identifying the type of the detected gesture based on a motion and irrespective of an orientation of an object making the motion relative to the device.

15. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

turning off the alarm application and returning the device to a default application state if the control signal is received prior to the alarm application activating an alarm sound at a specified time;

otherwise, stopping the alarm sound in response to receiving the control signal.

16. The method according to claim 8, further comprising resetting the alarm application for a selected period of time based on the control signal.

17. The method according to claim 8, further comprising turning off the application or resetting the alarm application, and initiating a different application based on the control signal.

18. The method according to claim 8, wherein the control signal causes an alarm sound of the alarm application to snooze for an amount of time based on a number of times the detected gesture is detected.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the amount of time is such that the greater the number of times the detected gesture is detected before outputting the control signal, the greater the amount of time the alarm sound is snoozed after outputting the control signal.

20. A device to control an alarm application using a touch-less gesture, the device comprising:

two or more ambient light sensors arranged at respective surface locations on a same side of the device, each of the two or more ambient light sensors configured to measure light intensity at the respective surface location;

a processor configured to detect a gesture based on the light intensity measured by the ambient light sensors and output a control signal to the alarm application based on the detected gesture; and

a gesture library configured to store two or more gestures, and one or more control signals corresponding to the two or more gestures,

wherein, when the detected gesture is not one of the two or more gestures stored in the gesture library, the processor outputs the control signal to stop an alarm sound of the alarm application.