Display navigation using touch-less gestures

• US 9,489,051 B2
• Filed: 07/01/2013
• Issued: 11/08/2016
• 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, Rang, Weimin, Wu, Xiaowei
• Primary Examiner(s): Mengistu, Amare
• Assistant Examiner(s): STEPP JONES, SHAWNA T
• Application Number:
  US13/932,271
• Publication Number:
  US 20150002384A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,226 Days
• Field of Search: 715/863, 345/158, 345/173, 707/736
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/95 Retrieval from the web
• 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

Abstract

A device and method to facilitate display navigation by touch-less gesture are described. The device includes two or more ambient light sensors arranged at respective surface locations of the device, each of the two or more ambient light sensors measuring light intensity at the respective surface location. The device also includes a processor to detect a gesture as a detected gesture performed by an object in touch-less communication with the device and output a signal corresponding with the detected gesture, and a navigation gesture library to store two or more gestures and corresponding two or more signals, wherein the processor accesses the navigation gesture library when the device is not executing an application with an associated application gesture library.

Claims

1. A mobile device to facilitate display navigation by touch-less gesture, the mobile device comprising:

two or more ambient light sensors arranged at respective surface locations of the mobile 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 performed by an object in touch-less communication with the mobile device and output a signal corresponding with the detected gesture, wherein the detected gesture is based on a movement of the object in three dimensions;

an application gesture library configured to store two or more gestures associated with controlling a plurality of applications; and

a navigation gesture library configured to store two or more touch-less gestures and corresponding two or more signals associated with navigating a display of the mobile device, wherein the processor accesses the navigation gesture library when the mobile device is not executing an application with the associated application gesture library, and when the mobile device is executing the application with the associated application gesture library, the processor determines whether to access the associated application gesture library, the navigation library, or both,

wherein the processor is further configured such that detecting the gesture is only initiated if the movement of the object causes a minimum change in light intensity, wherein the minimum change in light intensity is determined based on at least two light intensity measurements from one or more of the ambient light sensors,

wherein the two or more ambient light sensors comprise three ambient light sensors arranged at the respective surface locations of the mobile device in a triangular pattern such that one ambient light sensor is linearly offset with respect to two collinear ambient light sensors, and wherein changes in light intensity are determined by the three ambient light sensors separately measuring light intensity in sequence with one another at different time intervals.

2. The mobile device according to claim 1, wherein, when the mobile device is executing the application with the associated application gesture library, the processor accesses the associated application gesture library instead of the navigation gesture library.

3. The mobile device according to claim 1, wherein, when the mobile device is executing the application with the associated application gesture library, the processor accesses the associated application gesture library in addition to the navigation gesture library, and when the associated application gesture library and the navigation gesture library each have a different action output corresponding to the detected gesture, the processor resolves a conflict between the libraries by using only the associated application gesture library or the navigation gesture library.

4. The mobile device according to claim 1, wherein, when the detected gesture has a corresponding first signal in the navigation gesture library and a corresponding second signal in the associated application gesture library, the processor outputs the second signal instead of the first signal, wherein the first signal controls an aspect of the application and the second signal causes a change in the display.

5. The mobile device according to claim 1, wherein the detected gesture is based on a comparison of the at least two light intensity measurements and one of the gestures stored in the navigation gesture library or the associated application gesture library.

6. The mobile device according to claim 5, wherein the detected gesture is based on a rotation or a tilt of the object in touch-less communication with the mobile device.

7. The mobile device according to claim 6, wherein, when the rotation or tilt is detected while the mobile device is executing an audio application, the processor accesses the associated application gesture library and decreases or increases the audio application'"'"'s volume according to a direction in which the object is rotated or tilted.

8. The mobile device according to claim 5, wherein the detected gesture is a touch-free gesture performed by a hand as the object in touch-less communication with the mobile device, wherein the touch-free gesture is performed with one of:

two fingers coming together or moving apart, at least one finger swiping in a right or left direction.

9. The mobile device according to claim 8, further comprising a second processor configured to change a display of the mobile device to a previous or a next image if the processor detects the at least one finger swiping right or left, respectively.

10. The mobile device according to claim 9, wherein the second processor increases or decreases a zoom level of an image on the display if the processor detects the two fingers moving apart or coming together, respectively.

11. The mobile device according to claim 9, wherein the second processor is further configured to automatically adjust the display'"'"'s brightness based on light intensity measurements even if the processor does not initiate gesture detection.

12. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured such that in response to determining that a particular application is being executed by the mobile device, the processor outputs a control signal to adjust light intensity measurements based on the particular application.

13. The mobile device of claim 12, wherein the control signal causes the three ambient light sensors to measure light intensity in a particular order and with a particular frequency during execution of the particular application.

14. A method of navigating a display of a mobile device by touch-less gesture, the method comprising:

measuring, using two or more ambient light sensors arranged at respective surface locations of the mobile device, light intensity at the respective surface locations;

detecting, using a processor, a gesture performed by an object in touch-less communication with the mobile device, wherein the detected gesture is based on a movement of the object in three dimensions;

accessing, using the processor, a navigation gesture library configured to store two or more touch-less gestures and corresponding two or more signals associated with navigating a display of the mobile device; and

outputting, using the processor, a signal among the two or more signals corresponding with the detected gesture, wherein the accessing the navigation gesture library is done by the processor when the mobile device is not executing an application with an associated application gesture library configured to store two or more gestures associated with a plurality of applications, and when the mobile device is executing the application with the associated application gesture library, the processor determines whether to access the associated application gesture library, the navigation library, or both,

wherein the processor only initiates detecting the gesture if the movement of the object causes a minimum change in light intensity, wherein the minimum change in light intensity is determined based on at least two light intensity measurements from one or more of the ambient light sensors,

wherein the two or more ambient light sensors comprise three ambient light sensors arranged at the respective surface locations of the mobile device in a triangular pattern such that one ambient light sensor is linearly offset with respect to two collinear ambient light sensors, and wherein changes in light intensity are determined by the three ambient light sensors separately measuring light intensity in sequence with one another at different time intervals.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising accessing, using the processor, the associated application gesture library instead of the navigation gesture library when the device is executing the application with the associated application gesture library.

16. The method according to claim 14, further comprising:

accessing, using the processor, the associated application gesture library in addition to the navigation gesture library when the mobile device is executing the application with the associated application gesture library; and

responsive to determining that the associated application gesture library and the navigation gesture library have signals corresponding to the detected gesture, outputting a first signal from the associated application gesture library instead of a second signal from the navigation gesture library, wherein the first signal controls an aspect of the application and the second signal causes a change in the display.

17. The method according to claim 14, further comprising the processor outputting a first signal corresponding with the detected gesture according to the associated application gesture library when the detected gesture corresponds with the first signal according to the associated application gesture library and corresponds with a second signal according to the navigation gesture library.

18. The method according to claim 14, further comprising the processor detecting the gesture based on a comparison of the at least two light intensity measurements and one of the gestures stored in the navigation gesture library or the associated application gesture library.

19. The method according to claim 14, further comprising the processor detecting the gesture based on a rotation or a tilt of the object in touch-less communication with the device.

20. The method according to claim 14, further comprising the processor detecting the gesture based on a touch-free gesture of a hand as the object in touch-less communication with the device, the touch-free gesture performed with two fingers of the hand coming together or moving apart, or by at least one finger of the hand swiping in a left or right direction.

21. The method according to claim 14, further comprising changing a display of the device, using a second processor, to be a previous or next image based on the signal if the processor detects the at least one finger swiping right or left, respectively.

22. The method according to claim 21, further comprising the second processor increasing or decreasing a zoom level of an image on the display if the processor detects the two fingers moving apart or coming together, respectively.