Environmental interrupt in a head-mounted display and utilization of non field of view real estate

• US 9,818,230 B2
• Filed: 08/17/2016
• Issued: 11/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment America LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Moravetz, Justin
• Primary Examiner(s): CRADDOCK, ROBERT J
• Application Number:
  US15/239,382
• Publication Number:
  US 20170004654A1
• Time in Patent Office: 454 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/014 comprising information/image processing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0187 slaved to motion of at least a part of the body of the user, e.g. head, eye
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0093 with means for monitoring data relating to the user, e.g. head-tracking, eye-tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0179 Display position adjusting means not related to the information to be displayed
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/012 Head tracking input arrangements
• 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: G06T 19/006 Mixed reality object pose determination, tracking or camera calibration for mixed reality G06T7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/70 Determining position or orientation of objects or cameras camera calibration G06T7/80
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0693 Calibration of display systems
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/08 Arrangements within a display terminal for setting, manually or automatically, display parameters of the display terminal
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/10 Use of a protocol of communication by packets in interfaces along the display data pipeline
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/12 Use of DVI or HDMI protocol in interfaces along the display data pipeline
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/003 to produce spatial visual effects
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/006 Electronic inspection or testing of displays and display drivers, e.g. of LED or LCD displays testing individual LED's G01R31/2635; testing lamps G01R31/44; testing of optical features of LCD displays G02F1/1309
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/006 Details of the interface to the display terminal specific for a display terminal using a CRT G09G1/167; using a flat panel G09G3/2096; circuits for interfacing with colour displays G09G5/04

Abstract

A wearable computing device includes a head-mounted display (HMD) that generates a virtual reality environment. Through the generation and tracking of positional data, a the virtual environment may be interrupted or paused. Upon pausing the environment, a user may access a number of ancillary menus and controls not otherwise available during normal operation of the virtual environment.

Claims

1. A method for executing a function within a virtual environment, the method comprising:

storing information in memory regarding at least one control setting that associates a function with a change in position of a head-mounted display,

calibrating a neutral position for the head-mounted display, wherein the calibration is performed using one or more sensors,

monitoring positional data associated with the head-mounted display, wherein the monitored positional data is obtained via the one or more sensors,

evaluating the monitored positional data of the head-mounted display against the at least one control setting specifying an amount of positional change and a predetermined period of time, and

executing the function associated with the at least one control setting when the monitored positional data of the head-mounted display is identified as exceeding the specified amount of positional change for at least the predetermined period of time.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors used for calibrating the neutral position includes three-dimensional axis gyroscopes, accelerometers and magnetometers.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein calibrating the neutral position for the head-mounted display comprises determining a start position along a y-axis.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein calibrating the neutral position for the head-mounted display comprises determining a start position along an x-axis.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein calibrating the neutral position for the head-mounted display comprises determining a start position along both a y-axis and an x-axis.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the executed function includes interrupting a virtual environment associated with the head-mounted display by pausing the environment.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising generating corresponding menu functionalities in a vision area for a user to view with the head-mounted display based on the executed function.

8. A system for executing a function within a virtual environment, the system comprising:

memory that stores information regarding at least one control setting that associates a function with a change in position of a head-mounted display;

one or more sensors that;

calibrates a neutral position for the head-mounted display, and

monitors positional data associated with the head-mounted display; and

a processor that executes instructions stored in memory to;

evaluate the monitored positional data of the head-mounted display against the at least one control setting specifying an amount of positional change and a predetermined period of time, and

execute the function associated with the at least one control setting when the monitored positional data of the head-mounted display is identified as exceeding the specified amount of positional change for at least the predetermined period of time.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the one or more sensors used for calibrating the neutral position includes three-dimensional axis gyroscopes, accelerometers and magnetometers.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the sensors calibrate the neutral position for the head-mounted display by determining a start position along a y-axis.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the sensors calibrate the neutral position for the head-mounted display by determining a start position along an x-axis.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the sensors calibrate the neutral position for the head-mounted display by determining a start position along both a y-axis and an x-axis.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the executed function includes interrupting a virtual environment associated with the head-mounted display by pausing the environment.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor further executes instructions to generate corresponding menu functionalities in a vision area for a user to view with the head-mounted display based on the executed function.

15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having embodied thereon a program, the program being executable by a processor to perform a method for executing a function within a virtual environment, the method comprising:

storing information in memory regarding at least one control setting that associates a function with a change in position of a head-mounted display,

calibrating a neutral position for the head-mounted display, wherein the calibration is performed using one or more sensors,

monitoring positional data associated with the head-mounted display, wherein the monitored positional data is obtained via the one or more sensors,

evaluating the monitored positional data of the head-mounted display against the at least one control setting specifying an amount of positional change and a predetermined period of time, and

executing the function associated with the at least one control setting when the monitored positional data of the head-mounted display is identified as exceeding the specified amount of positional change for at least the predetermined period of time.