Methods, systems, and apparatuses to update screen content responsive to user gestures

• US 9,977,508 B2
• Filed: 09/16/2015
• Issued: 05/22/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fitbit, Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Fitbit, Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Pantelopoulos, Alexandros, Yuen, Shelten Gee Jao, Panther, Heiko Gernot Albert
• Primary Examiner(s): Sitta, Grant
• Application Number:
  US14/856,513
• Publication Number:
  US 20160004323A1
• Time in Patent Office: 979 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-173
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6802 Sensor mounted on worn items
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/681 Wristwatch-type devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6824 Arm or wrist
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 22/006 Pedometers
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/00 Measuring acceleration; Measuring deceleration; Measuring shock, i.e. sudden change of acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3265 Power saving in display device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1636 Sensing arrangement for detection of a tap gesture on the housing
• 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 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/026 Arrangements or methods related to booting a display
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/10 Intensity circuits
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate

Abstract

In one embodiment, an electronic device to be worn on a user'"'"'s forearm includes a display and a set of one or more sensors that provide sensor data. In one aspect, a device may detect, using sensor data obtained from a set of sensors, that a first activity state of a user is active. The device may determine, while the first activity state is active, that the sensor data matches a watch check rule associated with the first activity state. Responsive to the detected match, the device may cause a change in visibility of the display.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a display;

a set of sensors configured to generate sensor data during a first time period and a second time period;

a set of processors coupled to the display and the set of sensors; and

a non-transitory machine readable storage medium coupled to the set of processors and having stored therein a watch check gesture detector for receiving the sensor data, the watch check gesture detector comprising;

a first watch check rule for causing a change in visibility of the display; and

a second watch check rule for cycling through multiple types of physical metrics shown by the display,

wherein the first watch check rule includes data or logic that corresponds to sensor data representing one or more patterns of movement indicative of a user of the apparatus checking the display, and the second watch check rule includes data or logic that corresponds to sensor data representing one or more patterns of movement indicative of the user making a physical contact with the apparatus,

wherein the storage medium further comprises instructions that, when executed by the set of processors, cause the set of processors to;

determine, based at least on the sensor data generated during the first time period, that the user has made a first bodily adjustment matching the one or more patterns of movement indicative of the user checking the display such that the first watch check rule is satisfied;

in response to determining that the first watch check rule is satisfied, cause a first change in visibility of the display, wherein the first change is configured to cause a first type of physical metric selected from the multiple types of physical metrics to be shown by the display, the multiple types of physical metrics each indicating a physical condition or performance of the user of the apparatus;

determine, within a base time period associated with the first watch check rule and based at least on the sensor data generated during the second time period, that the user has made a physical contact with the apparatus such that the second watch check rule for cycling through the multiple types of physical metrics is satisfied; and

in response to determining, within the base time period associated with the first watch check rule, that the second watch check rule for cycling through the multiple types of physical metrics is satisfied, cycle through the multiple types of physical metrics and cause, for each physical contact, a next one of the multiple types of physical metrics to be shown by the display in a predetermined order.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the determination that the first watch check rule is satisfied and the determination that the second watch check rule is satisfied are both made based at least on accelerometer data generated by one or more accelerometers included in the apparatus.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first change in visibility of the display includes turning on the display or turning on a back light of the display.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the physical contact is one of a single tap or a double tap on a housing of the apparatus.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the set of sensors is further configured to generate sensor data during a third time period, and the instructions, when executed by the set of processors, further cause the set of processors to:

calculate a metric from the sensor data generated during the third time period, wherein the first change in visibility of the display includes displaying the metric.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the set of sensors is further configured to generate sensor data during a fourth time period, and the instructions, when executed by the set of processors, further cause the set of processors to:

calculate an additional metric from the sensor data generated during the fourth time period, the additional metric being a different metric type than the metric; and

replace the metric with the additional metric.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the set of sensors is further configured to provide sensor data during a third time period, and the instructions, when executed by the set of processors, further cause the set of processors to:

determine, based at least on the sensor data generated during the third time period, that the user has made a third bodily adjustment matching one or more patterns of movement indicative of the user no longer checking the display such that a third watch check rule including data or logic that corresponds to sensor data representing one or more patterns of movement indicative of the user no longer checking the display is satisfied; and

in response to determining that the third watch check rule is satisfied, reverse the first change in visibility of the display.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the set of processors, further cause the set of processors to enable the second watch check rule in response to detecting that the user is performing a given activity.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the instructions, when executed by the set of processors, further cause the set of processors to cause the second type of physical metric to be shown by the display based at least on determining that the first watch check rule is enabled.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second watch check rule includes a pattern of sensor data indicative of the apparatus being rotated from a starting position where the display is facing towards the horizon to a stable position where the display is facing towards the sky.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first watch check rule includes a pattern of sensor data indicative of the user performing a movement consistent with the user raising the user'"'"'s wrist and rotating the user'"'"'s arm such that the display is normal to the user'"'"'s face.

12. A non-transitory machine readable storage medium storing therein a watch check gesture detector for receiving sensor data generated by a set of sensors of a wearable electronic device, the watch check gesture detector comprising:

a first watch check rule for causing a change in visibility of a display of the wearable electronic device; and

a second watch check rule for cycling through multiple types of physical metrics shown by the display,

wherein the first watch check rule includes data or logic that corresponds to sensor data representing one or more patterns of movement indicative of a user of the wearable electronic device checking the display, and the second watch check rule includes data or logic that corresponds to sensor data representing one or more patterns of movement indicative of the user making a physical contact with the apparatus,

wherein the storage medium further comprises instructions that, when executed by a set of processors, cause the set of processors to;

obtain first sensor data from the set of sensors during a first time period;

determine, based at least on the first sensor data, that the user has made a first bodily adjustment matching the one or more patterns of movement indicative of the user checking the display such that the first watch check rule is satisfied;

in response to determining that the first watch check rule is satisfied, cause a first change in visibility of the display, wherein the first change is configured to cause a first type of physical metric selected from the multiple types of physical metrics to be shown by the display, the multiple types of physical metrics each indicating a physical condition or performance of the user of the wearable electronic device;

obtain second sensor data from the set of sensors during a second time period;

determine, within a base time period associated with the first watch check rule and based at least on the second sensor data, that the user has made a physical contact with the apparatus such that the second watch check rule for cycling through the multiple types of physical metrics is satisfied; and

in response to determining, within the base time period associated with the first watch check rule, that the second watch check rule for cycling through the multiple types of physical metrics is satisfied, cycle through the multiple types of physical metrics and cause, for each physical contact, a next one of the multiple types of physical metrics to be shown by the display in a predetermined order.

13. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the set of processors to determine whether the first change has been reversed, and in response to determining that the first change has not yet been reversed, cycle through the multiple types of physical metrics.

14. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the first change includes turning on the display or turning on a back light of the display.

15. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the determination that the first watch check rule is satisfied and the determination that the second watch check rule is satisfied are both made based at least on accelerometer data generated by one or more accelerometers included in the apparatus.

16. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the set of processors to:

obtain third sensor data from the set of sensors during a third time period; and

calculate a metric from the third sensor data, wherein the first change in visibility of the display includes displaying the metric.

17. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the set of processors to:

obtain fourth sensor data from the set of sensors during the fourth time period;

calculate an additional metric from the fourth sensor data, the additional metric being a different metric type than the metric; and

replace the metric with the additional metric.

18. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the set of processors to:

obtain third sensor data from the set of sensors during a third time period; and

determine, based at least on the third sensor data, that the user has made a third bodily adjustment matching one or more patterns of movement indicative of the user no longer checking the display such that a third watch check rule including data or logic that corresponds to sensor data representing one or more patterns of movement indicative of the user no longer checking the display is satisfied; and

in response to determining that the third watch check rule is satisfied, reverse the first change in visibility of the display.

19. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the instructions, when executed by the set of processors, further cause the set of processors to enable the second watch check rule in response to detecting that the user is performing a given activity.

20. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the instructions, when executed by the set of processors, further cause the set of processors to cause the second type of physical metric to be shown by the display based at least on determining that the second watch check rule is enabled.

21. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the second watch check rule includes a pattern of sensor data indicative of the wearable electronic device being rotated from a starting position where the display is facing towards the horizon to a stable position where the display is facing towards the sky.

22. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the first watch check rule includes a pattern of sensor data indicative of the user performing a movement consistent with the user raising the user'"'"'s wrist and rotating the user'"'"'s arm such that the display is normal to the user'"'"'s face.

23. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the multiple types of physical metrics comprise one or more of floors climbed, calories burned, steps taken, current heart rate, current speed, or current pace.

24. A method operable by a device comprising a set of sensors and having stored thereon a first watch check rule for causing a change in visibility of a display of the device and a second watch check rule for cycling through multiple types of physical metrics shown by the display, wherein the first watch check rule includes data or logic that corresponds to sensor data generated by the set of sensors representing one or more patterns of movement indicative of a user of the device checking the display, and the second watch check rule includes data or logic that corresponds to sensor data generated by the set of sensors representing represents one or more patterns of movement indicative of the user making a physical contact with the apparatus, the method comprising:

obtaining first sensor data from a set of sensors of the device during a first time period;

determining, based at least on the first sensor data, that the user has made a first bodily adjustment matching the one or more patterns of movement indicative of the user checking the display such that the first watch check rule is satisfied;

in response to determining that the first watch check rule is satisfied, causing a first change in visibility of the display, wherein the first change is configured to cause a first type of physical metric selected from the multiple types of physical metrics to be shown by the display, the multiple types of physical metrics each indicating a physical condition or performance of the user of the device;

obtaining second sensor data from the set of sensors during a second time period;

determining, within a base time period associated with the first watch check rule and based at least on the second sensor data, that the user has made a physical contact with the apparatus such that the second watch check rule for cycling through the multiple types of physical metrics is satisfied; and

in response to determining, within the base time period associated with the first watch check rule, that the second watch check rule for cycling through the multiple types of physical metrics is satisfied, cycling through the multiple types of physical metrics and causing, for each physical contact, a next one of the multiple types of physical metrics to be shown by the display in a predetermined order.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the first watch check rule and the second watch check rule specify different patterns of movement.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the first change includes one of turning on the display or turning on a back light of the display.

27. The method of claim 24, wherein the device further stores a third watch check rule for causing a change in visibility of the display of the device in response to a manual user input, wherein the third watch check rule is associated with another base time period different from the base time period.

28. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

obtaining third sensor data from the set of sensors during a third time period; and

calculate a metric from the third sensor data, wherein causing the first change in visibility of the display comprises displaying the metric.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

obtaining fourth sensor data from the set of sensors during a fourth time period;

calculating an additional metric from the fourth sensor data, the additional metric being of a different metric type than the metric; and

replacing the metric with the additional metric.

30. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

obtaining third sensor data from the set of sensors during a third time period;

determining, based at least on the third sensor data, that the user has made a third bodily adjustment matching one or more patterns of movement indicative of the user no longer checking the display such that a third watch check rule including data or logic that corresponds to sensor data representing one or more patterns of movement indicative of the user no longer checking the display is satisfied; and

in response to determining that the third watch check rule is satisfied, reversing the first change in visibility of the display.