ACCELEROMETER DETERMINED INPUT VELOCITY

• US 20120050176A1
• Filed: 08/30/2010
• Published: 03/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Chin, Robert Michael
• Granted Patent: US 8,884,888 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/211 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/2145 the surface being also a display device, e.g. touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/426 involving on-screen location information, e.g. screen coordinates of an area at which the player is aiming with a light gun
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/428 involving motion or position input signals, e.g. signals representing the rotation of an input controller or a player's arm motions sensed by accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/44 involving timing of operations, e.g. performing an action within a time slot
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/54 involving acoustic signals, e.g. for simulating revolutions per minute [RPM] dependent engine sounds in a driving game or reverberation against a virtual wall
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/63 by the player, e.g. authoring using a level editor
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/814 Musical performances, e.g. by evaluating the player's ability to follow a notation
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/105 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1075 using a touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6081 generating an output signal, e.g. under timing constraints, for spatialization
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8047 Music games
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0381 Multimodal input, i.e. interface arrangements enabling the user to issue commands by simultaneous use of input devices of different nature, e.g. voice plus gesture on digitizer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/02 Means for controlling the tone frequencies, e.g. attack or decay; Means for producing special musical effects, e.g. vibratos or glissandos
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/055 by switches with variable impedance elements
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/34 Switch arrangements, e.g. keyboards or mechanical switches specially adapted for electrophonic musical instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/46 Volume control
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/211 : Pitch vibrato, i.e. repetitive and smooth variation in pitch, e.g. as obtainable with a whammy bar or tremolo arm on a guitar non-repetitive smooth pitch variation, e.g. glissando G10H2220/221; repeatedly alternating stepwise in pitch between two notes G10H2210/191
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/096 : using a touch screen touch screen note input, e.g. using a displayed keyboard G10H2220/241; personal digital assistant [PDA] G10H2230/015
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/241 : on touchscreens, i.e. keys, frets, strings, tablature or staff displayed on a touchscreen display for note input purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/395 : Acceleration sensing or accelerometer use, e.g. 3D movement computation by integration of accelerometer data, angle sensing with respect to the vertical, i.e. gravity sensing. conductor baton movement sensing G10H2220/206, angle sensing without reference to gravity G10H2220/391; player body joint angle sensing G10H2220/321
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2230/015 : PDA [personal digital assistant] or palmtop computing devices used for musical purposes, e.g. portable music players, tablet computers, e-readers or smart phones in which mobile telephony functions need not be used touch-screen interfaces G10H2220/096
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2230/065 : Spint piano, i.e. mimicking acoustic musical instruments with piano, cembalo or spinet features, e.g. with piano-like keyboard; Electrophonic aspects of piano-like acoustic keyboard instruments; MIDI-like control therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/056 : MIDI or other note-oriented file format

Abstract

The disclosed technology relates to an electronic apparatus including a processor, a touch-sensitive display, and an accelerometer. An exemplary method includes receiving in the processor an acceleration value outputted by the accelerometer in response to a user touching a position on the touch-sensitive display with a given velocity. The method includes associating the acceleration value with a function, such as the output of a musical note, indicated by a touched location on the touch-sensitive display. The method includes modifying the function, such as audible volume of the musical note, in accordance with the acceleration value.

Claims

1. In an electronic apparatus including a processor, a touch-sensitive display and an accelerometer, the improvement comprising:

receiving in the processor an acceleration value outputted by the accelerometer;

associating said acceleration value with a function indicated by a touched location on said touch-sensitive display; and

modifying said function in accordance with said acceleration value.

2. In the electronic apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said function is the output of a musical note and modifying said function comprises modifying an audible volume of said musical note.

3. In the electronic apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said function is the output of a musical note and modifying said function comprises modifying a pitch of said musical note to create vibrato.

4. In the electronic apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said function is the output of a musical note and modifying said function comprises modifying an attack time of said musical note.

5. In the electronic apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising scaling said acceleration value with a scaling factor when more than one touched location exists on said display.

6. In the electronic apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein said scaling factor is determined by a distance between touched locations on said display.

7. In the electronic apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein said scaling factor is adjusted in accordance with the position of said touched location on said display.

8. In the electronic apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein said scaling factor is adjusted in accordance with the position of said touched location on said display.

9. In the electronic apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein modifying said function further comprises storing a predetermined number of acceleration values received in a predetermined period of time with respect to said touched location on said display and using the largest stored value as said acceleration value that modifies said function.

10. In the electronic apparatus as set forth in claim 9, further comprising comparing said predetermined number of stored acceleration values with a minimum threshold value, storing additional acceleration values received from said accelerometer when none of said predetermined number exceed said threshold value, and using said additional stored acceleration values to determine said largest stored value.

11. In the electronic apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein output of said accelerometer is filtered prior to conversion to an acceleration value to compensate for gravitational influence on a response of said accelerometer to touching of said display.

12. A method for modifying a function that is activated by touching a location on a touch-sensitive display, comprising:

receiving a value from an accelerometer coupled to said display;

receiving coordinates of a location on said display that has been touched by a user;

retrieving an output function corresponding to said received coordinates;

modifying said output function in accordance with said received value; and

outputting said modified function to an output device.

13. The method as set forth in claim 12, wherein said function is the playing of a musical note, and modifying said function comprises modifying an output volume of said note.

14. The method as set forth in claim 12, wherein said function is the playing of a musical note, and modifying said function comprises modifying a pitch of said musical note to create vibrato.

15. The method as set forth in claim 12, wherein said function is the playing of a musical note, and modifying said function comprises modifying an attack time of said musical note.

16. The method as set forth in claim 12, wherein said output device is a speaker.

17. The method as set forth in claim 12, further comprising storing a predetermined number of accelerometer values received in a predetermined period of time with respect to receiving said coordinates and using the largest stored value as said received value that modifies said function.

18. The method as set forth in claim 17, further comprising comparing said predetermined number of stored accelerometer values with a minimum threshold value, storing additional accelerometer values received from said accelerometer when none of said predetermined number exceed said threshold value, and using said additional stored accelerometer values to determine said largest stored value.

19. The method as set forth in claim 12, wherein output of said accelerometer is filtered prior to conversion to an acceleration value to compensate for gravitational influence on a response of said accelerometer to touching of said display.

20. A system, the system comprising:

a processor;

a touch screen;

an accelerometer;

a first module configured to control the processor to receive an acceleration value outputted by the accelerometer;

a second module configured to control the processor to associate said acceleration value with a function indicated by a touched location on said touch-sensitive display; and

a third module configured to control the processor to modify said function in accordance with said acceleration value.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein said function is the output of a musical note and said third module is configured to control the processor to modify an audible volume of said musical note.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein said function is the output of a musical note and said third module is configured to control the processor to modify a pitch of said musical note to create vibrato.

23. The system of claim 20, wherein said function is the output of a musical note and said third module is configured to control the processor to modify an attack time of said musical note.

24. The system of claim 20, further comprising a fourth module configured to control the processor to scale said acceleration value with a scaling factor when more than one touched location exists on said display.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein said scaling factor is determined by a distance between touched locations on said display.

26. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to manage transcription resources, the instructions comprising:

receiving in a processor an acceleration value outputted by an accelerometer;

associating said acceleration value with a function indicated by a touched location on a touch-sensitive display; and

modifying said function in accordance with said acceleration value.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 26, wherein said function is the output of a musical note and modifying said function comprises modifying an audible volume of said musical note.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 26, wherein said function is the output of a musical note and modifying said function comprises modifying a pitch of said musical note to create vibrato.

29. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 26, wherein said function is the output of a musical note and modifying said function comprises modifying an attack time of said musical note.

30. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 26, the instructions further comprising scaling said acceleration value with a scaling factor when more than one touched location exists on said display.

31. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein said scaling factor is determined by a distance between touched locations on said display.

32. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 31, wherein said scaling factor is adjusted in accordance with the position of said touched location on said display.