Devices and Methods for a Ring Computing Device

• US 20150277559A1
• Filed: 04/01/2015
• Published: 10/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: van Os, Marcel, Vescovi, Marcos Regis
• Granted Patent: US 10,444,834 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• 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 3/014 Hand-worn input/output arrangements, e.g. data gloves
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• 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 3/0233 Character input methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback

Abstract

A user controls an external electronic device with a finger-ring-mounted touchscreen that includes a computer processor, wireless transceiver, and rechargeable power source; the ring is worn on a first finger receives an input from a second finger, selects one of a plurality of touch events associated with the input, and wirelessly transmits a command associated with the touch event to the external electronic device.

Claims

1. A wearable ring device comprising:

an annular member defining an aperture therethrough that is sized for receipt therein of a first finger of a user;

a computer processor housed in the annular member;

a touchscreen electrically connected to the computer processor and disposed at least partially at an outer peripheral surface of the annular member, wherein the touchscreen is configured to receive input from a second finger of the user;

a wireless transceiver electrically connected to the computer processor and configured to communicate with at least one external electronic device; and

a rechargeable power source for supplying power to the touchscreen, wireless transceiver, and computer processor.

2. The device of claim 1, further comprising a microphone electrically connected to the computer processor for recognizing a voice command of the user.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the microphone is configured to activate to in response to a command by the user.

4. The device of claim 1, further comprising a haptic actuator for identifying recognition of the command to the user.

5. The device of claim 4, further comprising a second haptic actuator, wherein the haptic actuator and second haptic actuator are configured for conveying directional information to the user.

6. The device of claim 1, further comprising a dial control for receiving input from the user.

7. The device of claim 1, further comprising a wireless power receiver circuit for recharging the power source from a wireless power source.

8. The device of claim 1, further comprising a sensor for sensing a writing motion of the user, wherein the wireless transceiver transmits information to the at least one external electronic device related to characters written by the user.

9. The device of claim 1, further comprising a biometric sensor for sensing biometric information of the user.

10. The device of claim 1, further comprising a near-field-communication tag for transmitting data related to the user to the external electronic device to thereby change a state of the external electronic device.

11. A method for controlling a remote electronic device using a finger-ring-mounted touchscreen, the method comprising:

receiving, on a touchscreen electrically connected to a computer processor and disposed at least partially at an outer peripheral surface of a ring disposed on a first finger of a user, input from a second finger of the user;

selecting, using the computer processor, one of a plurality of touch events associated with the input; and

wirelessly transmitting a command associated with the touch event to at least one external electronic device.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising notifying the user of transmission of the command by issuing haptic feedback to the first finger of the user.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein selecting the one of the plurality of touch events comprises recognizing a gesture made by the user that is associated with the command.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the external electronic device is a second finger-ring-mounted and wherein the transmitted command causes the second finger-ring-mounted to issue feedback corresponding to a message of the user to a second user.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the user associates the input with the feedback.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving, using a microphone electrically connected to the computer processor, a voice input of the user; and

transmitting the voice input to the at least one external electronic device.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising activating the microphone in response to a command from the user.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising establishing a wireless link with the at least one external electronic device in response to a gesture by the user.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the gesture comprises pointing at the external electronic device with the first finger.

20. The method of claim 11, further comprising detecting handwriting of the user using a motion sensor electrically connected to a computer processor and transmitting the detected handwriting to the at least one external electronic device.

21. The method of claim 11, wherein the input is a character drawn by the user on the finger-ring-mounted touchscreen.

22. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one external electronic device further receives commands from at least one other finger-ring-mounted touchscreen.

23. The method of claim 11, further comprising changing a state of the external electronic device by bringing a near-field communication device electrically connected to the computer processor into proximity therewith.

24. The method of claim 11, further comprising transmitting information to the external electronic device by bringing a near-field communication device electrically connected to the computer processor into proximity therewith.

25. A method for displaying information using a ring computing device worn on a first finger of a user, the method comprising:

receiving, using a wireless transceiver electrically connected to a computer processor housed in the ring computing device, information transmitted from at least one external electronic device; and

displaying information on a touchscreen electrically connected to the computer processor and disposed at least partially at an outer peripheral surface of the ring computing device.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising activating a haptic actuator based on the received information.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the received information comprises a character drawn by a second user of a second ring computing device.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein activating the haptic actuator comprises a plurality of pulses encoding the received information.

29. The method of claim 25, further comprising (i) receiving input from a second finger of the user on the touchscreen;

(ii) selecting, using the computer processor, one of a plurality of touch events associated with the input; and

(iii) wirelessly transmitting a command associated with the touch event to at least one external electronic device.

30. The method of claim 25, further comprising changing a state of the external electronic device by bringing a near-field communication device electrically connected to the computer processor into proximity therewith.

31. The method of claim 25, further comprising transmitting information to the external electronic device by bringing a near-field communication device electrically connected to the computer processor into proximity therewith.