METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETECTING A MANIPULATION OF A PORTABLE DEVICE

• US 20170003721A1
• Filed: 12/23/2014
• Published: 01/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (AES Corporation), Movea
• Original Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (AES Corporation), Movea
• Inventors: VILLIEN, Christophe
• Granted Patent: US 10,175,777 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1637 Sensing arrangement for detection of housing movement or orientation, e.g. for controlling scrolling or cursor movement on the display of an handheld computer
• 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 3/0346 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

Abstract

A method for detecting a manipulation of a mobile device, comprises the following steps: a) determining, by means of a sensor, the orientation of the vertical direction in a reference frame tied to the mobile device at a plurality of successive instants; b) calculating, for each instant, the angle formed by the orientation of the vertical direction in the reference frame and a reference orientation, and c) detecting a manipulation when the angle exceeds a first threshold. An apparatus for detecting a manipulation of a mobile device comprises: a sensor for measuring the orientation of a vertical direction in a reference frame tied to the mobile device, and a processor connected to the sensor configured or programmed to implement such a method. A mobile phone comprising such an apparatus is also provided.

Claims

1. A method for detecting a manipulation of a mobile device, comprising the following steps:

a) determining, by means of a sensor fixed to said mobile device, an orientation of a vertical direction in a reference frame tied to said mobile device at a plurality of successive instants;

b) calculating, for each said instant, an angle formed by the orientation of said vertical direction in said reference frame at this instant and a reference orientation corresponding to the vertical direction at a prior instant, and

d) detecting a manipulation when said angle exceeds a first threshold.

2. The method of claim 1, also comprising the following step:

d) subsequent to detecting a manipulation, considering, for a determined duration, that it is in progress.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said step c) also comprises the following step:

c′

) also detecting a manipulation when said angle exceeds a second threshold that is lower than said first threshold, while a manipulation is being considered to be in progress.

4. The method of claim 1, also comprising the following step:

e) when a manipulation is detected at an instant referred to as an instant of detection, the orientation of said vertical direction at said instant of detection is taken as a new reference orientation.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said reference orientation is chosen so as to be equal to the orientation of said vertical direction at a prior instant that precedes a current instant by a duration τ

of between 0.5 and 5 seconds.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said sensor is a three-axis accelerometer.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said step a) also comprises an operation of low-pass filtering a signal generated by said sensor.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said low-pass filtering operation is implemented with a cutoff frequency that is lower than or equal to 1 Hz and preferably lower than or equal to 0.5 Hz.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the instants of one said succession are spaced apart by a mean interval of between 1 second and 1 millisecond.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said first threshold is between 15°

and 45°

, and preferably between 20° and

40°

.

11. The method of claim 3, wherein said second threshold is between 5°

and 25°

.

12. The method of claim 2, wherein said determined duration is between 0.1 and 2 seconds.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said mobile device is chosen from between a mobile phone and a touchscreen tablet.

14. An apparatus for detecting a manipulation of a mobile device, comprising:

a sensor for measuring the orientation of a vertical direction in a reference frame tied to said mobile device, and

a processor connected to said sensor, said processor being configured or programmed for

a) determining, by means of a sensor fixed to said mobile device, an orientation of a vertical direction in a reference frame tied to said mobile device at a plurality of successive instants;

b) calculating, for each said instant, an angle formed by the orientation of said vertical direction in said reference frame at this instant and a reference orientation corresponding to the vertical direction at a prior instant, and

d) detecting a manipulation when said angle exceeds a first threshold.

15. A mobile phone comprising an apparatus for detecting a manipulation, comprising:

a sensor for measuring an orientation of a vertical direction in a reference frame tied to said mobile phone, and

a processor connected to said sensor, said processor being configured or programmed for

a) determining, by means of a sensor fixed to said mobile phone, an orientation of a vertical direction in a reference frame tied to said mobile phone at a plurality of successive instants;

b) calculating, for each said instant, an angle formed by the orientation of said vertical direction in said reference frame at this instant and a reference orientation corresponding to the vertical direction at a prior instant, and

d) detecting a manipulation when said angle exceeds a first threshold.

16. A touchscreen tablet comprising an apparatus for detecting a manipulation, comprising:

a sensor for measuring an orientation of a vertical direction in a reference frame tied to said touchscreen tablet, and

a processor connected to said sensor, said processor being configured or programmed for

a) determining, by means of a sensor fixed to said touchscreen tablet, an orientation of a vertical direction in a reference frame tied to said touchscreen tablet at a plurality of successive instants;

b) calculating, for each said instant, an angle formed by the orientation of said vertical direction in said reference frame at this instant and a reference orientation corresponding to the vertical direction at a prior instant, and

d) detecting a manipulation when said angle exceeds a first threshold.