Method for prevention of false gesture trigger inputs on a mobile communication device

• US 8,933,877 B2
• Filed: 03/23/2012
• Issued: 01/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola Mobility LLC (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Alameh, Rachid M.
• Primary Examiner(s): DINH, DUC Q
• Application Number:
  US13/428,137
• Publication Number:
  US 20130249785A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,026 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/169, 345/1.1, 345/1.2, 345/1.3, 345/173, 345/175
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: G04C 3/002 Position, e.g. inclination dependent switches
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 21/02 Detectors of external physical values, e.g. temperature
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/014 Hand-worn input/output arrangements, e.g. data gloves
• 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 3/0304 Detection arrangements using opto-electronic means constructional details of pointing devices not related to the detection arrangement using opto-electronic means G06F3/033; optical digitisers G06F3/042

Abstract

A method for prevention of false gesture trigger inputs on a mobile communication device is disclosed herein. The method includes providing a relative positioning sensor output to a controller for enabling/disabling or adaptively adjusting detection of gesture inputs on the mobile communication device based on an angular position or motion of the mobile communication device relative to a directional trigger beam or alternatively relative to environmental conditions impacting the mobile communication device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by one or more processors of a mobile computing device, information from one or more sensors of the mobile computing device;

determining, by the one or more processors and based on at least some of the information received from the one or more sensors, a direction of a display of the mobile computing device relative to a field of view of a user of the mobile computing device; and

adjusting, by the one or more processors and based on the direction of the display of the mobile computing device relative to the field of view of the user of the mobile computing device, an infrared (IR) range of an IR transceiver configured to detect gesture inputs.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting, by the one or more processors and based on environmental lighting conditions, an IR power of the IR transceiver.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the one or more sensors include a camera; and

the method further comprises;

using, by the one or more processors, the camera to determine that the user is looking directly at the display of the mobile computing device; and

determining, by the one or more processors and based on whether the user is looking directly at the display of the mobile computing device, whether to enable the IR transceiver.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising increasing, by the one or more processors, a sampling rate, a communication signal strength, and a sensitivity of the IR transceiver in response to the mobile computing device receiving a beacon from an ear-mounted headset.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising disabling, by the one or more processors, the IR transceiver in response to determining that the mobile computing device is worn on an inside of a wrist of the user.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting, by the one or more processors and based on an angle of a steering wheel with respect to the mobile computing device, the IR range of the IR transceiver.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the one or more processors and based on the information received from the one or more sensors, that the user of the mobile computing device is running; and

in response to determining that the user is running, adjusting, by the one or more processors, the IR range of the IR transceiver.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the gesture inputs are off-device gestures.

9. A mobile computing device comprising:

an infrared (IR) transceiver configured to detect gesture inputs;

one or more sensors;

a display; and

one or more processors configured to;

receive information from the one or more sensors;

determine, based on at least some of the information received from the one or more sensors, a direction of the display of the mobile computing device relative to a field of view of a user of the mobile computing device; and

adjust, based on the direction of the display of the mobile computing device relative to the field of view of the user of the mobile computing device, an IR range of the IR transceiver.

10. The mobile computing device of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to adjust, based on environmental lighting conditions, an IR power of the IR transceiver.

11. The mobile computing device of claim 9, wherein:

the one or more sensors include a camera; and

the one or more processors are configured to;

use the camera to determine that the user is looking directly at the display of the mobile computing device; and

determine, based on whether the user is looking directly at the display of the mobile computing device, whether to enable the IR transceiver.

12. The mobile computing device of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors are configured to increase a sampling rate, a communication signal strength, and a sensitivity of the IR transceiver in response to the mobile computing device receiving a beacon from an ear-mounted headset.

13. The mobile computing device of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors are configured to disable the IR transceiver in response to determining that the mobile computing device is worn on an inside of a wrist of the user.

14. The mobile computing device of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to adjust, based on an angle of a steering wheel with respect to the mobile computing device, the IR range of the IR transceiver.

15. The mobile computing device of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

determine, based on the information received from the one or more sensors, that the user of the mobile computing device is running; and

in response to determining that the user is running, adjust the IR range of the IR transceiver.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein the gesture inputs are off-device gestures.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer-readable code for programming one or more processors of a mobile computing device to:

receive information from one or more sensors of the mobile computing device;

determine, based on at least some of the information received from the one or more sensors, a direction of the display of the mobile computing device relative to a field of view of a user of the mobile computing device; and

adjust, based on the direction of the display of the mobile computing device relative to the field of view of the user of the mobile computing device, an infrared (IR) range of an IR transceiver configured to detect gesture inputs.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the instructions further program the one or more processors to adjust, based on environmental lighting conditions, an IR power of the IR transceiver.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein:

the one or more sensors include a camera; and

the instructions further program the one or more processors to;

use the camera to determine that the user is looking directly at the display of the mobile computing device; and

determine, based on whether the user is looking directly at the display of the mobile computing device, whether to enable the IR transceiver.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the instructions further program the one or more processors to increase a sampling rate, a communication signal strength, and a sensitivity of the IR transceiver in response to the mobile computing device receiving a beacon from an ear-mounted headset.