User interface control in portable system

• US 9,535,505 B2
• Filed: 11/08/2013
• Issued: 01/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Polar Electro Oy
• Original Assignee: Polar Electro Oy
• Inventors: Rytky, Pekka, Erkkila, Mika, Puolakanaho, Pertti, Sipola, Matti, Korpela, Matti, Sorvala, Juha
• Primary Examiner(s): Pan, Yongjia
• Application Number:
  US14/075,736
• Publication Number:
  US 20150135078A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,152 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/102 Programmed access in sequence to addressed parts of tracks of operating record carriers access by moving the head G11B3/08, G11B5/54, G11B7/085, G11B21/022; by moving the record carrier G11B15/005, G11B17/005, by driving of both record carrier and head G11B15/1816
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

This document discloses a portable system comprising a physical activity monitoring device comprising: a wireless proximity detection module configured to detect a proximity of an input control entity with respect to the physical activity monitoring device and output a control signal as a response to the detection, wherein the proximity is a non-zero distance between the input control entity and the training computer; and a user interface controller configured to generate, as a response to the control signal from the wireless proximity detection module, at least one of an audio control function and a display control function.

Claims

1. A portable system comprising:

a wearable physical activity monitoring device comprising a wireless proximity detection module configured to detect a proximity of an input control entity with respect to the physical activity monitoring device and output a control signal as a response to the detection, wherein the proximity is a non-zero distance between the input control entity and the physical activity monitoring device, and wherein the input control entity is a user'"'"'s hand or a part of the user'"'"'s hand or an interaction device worn or carried by the user, and the wearable physical activity monitoring device further comprising a user interface controller configured to generate, in response to the control signal received from the wireless proximity detection module, at least one of an audio control function and a display control function,

the input control entity being in the form of said interaction device configured to communicate wirelessly with the physical activity monitoring device,

the interaction device comprises at least one of a radio frequency identification tag and a near-field communication tag,

the interaction device comprises an apparel comprising the at least one of the radio frequency identification tag and the near-field communication tag,

the apparel comprises at least one glove comprising at least one of said radio frequency identification tag and near-field communication tag at a first side of a finger portion of the glove and a symbol indicating a function associated with the at least one of said radio frequency identification tag and near-field communication tag at an opposite side of the finger portion.

2. The portable system of claim 1, wherein the proximity detection module comprises an energizing circuitry configured to wirelessly energize the interaction device, read data from the interaction device as a result of the energization, and output the control signal as a response to the read data.

3. The portable system of claim 1, wherein the proximity detection module is configured to acquire a device address of the interaction device;

and wherein the user interface controller is configured to modify the at least one of the audio control function and the display control function according to the device address.

4. The portable system of claim 1, wherein the interaction device is a sensor device configured to communicate wirelessly with the physical activity monitoring device, wherein the proximity detection module is configured to measure a signal strength of a wireless signal received from the sensor device, and wherein the user interface controller is configured to dynamically adjust a display parameter according to the measured signal strength.

5. The portable system of claim 4, wherein the proximity detection module is configured to cause the sensor device to shorten a communication interval in response to triggering the signal strength measurement.

6. The portable system of claim 1, wherein the physical activity monitoring device further comprises an inertial sensor for sensing inertial forces subjected to the physical activity monitoring device, and wherein the user interface controller is further configured to generate the at least one of the audio control function and the display control function based on the detected proximity of the input control entity and the inertial forces sensed by the inertial sensor.

7. The portable system of claim 6, further comprising:

a motion reference database configured to store reference motion trajectories of the training computer, each reference motion trajectory mapped to at least one audio control function or at least one display control function, wherein the inertial sensor is configured to measure a motion trajectory from the inertial forces subjected to the training computer;

a comparator configured to compare the measured motion trajectory with at least one reference motion trajectory and determine a reference motion trajectory providing the best match with the measured motion trajectory, the user interface controller being configured to generate at least one of an audio control function and a display control function mapped to the determined reference motion trajectory.

8. The portable system of claim 1, wherein the input control entity is said user'"'"'s hand or said part of the user'"'"'s hand, and wherein the proximity detection module comprises at least one antenna and an antenna impedance monitoring circuitry configured to monitor a change in an antenna impedance caused by moving the input control entity with respect to the at least one antenna and output the control signal according to the monitored antenna impedance.

9. The portable system of claim 8, wherein the proximity detection module comprises at least two orthogonally disposed antennas.

10. The portable system of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the audio control action and the display control function is selected from the group comprising:

changing an audio track, stopping an audio track, pausing an audio track, recording an audio track, outputting an exercise guidance audio signal;

selecting a sound profile, and selecting a playback device, and wherein the display control function comprises at least one of the following;

switching from an audio player display mode to an exercise display mode, changing brightness of a display light, zooming a display view in or out, changing one exercise display mode to another exercise display mode, accepting an incoming call, and dismissing the incoming call.

11. The portable system of claim 1, wherein the physical activity monitoring device is configured to establish a wireless connection with an external audio player, and wherein the user interface controller is configured to send the audio control function to the external audio player through the wireless connection.

12. The portable system of claim 1, wherein the physical activity monitoring device further comprises an integrated audio device, and wherein the user interface controller is configured to control the integrated audio device with the audio control function.

13. The portable system of claim 1, wherein the physical activity monitoring device is a wrist computer.

14. The portable system of claim 1, wherein the wearable physical activity monitoring device further comprises a detection database storing mapping information linking different proximities of the input control entity to different control signals, and wherein the wireless proximity detection module is further configured to measure a proximity of the input control entity with respect to the physical activity monitoring device, map the measured proximity to a corresponding control signal according to the mapping information retrieved from the detection database, and to output the corresponding control signal to the user interface controller.