Context adaptable projected information handling system input environment

• US 9,965,038 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2014
• Issued: 05/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Walline, Erin K., Krishnakumar, Karthikeyan, Ligameri, Mark R., Ancona, Rocco, Knoppert, Michiel Sebastiaan Emanuel Petrus
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Jennifer
• Assistant Examiner(s): FILOSI, TERRI L
• Application Number:
  US14/221,912
• Publication Number:
  US 20150268812A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,509 Days
• Field of Search: 715773
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1601 Constructional details related to the housing of computer displays, e.g. of CRT monitors, of flat displays constructional details related to flat displays integrated in a portable computer, e.g. laptop, handheld computer G06F1/1637; constructional details related to television receivers H04N5/64
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1605 Multimedia displays, e.g. with integrated or attached speakers, cameras, microphones
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1684 Constructional details or arrangements related to integrated I/O peripherals not covered by groups G06F1/1635 - G06F1/1675
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1686 the I/O peripheral being an integrated camera
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1612 Flat panel monitor
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0362 with detection of 1D translations or rotations of an operating part of the device, e.g. scroll wheels, sliders, knobs, rollers or belts
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0393 Accessories for touch pads or touch screens, e.g. mechanical guides added to touch screens for drawing straight lines, hard keys overlaying touch screens or touch pads
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0425 using a single imaging device like a video camera for tracking the absolute position of a single or a plurality of objects with respect to an imaged reference surface, e.g. video camera imaging a display or a projection screen, a table or a wall surface, on which a computer generated image is displayed or projected tracking a projected light spot to determine a position on a display surface G06F3/0386
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0426 tracking fingers with respect to a virtual keyboard projected or printed on the surface virtual keyboards on touch screens G06F3/04886
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials

Abstract

Projected input and output devices adapt to a desktop environment by sensing objects at the desktop environment and altering projected light in response to the sensed objects. For instance, projection of input and output devices is altered to limit illumination against and end user'"'"'s hands or other objects disposed at a projection surface. End user hand positions and motions are detected to provide gesture support for adapting a projection work space, and configurations of projected devices are stored so that an end user can rapidly recreate a projected desktop. A projector scan adjusts to limit traces across inactive portions of the display surface and to increase traces at predetermined areas, such as video windows.

Claims

1. An information handling system comprising:

processing components operable to cooperate to process information including at least a wireless interface;

a projector interfaced with the processing components and operable to present the information as images at a projection surface, the images including plural types of input devices and plural types of output devices;

memory storing plural applications, the applications operable to execute on the processing components and interact with at least some of the input devices and output devices;

a camera interfaced with the processing components and aligned to capture an image of the projection surface; and

a projector manager operable to execute on one or more of the processing components and interfaced with the projector, the projector manager automatically commanding projection of selected of the plural types of input devices and output devices based upon one or more of the plural applications activated by an end user and one or more devices detected at the projection surface in the image captured by the camera;

a desktop manager operable to execute on the one or more processing components, the desktop manager accepting end user inputs to manually command projection of selected of the plural types of input and output devices;

a desktop library interfaced with the desktop manager and storing desktop definitions of the automatically and manually commanded projection of selected of the plural input and output devices; and

a desktop history associating desktop library definitions with data populating the input and output devices at predetermined times;

wherein the one or more devices include at least a portable information handling system separate from the projector and having an integrated display that presents information as visual images, the selected of the plural types of input devices including at least projection of visual images presented at the display of the portable information handling system, the portable information handling system display visual images automatically projected by the projector upon detection of the portable information handling system on the projection surface, the display information communicated from the portable information handling system through the wireless interface for presentation by the processing components and the projector.

2. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein the desktop history comprises a timeline projected by the projector, the timeline selectable by at each of plural time periods, each time period retrieving the data populating the desktop library in use by the end user.

3. The information handling system of claim 1 further comprising:

an input sensor interfaced with the processing components and operable to detect inputs made at a projected input device; and

a desktop manager operable to execute on the one or more processing components, the desktop manager accepting end user inputs through the input sensor to manually command projection of selected of the plural types of input and output devices.

4. The information handling system of claim 3 wherein the input sensor is further operable to identify one or more objects proximate the projected input and output devices and the desktop manager is further operable to automatically adapt the projection of the selected plural types of input and output devices in response to the identified one or more objects.

5. The information handling system of claim 3 further comprising:

a network interface operable to communicate information between the processing components and a network; and

a remote desktop manager deployed in the network and operable to provide input and output device configurations for projection by the projector based upon one or more predetermined factors.

6. The information handling system of claim 5 wherein the predetermined factors comprise an end user identifier.

7. A method for a context adaptable projected input device, the method comprising:

executing one or more applications at a processor;

projecting one or more input devices at a projection surface with a projector, the one or more input devices having a predetermined configuration selected from plural configurations based at least in part on the applications executing at the processor;

detecting a predetermined object proximate to the projected input devices, the predetermined object comprising a portable information handling system disposed on the projection surface;

in response to the detecting, automatically adapting the projected input devices to a second predetermined configuration including at least projecting images of information stored on the portable information handling system at the projection surface with the projector, the information stored on the portable information handling system wirelessly communicated from the portable information handling system for projection by the projector;

saving the predetermined configuration in memory accessible by the processor;

closing the projection of the input devices;

detecting at a subsequent time execution of the one or more applications at a processor;

in response to detecting, automatically projecting the predetermined configuration of input devices by retrieving the saved predetermined configuration from the memory;

storing at a network location end user data that populates end user input and output device configurations, the end user data stored in association with each of plural end users;

retrieving the end user data to the processor based upon an identifier input by an end user;

storing a history of the end user data over time;

projecting the history as an input device;

accepting a selection from an end user of a time from the projected history input device; and

in response to the selection, projecting the end user data at the selected time.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

projecting one or more output devices at the projection surface with the projector, the one or more output devices having a predetermined configuration selected from plural configurations based at least in part on the applications executing at the processor;

saving the output device predetermined configuration in memory accessible by the processor;

detecting at a subsequent time execution of the one or more applications at a processor; and

in response to detecting, automatically projecting the predetermined configuration of output devices.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein storing the predetermined input device configurations and storing the predetermined output device configurations further comprises:

storing at a network location input and output device configurations in association with each of plural end users; and

retrieving input and output device configurations to the processor based upon an identifier input by an end user.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the input and output device configurations comprise at least a keyboard, a writing pad and a mouse pad.

11. A method for a context adaptable projected input and output devices, the method comprising:

projecting input and output devices at a projection surface with a projector, the projector receiving visual information to generate the input and output devices from an information handling system;

adapting the input and output devices in response to one or more end user inputs, the one or more end user inputs including at least placement by the end user of a portable information handling system on the projection surface, the portable information handling system different than the projector information handling system, the adapting including at least wireless retrieval of information from the portable information handling system to the projector information handling system for presentation at one of the input and output devices including at least automatic presentation of visual images shown by the display of the portable information handling system, the visual images wirelessly communicated to the projector information handling system for presentation by the projector at the projection surface in response to detection of the portable information handling system on the projection surface;

storing the adapted input and output devices as configuration information associated with the end user;

retrieving the configuration information to project the adapted input and output devices in response to a predetermined condition;

populating at least some of the input and output devices with data based upon end user inputs;

storing the data at plural time periods; and

projecting an input device having the time periods and accepting end user inputs to recreate the input and output devices and the data.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein storing the configuration information and data further comprises storing the configuration and data from a first information handling system to a remote storage, and retrieving the configuration information further comprises retrieving the configuration information to a second information handling system from the remote storage.

13. The system of claim 11 wherein the predetermined condition comprises a context detected by an input sensor monitoring the projection surface, the context including at least an orientation of the portable information handling system.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein the predetermined condition comprises input at the projector information handling system of an identifier associated with an end user.