U.S. patent application number 13/964823 was filed with the patent office on 2014-02-13 for wearable communication device and user interface.
This patent application is currently assigned to SilverPlus, Inc.. The applicant listed for this patent is SilverPlus, Inc.. Invention is credited to Jeffrey Hsieh, Dennis Kwan, Suresh Singamsetty.
Application Number | 20140045547 13/964823 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50066556 |
Filed Date | 2014-02-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140045547 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Singamsetty; Suresh ; et
al. |
February 13, 2014 |
Wearable Communication Device and User Interface
Abstract
Wearable communication devices, e.g. implemented in a watch,
using short range communication to a cell phone, and facilitating
natural and intuitive user interface with low-power implementation
allow a user to easily access all features of the phone, all while
a phone is nearby but not visible. Notification is performed with
vibration, an LED light and OLED text display of incoming calls,
texts, and calendar events. It allows communicating hands-free.
This allows using the communication device as "remote control" for
home devices, etc. via voice and buttons. The device comprises
interfaces motion sensors such as accelerometers, magnetometer and
gyroscope, infrared proximity sensors, vibrator motor, and/or voice
recognition. Low power consumption is achieved by dynamical
configuration of sensor parameters to support only the necessary
sensor functions at any given state of the device.
Inventors: |
Singamsetty; Suresh; (Aliso
Viejo, CA) ; Kwan; Dennis; (San Diego, CA) ;
Hsieh; Jeffrey; (Dove Canyon, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
SilverPlus, Inc. |
Irvine |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
SilverPlus, Inc.
Irvine
CA
|
Family ID: |
50066556 |
Appl. No.: |
13/964823 |
Filed: |
August 12, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61682804 |
Aug 14, 2012 |
|
|
|
61682814 |
Aug 14, 2012 |
|
|
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61681791 |
Aug 10, 2012 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
455/552.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04B 2001/3861 20130101;
Y02D 70/1262 20180101; H04M 2250/02 20130101; Y02D 70/164 20180101;
Y02D 70/166 20180101; G06F 1/163 20130101; H04M 2250/12 20130101;
H04B 1/38 20130101; H04M 1/0279 20130101; Y02D 70/26 20180101; G04G
21/04 20130101; G06F 1/1643 20130101; H04M 1/7253 20130101; Y02D
30/70 20200801; Y02D 70/144 20180101; Y02D 70/142 20180101; H04W
88/06 20130101; Y02D 70/22 20180101; G04G 21/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
455/552.1 |
International
Class: |
H04W 88/06 20060101
H04W088/06 |
Claims
1. A wearable communication device configured to talk and to
listen, place and answer calls, send and receive text messages,
initiate voice commands to mobile search for information and to
find locations, and be notified of incoming calls, texts, and
events, all while a smart phone is nearby, comprising: a near-field
short distance wireless communication chipset, wherein the
near-field short distance wireless communication chipset is used
for communication with the smart phone; and motion sensors
comprising an accelerometer, a magnetometer, and a gyroscope
sensing movements of a user's arm or wrist determining velocity,
direction and displacement vector in 3-D space which can be used as
input selection for an application of the smart phone.
2. The communication device of claim 1 wherein the communication
device has also watch functions.
3. The communication device of claim 2 wherein the watch further
comprises analog watch movement.
4. The communication device of claim 2 wherein the watch has a
digital watch display.
5. The communication device of claim 2 wherein a time of day can be
adjusted by a knob of the watch.
6. The communication device of claim 1 wherein said motion sensors
can be used together with an audio generation for gaming
applications.
7. The communication device of claim 1 further comprising a
speakerphone means configured to make and receive phone calls via
the mobile phone comprising a microphone and a loudspeaker device
and to accept voice commands.
8. The communication device of claim 7 wherein incoming calls can
be accepted or rejected via the motion sensors by swinging the arm
in a defined direction related to the action desired.
9. The communication device of claim 1 wherein the communication
device is further configured to use post-it notes which are sent to
the communication device.
10. The communication device of claim 1 wherein the communication
device is configured to browsing through menus using the display
and an accelerometer by using movements of an arm wearing the
communication device and of a wrist of the arm.
11. The communication device of claim 10 wherein a user of the
communication device can browse through the menu by tilting the
communication device up/down/sideways, select by a vertical shake,
and exit/reject by a horizontal shake.
12. The communication device of claim 10 wherein a user can use the
browsing to view a contact list and to place a call without
touching the communication device or the mobile phone.
13. The communication device of claim 10 wherein key functions of
the communication device can be used by the motion sensors via
hand/wrist orientation and/or movement wherein the key functions
comprise using the display or playing audio, of either state
information, or selectable action information, or menu information,
or using the communication device as a remote control via one or
more infrared proximity sensors for detection of finger movements
and the near-field short distance wireless communication
chipset.
14. The communication device of claim 10 wherein hand tilt up/down,
is used to scroll through next/previous State/Selectable
Action/Menu, wherein fingers of the hand are moved from a
horizontal position upwards.
15. The communication device of claim 10 wherein hand tilt up/down
is used to scroll through next/previous State/Selectable
Action/Menu in remote control mode, wherein fingers of the hand are
moved from a horizontal position upwards.
16. The communication device of claim 10 wherein hand tilt up/down
is used as next/previous selections in remote control mode, wherein
the hand is moved from an upward pointing position to a downward
pointing position.
17. The communication device of claim 10 wherein hand orientation
up/down is used for next/previous page of state/selectable action
list/menu list.
18. The communication device of claim 10 wherein hand orientation
up/down is used for fast forward/fast backward in remote control
mode.
19. The communication device of claim 10 wherein
vertical/horizontal hand motion is used to accept/reject current
state/selectable action/menu.
20. The communication device of claim 10 wherein
vertical/horizontal hand motion is used to play, select stop,
and/or exit in remote control mode.
21. The communication device of claim 1 further comprising a
vibration motor.
22. The communication device of claim 1 wherein multiple
communication devices are synchronized via star or mesh network for
multi-point motion sensing.
23. The communication device of claim 22 wherein motion data are
tagged with time stamp, sent wirelessly over the near-field short
distance wireless communication chipset so that data from multiple
communication devices are time synchronized to each other allowing
multiple gaming controllers playing one game with audio and
vibration feedback to each user in real time and all synchronized
to each other.
24. The communication device of claim 1 further comprising one or
more infrared proximity sensors for detection of finger
movements.
25. The communication device of claim 24 wherein the infrared
proximity sensors are worn on the lower side of the arm to follow
better movements of the fingers.
26. The communication device of claim 24 wherein the infrared
proximity sensors are used for hand gesture input.
27. The communication device of claim 24 wherein the infrared
proximity sensors are sensing heat, determining distance and
triangulating to determine position.
28. The communication device of claim 27 wherein gaming
applications are provided by the infrared proximity sensors.
29. The communication device of claim 1 wherein said motion sensors
are used for applications of the wearable communication device
simulating drums by coordinating arm motions with drum sounds,
wherein different drums, loudness and tones are depending on motion
parameters and wherein the sound comes from the communication
device itself.
30. The communication device of claim 1 wherein said motion sensors
are used for applications of the wearable communication device
simulating punch-ups by coordinating punching motions to impact
sounds comprising wall, glass break, human screams or locating and
punching an opponent and wherein the sound comes from the
communication device itself.
31. The communication device of claim 1 wherein said motion sensors
are used for applications of the wearable communication device to
control gestures or vibration.
32. The communication device of claim 21 wherein the vibrator motor
is used for haptic feedback
33. The communication device of claim 32 wherein the vibrator motor
is used in combination with the motion sensors to provide force
effects.
34. The communication device of claim 1 wherein communication
device performs voice recognition.
35. The communication device of claim 34 wherein voice commands are
used to generate an action.
36. The communication device of claim 35 wherein voice commands are
used to accept or decline phone calls and send the phone call to a
voicemail application.
37. The communication device of claim 36 wherein an incoming call
first turns on voice recognition and otherwise voice recognition is
turned off to save power.
38. The communication device of claim 34 wherein the voice commands
are enabled for different languages.
39. The communication device of claim 34 wherein the voice commands
allows hands-free operation of the communication device and of the
mobile phone.
40. The communication device of claim 34 wherein a list of
exemplary actions which can be activated by voice commands
comprises read/send/text, make/receive phone calls, read
notifications, Internet searches, activating other phone
applications, local settings for the phone and the communication
device.
41. The communication device of claim 1 wherein sensors are
configured so that only that only the sensors and the operations
necessary to detect the specific user interface actions are
activated at a given state of the device for low power
consumption.
42. The communication device of claim 1 wherein a list of
parameters that can be adjusted to reduce power consumption
comprises sampling rate and resolution of the accelerometer,
sampling rate of the gyroscope, sampling rate of the magnetometer,
sampling rate, resolution, and vocabulary size of a speakerphone
means, transaction intensity, sampling rate, and reception
resolution of infrared proximity sensors, and sampling rate and
resolution of a touch sensor.
43. The communication device of claim 40 wherein settings of the
parameters listed is associated with each state of the
communication device so that the power consumption is optimized
dynamically with the communication device functions.
44. A method to achieve a wearable communication device configured
for gaming applications, to talk and to listen, place and answer
calls, send and receive text messages, initiate voice commands to
mobile search for information and to find locations, and be
notified of incoming calls, texts, and events, all while a smart
phone is nearby, comprising the steps of: (1) deploying a mobile
phone within reach of a near-field short distance wireless
communication chipset used for communication between the wearable
communication device and the mobile phone; (2) deploying the
near-field short distance wireless communication chipset; (3)
deploying motion sensors comprising an accelerometer, a
magnetometer, and a gyroscope sensing movements of a user's arm or
wrist determining velocity, direction and displacement vector in
3-D space which can be used as input selection for an application
of the smart phone; and (4) connecting the mobile phone to the
internet via Wi-Fi or to mobile phone networks.
45. The method of claim 44 further comprising configuring the
wearable communication device to support watch functions.
46. The method of claim 44 wherein the mobile phone is a smart
phone.
47. The method of claim 44 further comprising configuring said
motion sensors to be used together with an audio generation for
gaming applications.
48. The method of claim 44 further comprising deploying a
speakerphone means configured to make and receive phone calls via
the mobile phone comprising a microphone and a loudspeaker device
and to accept voice commands.
49. The method of claim 44 wherein further comprising configuring
said motion sensors to accept or to reject incoming calls by
swinging an arm wearing the communication device in a defined
direction related to the action desired.
50. The method of claim 44 further comprising configuring said
motion sensors to enable browsing through menus using the display
and an accelerometer by using movements of an arm wearing the
communication device and of a wrist of the arm.
51. The method of claim 50 wherein said browsing through the menu
is performed by tilting the communication device up/down/sideways,
select by a vertical shake, and exit/reject by a horizontal
shake.
52. The method of claim 50 wherein said browsing is used to view a
contact list and to place a call without touching the communication
device or the mobile phone.
53. The method of claim 50 further comprising configuring said
movement sensors to enable using key functions of the communication
device in conjunction with hand/wrist orientation and/or movement
wherein the key functions comprise using the display or playing
audio, of either state information, or selectable action
information, or menu information, or using the communication device
as a remote control via one or more infrared proximity sensors for
detection of finger movements and the near-field short distance
wireless communication chipset.
54. The method of claim 50 further comprising using hand tilt
up/down to scroll through next/previous State/Selectable
Action/Menu, wherein fingers of the hand are moved from a
horizontal position upwards.
55. The method of claim 50 further comprising using hand tilt
up/down to scroll through next/previous State/Selectable
Action/Menu in remote control mode, wherein fingers of the hand are
moved from a horizontal position upwards.
56. The method of claim 50 further comprising using hand tilt
up/down as next/previous selections in remote control mode, wherein
the hand is moved from an upward pointing position to a downward
pointing position.
57. The method of claim 50 further comprising using hand
orientation up/down for next/previous page of state/selectable
action list/menu list.
58. The method of claim 50 further comprising using hand
orientation up/down for fast forward/fast backward in remote
control mode.
59. The method of claim 50 further comprising using
vertical/horizontal hand motion to accept/reject current
state/selectable action/menu.
60. The method of claim 50 further comprising using
vertical/horizontal hand motion to play, select stop, and/or exit
in remote control mode.
61. The method of claim 44 further comprising synchronizing
multiple communication devices via star or mesh network for
multi-point motion sensing.
62. The method of claim 61 further comprising tagging motion data
with time stamp and sending wirelessly over the near-field short
distance wireless communication chipset so that data from multiple
communication devices are time synchronized to each other allowing
multiple gaming controllers playing one game with audio and
vibration feedback to each user in real time and all synchronized
to each other.
63. The method of claim 44 further comprising deploying one or more
infrared proximity sensors for detection of finger movements.
64. The method of claim 63 further comprising wearing the infrared
proximity sensors on the lower side of the arm to follow better
movements of the fingers.
65. The method of claim 64 further comprising using the infrared
proximity sensors for hand gesture input.
66. The method of claim 63 wherein the infrared proximity sensors
are sensing heat, determining distance and triangulating to
determine position.
67. The method of claim 63 further comprising providing gaming
applications by the infrared proximity sensors.
68. The method of claim 44 further comprising using said motion
sensors for applications of the wearable communication device
simulating drums by coordinating arm motions with drum sounds,
wherein different drums, loudness and tones are depending on motion
parameters and wherein the sound comes from the communication
device itself.
69. The method of claim 44 wherein further providing using said
motion sensors for applications of the wearable communication
device simulating punch-ups by coordinating punching motions to
impact sounds comprising wall, glass break, human screams or
locating and punching an opponent and wherein the sound comes from
the communication device itself.
70. The method of claim 44 further comprising using said motion
sensors for applications of the wearable communication device to
control gestures or vibration.
71. The method of claim 44 further comprising using a vibrator
motor for haptic feedback
72. The method of claim 68 further comprising using the vibrator
motor in combination with the motion sensors to provide force
effects.
73. The method of claim 44 further comprising performing voice
recognition.
74. The method of claim 73 further comprising using voice commands
to generate an action.
75. The method of claim 73 further comprising using voice commands
to accept or decline phone calls and to send the phone call to a
voicemail application.
76. The method of claim 73 further comprising first turning on an
incoming call voice recognition and otherwise turning off voice
recognition to save power.
77. The method of claim 73 further comprising enabling the voice
commands for different languages.
78. The method of claim 73 further comprising enabling the voice
commands to perform hands-free operation of the communication
device and of the mobile phone.
79. The method of claim 73 further comprising using a list of
exemplary actions which can be activated by voice commands
comprising read/send/text, make/receive phone calls, read
notifications, internet searches, activating other phone
applications, local settings for the phone and the communication
device.
80. The method of claim 44 further comprising configuring the
sensors so that only that only the sensors and the operations
necessary to detect the specific user interface actions are
activated at a given state of the device for low power
consumption.
81. The method of claim 44 further comprising adjusting a list of
parameters to reduce power consumption comprising sampling rate and
resolution of the accelerometer, sampling rate of the gyroscope,
sampling rate of the magnetometer, sampling rate, resolution, and
vocabulary size of the speakerphone means, transaction intensity,
sampling rate, and reception resolution of the infrared proximity
sensor, and sampling rate and resolution of the touch sensor.
82. The method of claim 81 wherein settings of the parameters
listed is associated with each state of the communication device so
that the power consumption is optimized dynamically with the
communication device functions.
Description
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent
application Ser. No. 61/682,804 filed Aug. 14, 2012, which is owned
by a common assignee, and which is herein incorporated by reference
in its entirety.
[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent
application Ser. No. 61/682,814 filed Aug. 14, 2012, which is owned
by a common assignee, and which is herein incorporated by reference
in its entirety.
[0003] This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent
application Ser. No. 61/681,791 filed Aug. 10, 2012, which is owned
by a common assignee, and which is herein incorporated by reference
in its entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0004] (1) Field of the Disclosure
[0005] This disclosure relates generally to electronic mobile
devices and relates in particular to wearable communication devices
using short range communication to a cell phone or other portable
electronic device.
[0006] (2) Background
[0007] Notification watches are used for some time now, which can
receive information from portable electronic devices such as cell
phones. They notify a user when a mobile phone rings by a vibrating
or alerting for specific issues. They can pass through from the
mobile phone information such as emails, SMS, calendar events and
caller Ids.
SUMMARY
[0008] A principal object of the present disclosure is to allow use
of a wearable communication device, such as a watch (and
hereinafter referred to as, but not limited to, a watch), which has
a very small form factor and limited physical real-estate for
conventional input mechanisms such as push buttons and scroll
wheels, to be able to accept a large number of different user
inputs in ways that are natural and intuitive for the user.
[0009] A further object of the present disclosure is to implement
these users input methods with low power consumption as would be
advantageous for wearable, battery-powered devices.
[0010] A further object of the present disclosure is to use, either
individually or a combination of, the following type of sensors:
accelerometer, magnetometer, gyroscope, infrared proximity
detectors, and microphone and touch sensors.
[0011] A further object of the present disclosure is to achieve
lower power consumption by only operating the required sensors, and
at the lowest power states sufficient for processing the type of
user input to be detected at a particular state of the device
operation.
[0012] A further object of the present disclosure is to allow use
of a wearable communication device, such as a watch (and
hereinafter referred to, but not limited to, a watch), to be
notified with vibration, an LED light and OLED text display of
incoming calls, texts, and calendar events, all while a phone is
nearby but not visible, such as in a pocket or purse.
[0013] A further object of the present disclosure is to be notified
with vibration, an LED light and OLED text display of incoming
calls, texts, and calendar events, all without a phone being
visible.
[0014] A further object of the present disclosure is to put a
wearable Bluetooth communication device into a watch that would
connect to a cell phone.
[0015] A further object of the present disclosure is to achieve a
wearable Bluetooth communication device enabling a hands-free
communication with a cell phone.
[0016] Moreover an object of the present disclosure is to achieve a
wearable Bluetooth communication device which can be used as input
device to interact with a smart phone application.
[0017] In accordance with the objects of the invention a wearable
communication device configured to talk and to listen, place and
answer calls, send and receive text messages, initiate voice
commands to mobile search for information and to find locations,
and be notified of incoming calls, texts, and events, all while a
smart phone is nearby has been achieved, The communication device
disclosed comprises: a near-field short distance wireless
communication chipset, wherein the near-field short distance
wireless communication chipset is used for communication with the
smart phone and motion sensors comprising an accelerometer, a
magnetometer, and a gyroscope sensing movements of a user's arm or
wrist determining velocity, direction and displacement vector in
3-D space which can be used as input selection for an application
of the smart phone.
[0018] In accordance with the objects of the disclosure a method to
achieve a wearable communication device configured for gaming
applications, to talk and to listen, place and answer calls, send
and receive text messages, initiate voice commands to mobile search
for information and to find locations, and be notified of incoming
calls, texts, and events, all while a smart phone is nearby, has
been disclosed. The method disclosed comprises the steps of: (1)
deploying a mobile phone within reach of a near-field short
distance wireless communication chipset used for communication
between the wearable communication device and the mobile phone, (2)
deploying the near-field short distance wireless communication
chipset, (3) deploying motion sensors comprising an accelerometer,
a magnetometer, and a gyroscope sensing movements of a user's arm
or wrist determining velocity, direction and displacement vector in
3-D space which can be used as input selection for an application
of the smart phone, and (4) connecting the mobile phone to the
internet via Wi-Fi or to mobile phone networks.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this
description, there is shown:
[0020] FIG. 1 shows a top view of an embodiment of a watch
disclosed.
[0021] FIG. 2 shows a side view of a watch with touch sensor,
motion sensors including an IR sensors being worn on the wrist as a
watch, with the IR proximity sensors detecting the motion of the
fingers.
[0022] FIG. 3a shows a preferred embodiment of the IR proximity
sensors for detection of finger motion.
[0023] FIG. 3b shows the normal orientation of watch on the hand
FIG. 3c shows the hand with watch tilted downwards
[0024] FIG. 3d shows the hand with watch tilted upwards
[0025] FIG. 3e shows the hand with watch oriented upwards
[0026] FIG. 3f shows the hand with watch oriented downwards
[0027] FIG. 3g shows hand motion down followed by selection
[0028] FIG. 4 shows the main components of the watch.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0029] The preferred embodiments of the present disclosure present
a wearable communication device and its interfaces, wherein the
communication device can be, for example, a watch, comprising
functions enabling to talk and to listen, place and answers call,
send and receive text messages, initiates voice commands to mobile
search for information and find locations, and be notified of
incoming calls, texts, and events, all while a phone is nearby but
not visible, as when it is in the user's pocket or purse.
[0030] It is a challenge to designers of wearable communication
devices such as a watch, to provide access to the users the rich
sets of features available on a phone, such as to talk and to
listen, place and answers call, send and receive text messages,
initiates voice commands to mobile search for information and find
locations, and be notified of incoming calls, texts, and events,
all while a phone is in a pocket or purse
[0031] FIG. 1 shows a top view of a preferred embodiment of the
disclosure
[0032] The watch 1 has an always-on analog watch movement.
Alternatively a digital watch display, instead of an analog clock,
can be used; there is no need to touch the screen to see the time.
The upper half shows the hands of an analog Quartz watch. The watch
comprises two physical buttons 3 and 4. Knob 2 can be used to
adjust time of the day. Button 3 is an upper command button; button
4 is a lower select button.
[0033] The buttons 3 and 4 are programmable buttons, configured by
user via either (a) web portal or (b) smartphone app.
Pre-programmed configurations such as "social", "messaging/tweet",
"emergency". Other pre-programmed configurations are possible, such
as for example: in idle state, short press a button to activate
voice recognition, long press to call last number dialed, OR, short
press to read new texts or messages, long press to send new texts
or messages.
[0034] The table below shows examples of such pre-programmed
configurations. The functions in the table are determined by the
state of the watch, together with the duration and number of times
the button is pressed:
TABLE-US-00001 TOP BUTTON BOTTOM BUTTON CONFIG FUNCTIONS FUNCTIONS
Default Voice command activation, Activate status display, make
call, receive call, volume control. terminate call, pairing with
phone. Social Read and send text Display new postings from messages
social websites: e.g., Facebook, twitter. Safety Start/stop calling
Call 911 pre-programmed numbers. Gaming/ Start/Stop 3D motion
Left/right mouse button remote reporting (for cursor control
control) Audio Start/stop playing music Volume control Record
Activate voice recording Terminate voice recording audio
[0035] The preferred embodiment has an OLED display and an RGB LED
light. Alternatively an LCD display, as e.g. one line LCD dot
matrix, can be used. The communication is performed using a
Bluetooth, or other near-field short distance wireless
communication technology, chip. Bluetooth is a proprietary open
wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short
distances (using short-wavelength radio transmissions in the ISM
band from 2400-2480 MHz) from fixed and mobile devices, creating
personal area networks (PANs) with high levels of security. It can
connect several devices, overcoming problems of synchronization.
For example, a chip meeting the specifications of Bluetooth 4.0 can
be used, together with a microphone and speaker. Speakerphone
capabilities are built in the watch such as echo cancellation and
make/receive calls. In the preferred embodiment a piezo speaker has
been deployed. Other types of speakers are possible as well.
[0036] The two buttons 3 and 4 control all functions of the
wearable communication device 1 other than setting time, which is
performed by button 2, One button can be used to activate voice
recognition, and use to, for example, initiate a call, e.g. "call
home".
[0037] FIG. 4 shows a summary of the main components of the watch
and their interconnections. There is the watch 40 having an analog
or a digital display. The watch comprises two physical buttons 3
and 4. Knob 2 can be used to adjust the time of day. Button 3 is an
upper command button; button 4 is a lower select button.
Furthermore there is a one-line digital display 41, which can
display a phone number, alphanumeric messages, icons, and the like.
The display may be an LCD or an OLED display. Furthermore there may
be a LED 42 providing by different colors status information.
[0038] In the case of an analog watch display, the analog watch
movements may contain mechanisms for the watch hands to be adjusted
according to signals sent by the Processor 43. It may also contain
mechanisms for the hand positions to be sensed by the Processor.
The analog watch may therefore be set accurately by the Processor,
which receives time information over Bluetooth from the phone.
[0039] A processor 43 controls the operation of the watch disclosed
including a microphone 44, a speaker 45, a vibration motor 500,
motion sensors as a 3-axis accelerometer 46, a magnetometer 47, a
gyroscope 48, an IR proximity sensor 405, and a touch sensor 406
connected to a capacitive touch panel 407.
[0040] Furthermore the processor 43 controls a Bluetooth (BT)
chipset 49 which may comprise a regular BT chip and/or a Bluetooth
low energy chip. Both used for communication to a phone, smartphone
or another BT-device 401.
[0041] Moreover a Near Field Communication (NFC) chip 402 can be
provided in the watch disclosed. It allows "bump"-type feature to
transfer data from a cell phone to the watch, for instance for
admission control, as used e.g. on subways in Taiwan, China, or
Tokyo subways to eliminate the need for a separate subway card.
[0042] For the power supply of the watch is a micro USB-port 403
provided, which enables charging of the main battery 404. The main
battery 404 provides power to all components of the watch requiring
power.
[0043] Multiple similar devices can be synchronized via star or
mesh network for multi-point motion sensing. For example, an
arm-swing movement detected can cause a punching sound to be
produced, in a "hand-combat" game. Two players may be networked
with their watches synchronized, and depending on the velocity and
3-D locations of the watches, may be playing against each other
with suitable sounds being generated to simulate the opponents
being hit. Another example may be simulation of musical instrument
sounds such as drum and guitar, and multiple players may engage in
generating sounds synchronized with their watch movements, in a
kind of "air-instruments" game, while background music is being
played.
[0044] FIG. 2 shows a side view of a watch with touch sensor,
motion sensors including an IR sensors being worn on the wrist as a
watch, with the IR proximity sensors detecting the motion of the
fingers.
[0045] FIG. 2 illustrates the watch comprising a 3-axis
accelerometer 20 and magnetometer 21, a gyroscope 22, a touch
sensor 23, infrared (IR) receivers 24, and IR transmitters 25.
[0046] Motion sensors such as accelerometer 20, magnetometer 21 and
gyroscope 22 can be used to sense movement of the user's arm/wrist,
determining velocity, direction, and displacement vector in 3-D
space, which can be used as input selection for a smart phone
application or together with an audio generation device for gaming
applications. For example, an incoming call can be accepted by
swinging the wrist in the horizontal direction, or vice versa
rejected by swinging in the vertical direction. More complex motion
up to full 3-D displacement can be determined by combining data
generated by the accelerometer, magnetometer and gyroscope.
[0047] FIG. 3a shows a preferred embodiment of the IR proximity
sensors for detection of finger motion. The IR sensors can be worn
on the lower side of the arm to follow better the movement of the
fingers.
[0048] Multiple devices can be synchronized via star or mesh
network for multi-point motion sensing. Motion data can be tagged
with time-stamp, sent wirelessly over Bluetooth using SCO packets,
so that data from multiple devices are time-synchronized to each
other. Multiple gaming controllers can be playing one game with
audio and vibration feedback to each user in real time, all
synchronized to each other.
[0049] Moreover through an application (app) on a Smart Phone or
through a web portal a user can utilize the equivalent of paper
`post-it notes`, which will be sent to the watch. Using hand
gestures, as shown in FIGS. 3b-3g, or voice input, the user is able
to see the list of post-it notes on the display.
[0050] It should be noted that the user can browse through menus
using the wrist watch. The wrist watch has a small display, and an
accelerometer. Therefore the user can browse through them by
tilting the watch up/down/sideways, and select by a vertical shake,
and exit/reject using a horizontal shake. This can be used by the
user to view the contact list, and call them without touching the
watch, or phone. As outlined above the watch can be used to look at
post-it notes and also as a remote control.
[0051] FIG. 3b shows the normal orientation of the watch on the
hand. Followed are some key functions of the watch which can be
used in conjunction with hand/wrist orientation and/or movement:
[0052] The watch either displays using the LCD, or, plays audio, of
either current State information, or, Selectable Action
information, or, Menu information [0053] The watch can be used as a
remote control with BLE/IR. [0054] Hand Tilt up/down, as shown in
FIGS. 3c and 3d, can be used to scroll through next/previous
State/Selectable Action/Menu [0055] Hand Tilt up/down, as shown in
FIGS. 3c and 3d, can be used as next/previous selections in remote
control mode [0056] Hand Orientation of up/down, as shown in FIGS.
3e and 3f, can be used for next/previous page of State/Selectable
Action List/Menu List. [0057] Hand Orientation up/down, as shown in
FIGS. 3e and 3f, can be used as Fast Forward/Fast Backward in
remote control mode [0058] Vertical/Horizontal Hand Motion, as
shown in FIG. 3g, is used to Accept/Reject current State/Selectable
Action/Menu [0059] Vertical/Horizontal hand motion can be used to
play, Select/stop, and/or Exit in remote control mode
[0060] Motion sensing can also allow applications for the wearable
communication device such as [0061] Drums--coordinated arm motion
to drum sounds--different drums, loudness and tones depending on
motion parameters; [0062] Punch-up--coordinated punching motion to
impact sounds: wall, glass break, human screams, or locating and
punching an opponent; and [0063] Gesture control or vibration.
[0064] It should be noted that the sound comes from the watch
itself, different than prior art devices.
[0065] Furthermore a vibrator motor of the watch can be used for
haptic feedback, e.g. in combination with motion sensors to provide
force effects for drums, punch-ups, etc.
[0066] Moreover the watch may be equipped with one or more infrared
(IR) proximity sensors. These sensors can be deployed on the watch
and/or watch bands to sense finger movements. The IR proximity
sensors may be used for hand gesture input. The IR proximity
sensors, mounted on wrist band with focus towards inside palm of
hand, sense for example finger movements. The IR proximity sensors
work by sensing heat, determining distance, and triangulating to
determine position. Gaming applications can be provided by the IR
proximity sensors of the watch, such as air guitar.
[0067] An important feature is also voice recognition. One
exemplary application is for an incoming call, with the user saying
"yes" to answer the call or "no" to decline and send the caller to
a voicemail application. Other commands are of course possible to
accept or to decline a call as well, especially considering other
languages. The voice commands can also be used for other functions.
It should be noted that this feature implements true hands-free
use. More generally, voice command may be used to generate an
action. Furthermore an incoming call could first turn on voice
recognition; otherwise voice recognition can be left off to save
power.
[0068] A list of exemplary actions which can be activated by voice
recognition comprises read/send text; make/receive calls, read
notifications, any internet searches as supported by any browsers,
activating other phone apps, local settings for phone or watch
(e.g. ringer off, mute on/off).
[0069] For low power consumption, sensors are configured so that
only the sensors and the operations necessary to detect the
specific user interface actions are activated at a given state of
the device. For example, an incoming call may be answered by the
user speaking either "yes" or "no", or alternatively either a
horizontal or a vertical wave of the watch. In this case the
microphone and audio input circuitry is activated, but the voice
recognition engine may be limited to a small vocabulary of the two
words only. The accelerometer may be activated to detect the hand
wave, but the sampling rate may be kept very low as it is only
required to distinguish between two different axes of motion.
[0070] The following is an example list of parameters that can be
adjusted to reduce power consumption: [0071] Accelerometer:
sampling rate, resolution [0072] Gyroscope: sampling rate [0073]
Magnetometer: sampling rate [0074] Microphone/audio input
subsystem/voice recognition engine: sampling rate, resolution,
vocabulary size [0075] IR proximity sensor: transaction (Tx)
intensity, sampling rate, Rx resolution [0076] Touch sensor:
sampling rate, resolution
[0077] A set of specific settings of the above parameters would be
associated with each state of the device, so that the device power
consumption is optimized dynamically with the device functions.
[0078] While the disclosure has been particularly shown and
described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it
will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes
in form and details may be made without departing from the spirit
and scope of the disclosure.
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