Wearable terminal and control method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10126838-B2
Application number	US-201615344643-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 7, 2016
Priority date	Nov 19, 2015
Publication date	Nov 13, 2018
Grant date	Nov 13, 2018

Abstract

A wearable terminal includes: a body having a display that performs display, a sensor that detects a first angle of rotation by which the display has been rotated with respect to a first axis as an axis of rotation, and a controller that controls the display according to the first angle of rotation; and a band that is connected to the body and extends around the forearm in an arcuate shape, wherein the first axis is perpendicular to a second axis and is parallel to a direction in which the forearm extends, when the first angle of rotation is within a first angle range, the controller causes a first display image displayed, and when the first angle of rotation changes from the first angle range to a second angle range, the controller causes a part of the first display image and a part of a second display image simultaneously displayed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A wearable terminal that is wearable on a forearm of a user, comprising:
a body having a display that performs display in a display area, a sensor that detects a first angle of rotation by which the display has been rotated with respect to a first axis as an axis of rotation, and a controller that controls the display according to the first angle of rotation; and
a band that is connected to the body and extends around the forearm in an arcuate shape,
wherein the first axis is perpendicular to a second axis and is parallel to a direction in which the forearm extends,
the first axis forms, with the second axis, a plane that is parallel to a display surface of the display when the wearable terminal on the forearm of the user,
when the first angle of rotation is within a first angle range, the controller causes a first display image to be displayed in the display area, and
when the first angle of rotation changes from the first angle range to a second angle range that does not overlap with the first angle range, the controller causes at least part of the first display image and at least part of a second display image, that is different from the first display image, to be simultaneously displayed in the display area.

2. The wearable terminal according to claim 1 , wherein, when after the at least part of the first display image and the at least part of the second display image have been simultaneously displayed in the display area, the first angle of rotation changes from the second angle range to an angle range that does not overlap the second angle range, the controller causes the second display image to be displayed in the display area and the first display image to not be displayed in the display area.

3. The wearable terminal according to claim 1 , wherein, when after the at least part of the first display image and the at least part of the second display image have been simultaneously displayed in the display area, the first angle of rotation changes from the second angle range to the first angle range, the controller causes the second display image to be displayed in the display area and the first display image to not be displayed in the display area.

4. The wearable terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the first display image represents a first application that is executable in the wearable terminal, and
the second display image represents a second application that is different from the first application and is executable in the wearable terminal.

5. The wearable terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the sensor further detects a second angle of rotation by which the display has been rotated with respect to the second axis as an axis of rotation,
the controller further controls the display according to the second angle of rotation,
when the second angle of rotation is within a third angle range and the first angle of rotation is within the first angle range, the controller causes the first display image to be displayed in the display area, and
when the second angle of rotation is within the third angle range and the first angle of rotation changes from the first angle range to the second angle range, the controller causes the at least part of the first display image and the at least part of the second display image, that is different from the first display image, to be simultaneously displayed in the display area.

6. The wearable terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the sensor is a triaxial angular velocity sensor that further detects a third angle of rotation by which the display has been rotated with respect to a third axis as an axis of rotation, the third axis being perpendicular to the first axis and the second axis.

7. The wearable terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the first angle range is between −15 and 15 degrees when the display surface is assumed to be at 0 degrees when the display surface is parallel to a plane perpendicular to a direction of gravitational force and faces in a direction opposite to the direction of gravitational force,
the second angle range is between 15 degrees and 45 degrees when the display surface is assumed to be at 0 degrees when the display surface is parallel to a plane perpendicular to the direction of gravitational force and faces in a direction opposite to the direction of gravitational force and a positive direction of rotation is a direction in which forearm of the user turns so that the display surface faces farther away from the user's body, and
the third angle range is between 0 and 45 degrees when the display surface is assumed to be at 0 degrees when the display surface is parallel to a plane perpendicular to the direction of gravitational force and faces in a direction opposite to the direction of gravitational force and the positive direction of rotation is a direction in which the forearm of the user twists so that the display surface faces closer to the user's body.

8. The wearable terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the controller turns off display on the display when the second angle of rotation changes to an angle range that does not overlap the third angle range.

9. The wearable terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the second angle range includes a fourth angle range and a fifth angle range and an angle of rotation from the fourth angle range to the first angle range is smaller than an angle of rotation from the fifth angle range to the first angle range,
when the first angle of rotation changes from the fifth angle range to the first angle range, the controller causes the second display image to be displayed in the display area and the first display image to not be displayed in the display area, and
when the first angle of rotation changes from the fourth angle range to the first angle range, the controller causes the first display image to be displayed in the display area and the second display image to not be displayed in the display area.

10. The wearable terminal according to claim 9 , wherein when the first angle of rotation changes from the fourth angle range to the fifth angle range, the at least part of the first display image and the at least part of the second display image are simultaneously displayed in the display area and a third display image, suggesting switching from the first display image to the second display image, is displayed in the display area.

11. The wearable terminal according to claim 1 , wherein when the at least part of the first display image and the at least part of the second display image are simultaneously displayed in the display area and when the first angle of rotation is within the second angle range, the controller causes the at least part of the second display image to be displayed in a first display region of the display area and causes at least part of the first display image to be displayed in a second display region of the display area,
the display area is divided into to two regions by a boundary line that is perpendicular to the first axis,
the first display region is one of the two regions which is facing towards a body of the user, and
the second display region is the other of the two regions which is facing away from a body of the user.

12. The wearable terminal according to claim 1 , wherein when the at least part of the first display image and the at least part of the second display image are simultaneously displayed in the display area and when the first angle of rotation is within the second angle range, the controller causes the at least part of the first display image to be displayed in a first display region of the display area and causes at least part of the second display image to be displayed in a second dis

Assignees

• Panasonic Ip Corp America

Inventors

• Funase Kazuki
• Fuchikami Tetsuji
• Ozeki Akinori
• Aoki Hideshi

Classifications

• G06F1/163

  Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt · CPC title

• G06F3/0346 Primary

  with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a three-dimensional [3D] space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors · CPC title

• G06F3/04845

  for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour · CPC title

• G06F2203/04803

  Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas · CPC title

• G06F3/017

  Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures (interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883) · CPC title