Gesture input system and gesture input method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10747324-B2
Application number	US-201716344593-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 27, 2017
Priority date	Nov 2, 2016
Publication date	Aug 18, 2020
Grant date	Aug 18, 2020

Abstract

A gesture input system ( 100 ) that accepts a user operation based on a motion of a portion of the body of a user and that produces an input signal indicating a direction of the motion and/or an amount of the motion of the portion of the body, includes a sensor ( 1 ) that detects the motion of the portion of the body of the user, a tactile feeling presenting apparatus ( 3 ) that presents a tactile feeling at a base point ( 61 ) set inside a space, and a control apparatus ( 2 ) that sets a chasing point on the portion ( 50 ) of the body detected by the sensor and that produces the input signal based on a variation of the relative positional relation between the chasing point and the base point. The tactile feeling presenting apparatus ( 3 ) continuously presents the tactile feeling at the base point ( 61 ) during a time period for the gesture input system to be in an input acceptable state where the gesture input system is able to accept the user operation.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A gesture input system that accepts a user operation based on a motion of a portion of a body of a user and that produces an input signal indicating a direction of the motion and/or an amount of the motion of the portion of the body, the gesture input system comprising:
a sensor that detects the motion of the portion of the body of the user;
a tactile feeling presenting apparatus that presents a tactile feeling at a base point set inside a space; and
a control apparatus that sets a chasing point on the portion of the body detected by the sensor, the control apparatus producing an input signal based on a variation of a relative positional relation between the chasing point and the base point, wherein
the tactile feeling presenting apparatus continuously presents the tactile feeling at the base point during a time period for the gesture input system to be in an input acceptable state where the gesture input system is able to accept the user operation, and
wherein
in a time period during which the input acceptable state is not established, when the sensor detects a predetermined motion of the portion of the body of the user, the control apparatus sets the base point inside a space, sets the gesture input system to be in the input acceptable state, and thereafter fixes a position of the base point until the base point is again set.

2. The gesture input system according to claim 1 , wherein
the base point is set on the portion of the body of the user.

3. An electronic device comprising the gesture input system according to claim 2 .

4. The gesture input system according to claim 1 , wherein
the tactile feeling presenting apparatus present the tactile feeling in a tactile feeling presentation area that is a predetermined range including the base point inside the space.

5. The gesture input system according to claim 4 , wherein
the control apparatus sets an input acceptable area on the portion of the body, sets the gesture input system to be in the input acceptable state when at least a portion of the input acceptable area overlaps on the tactile feeling presentation area, and
sets the gesture input system to be in an input unacceptable state where the user operation is not accepted when the input acceptable area does not overlap on the tactile feeling presentation area.

6. The gesture input system according to claim 5 , wherein
the tactile feeling presenting apparatus stops the presentation of the tactile feeling when the gesture input system is in the input unacceptable state.

7. An electronic device comprising the gesture input system according to claim 6 .

8. The gesture input system according to claim 5 , wherein
the control apparatus varies a rate of a variation of an amount of a motion indicated by the input signal to an actual motion of the portion of the body in accordance with a position of the chasing point in the tactile feeling presentation area.

9. An electronic device comprising the gesture input system according to claim 8 .

10. An electronic device comprising the gesture input system according to claim 5 .

11. An electronic device comprising the gesture input system according to claim 4 .

12. The gesture input system according to claim 1 , wherein
the tactile feeling presenting apparatus presents the tactile feeling using an acoustic radiation pressure or an air flow.

13. An electronic device comprising the gesture input system according to claim 12 .

14. An electronic device comprising the gesture input system according to claim 1 .

15. A gesture input method of accepting a user operation based on a motion of a portion of a body of a user and producing an input signal indicating a direction of the motion and/or an amount of the motion of the portion of the body, the gesture input method comprising the steps of:
detecting the motion of the portion of the body of the user using a sensor;
presenting a tactile feeling at a base point set inside a space, using a tactile feeling presenting apparatus;
setting a chasing point on the portion of the body detected by the sensor, using a control apparatus; and
producing the input signal based on a variation of a relative positional relation between the chasing point and the base point, using the control apparatus, wherein
the tactile feeling presenting apparatus continuously presents the tactile feeling at the base point during a time period for an input acceptable state where the user operation is acceptable to be established, and

wherein
in a time period during which the input acceptable state is not established, when a predetermined motion of the portion of the body of the user is detected by the sensor, using the control apparatus, setting the base point inside a space, setting the gesture input system to be in the input acceptable state, and thereafter fixing a position of the base point until the base point is again set are executed.

Assignees

• Panasonic Ip Man Co Ltd

Inventors

• Wakuda Daisuke
• Matsumoto Takashi
• Ezaki Kenichi

Classifications

• G06F3/016 Primary

  Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user · CPC title

• G06F3/011

  Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality (blind teaching G09B21/00) · CPC title

• G06F3/038

  Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry · CPC title

• G06F3/0304

  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 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