Wearable device touch detection

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016334870-A1
Application number	US-201615223887-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 29, 2016
Priority date	May 23, 2014
Publication date	Nov 17, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

The description relates to smart rings. One example can include a finger band configured to accommodate a user's finger. This example can also include a set of pressure sensors positioned on an inner surface of the finger band and configured to sense changes to tendons of the user's finger as pressure differentials and to output associated signals. The example can further include a gesture component configured to interpret the signals from the set of pressure sensors to identify individual actions performed by the user's finger.

First claim

1 - 20 . (canceled)

21 . A wearable device comprising:
at least one pressure sensor configured to detect pressure imparted by a tendon passing through the wearable device; and a communication component configured to output an indication based at least on the pressure imparted by the tendon.

22 . The wearable device of claim 21 , further comprising a band configured to accommodate a body part of a user.

23 . The wearable device of claim 22 , embodied as a ring, the band being configured to accommodate a finger.

24 . The wearable device of claim 21 , the communication component being configured to output the indication by sending pressure signals to another device.

25 . The wearable device of claim 21 , further comprising a gesture component configured to:
perform an analysis of pressure signals from the at least one pressure sensor; and based at least on the analysis of the pressure signals, detect that a user wearing the wearable device has touched another surface.

26 . The wearable device of claim 25 , the communication component being configured to output the indication to a companion device, the indication conveying that the user has touched the another surface.

27 . The wearable device of claim 26 , wherein the another surface is a surface of the companion device.

28 . A system comprising the wearable device of claim 27 and the companion device.

29 . A system comprising:
a processor; and a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to: obtain a pressure signal conveying pressure applied by a tendon passing through a wearable device; and process the pressure signal to determine whether a user of the wearable device is touching another surface.

30 . The system of claim 29 , embodied as the wearable device.

31 . The system of claim 29 , embodied as a companion device or a cloud device.

32 . The system of claim 29 , embodied as another wearable device.

33 . The system of claim 32 , embodied as smart glasses.

34 . The system of claim 33 , wherein the smart glasses are further configured to capture information reflecting content seen in front of a user of the smart glasses.

35 . A method comprising:
obtaining a pressure signal reflecting pressure imparted by a tendon passing through a wearable device; and processing the pressure signal to detect that a user of the wearable device is touching another surface.

36 . The method of claim 35 , further comprising:
obtaining an audio signal sensed by the wearable device; and detecting that the user is touching the another surface using both the audio signal and the pressure signal.

37 . The method of claim 35 , further comprising:
processing the pressure signal to detect that the user is performing a specific gesture by touching the another surface.

38 . The method of claim 37 , further comprising:
identifying the specific gesture based at least on whether the pressure signal indicates a hard landing or a soft landing on the another surface.

39 . The method of claim 35 , further comprising:
obtaining another pressure signal reflecting the pressure imparted by the tendon passing through the wearable device; and processing the another pressure signal to detect that the user is performing a non-touch gesture.

40 . The method of claim 35 , performed by the wearable device.

Assignees

• Microsoft Technology Licensing Llc

Inventors

• Priyantha Nissanka Arachchige Bodhi
• Liu Jie

Classifications

• G06F2203/0331

  Finger worn pointing device · CPC title

• G06F1/163

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

• G06F3/014 Primary

  Hand-worn input/output arrangements, e.g. data gloves · 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

• G06F3/041

  Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means · CPC title