Launching a camera of a wireless device from a wearable device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9338340-B2
Application number	US-201414332478-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 16, 2014
Priority date	Jul 16, 2014
Publication date	May 10, 2016
Grant date	May 10, 2016

Abstract

A system includes a wearable device ( 102 ) such as a smartwatch and a wireless device ( 104 ) such as a smartphone. A user provides to the wearable device a user input indicating a user desire to launch a camera of the wireless device. The wearable device is separate from the wireless device but communicates wirelessly with the wireless device. The user input can take various forms such as a particular gesture (e.g., the user shaking his or her wrist back and forth twice). In response to the user input, an indication is sent to the wireless device to launch the camera of the wireless device. In response to receipt of the indication from the wearable device, the wireless device launches the camera of the wireless device.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A system comprising:
a wearable device configured to:
receive an input at the wearable device, the wireless device and the wearable device being separate devices; and
send, in response to the input, an indication to the wireless device to launch the camera of the wireless device; and

the wireless device configured to:
receive from the wearable device the indication to launch the camera, the wearable device being separate from the wireless device;
launch the camera in response to the received indication;
detect whether the indication was received in an absence of a user desire to launch the camera; and
execute a remedial action in response to the received indication being detected without the user desire to launch the camera, wherein being detected without the user desire to launch the camera comprises at least one of:
the camera not being used within a threshold amount of time of receipt of the indication; or
an absence of movement or change to a particular orientation of the wireless device within the threshold amount of time of receipt of the indication.

2. The system of claim 1 , the input comprising a gesture that is a particular movement or sequence of movements of the wearable device.

3. The system of claim 1 , the input comprising a particular audible input received by a microphone of the wearable device.

4. The system of claim 1 , the input comprising a particular touch sequence or pattern traced on a touchscreen of the wearable device.

5. The system of claim 1 , the sending the indication comprising sending the indication via a Bluetooth connection.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the wireless device is configured to open a shutter of the wireless device and run a camera program on the wireless device.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the remedial action comprises a termination of execution of a camera program of the wireless device.

8. A method comprising:
receiving, by a wearable device, an input, the wearable device being separate from the wireless device;
sending, by the wearable device and in response to the input, an indication to the wireless device to launch the camera of the wireless device;
receiving, by the wireless device and from a wearable device, the indication to launch the camera of the wireless device, the wireless device being separate from the wearable device;
detecting, by the wireless device, whether the indication was received in the absence of a user desire to launch the camera;
launching, by the wireless device, the camera of the wireless device in response to the received indication; and
executing, by the wireless device, a remedial action in response to the received indication being detected without a user desire to launch the camera, wherein being detected without a user desire to launch the camera comprises at least one of:
the camera not being used within a threshold amount of time of receipt of the indication; or
the absence of movement or change to a particular orientation of the wireless device within a threshold amount of time of receipt of the indication.

9. The method of claim 8 , the wearable device comprising a smartwatch.

10. The method of claim 8 , the launching the camera comprising opening a shutter of the wireless device and running a camera program on the wireless device.

11. The method of claim 8 , the input comprising a gesture that is a particular movement or sequence of movements of the wearable device.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein executing the remedial action comprises terminating execution of a camera program of the wireless device.

13. A wireless device comprising:
a camera including a camera module and one or more camera components;
a communication module configured to receive from a wearable device an indication for the wireless device to launch the camera, the wearable device being separate from the wireless device;
an anti-falsing module configured to detect whether the indication was received in the absence of a user desire to launch the camera;
a camera launch module configured to launch the camera in response to the received indication; and
wherein the anti-falsing module is configured to execute a remedial action in response to the received indication being detected without a user desire to launch the camera, wherein being detected without a user desire to launch the camera comprises at least one of:
the camera not being used within a threshold amount of time of receipt of the indication; or
the absence of movement or change to a particular orientation of the wireless device within a threshold amount of time of receipt of the indication.

14. The wireless device of claim 13 , the camera launch module being configured to launch the camera of the wireless device in response to the received indication and prior to a user touching the wireless device in order to use the camera.

15. The wireless device of claim 13 , the launching the camera including running the camera module.

16. The wireless device of claim 13 , wherein being detected without a user desire to launch the camera further comprises at least one of:
the camera not being used within a threshold amount of time of receipt of the indication; or
the absence of movement or change to a particular orientation of the wireless device within a threshold amount of time of receipt of the indication; or
the indication for the wireless device to launch the camera being received in the absence of a user desire to launch the camera in response to user selection of a user-selectable element displayed by the wireless device.

17. The wireless device of claim 13 , wherein the remedial action comprises a termination of execution of a camera program of the wireless device.

18. A method implemented in a wireless device, the method comprising:
receiving from a wearable device an indication for the wireless device to launch a camera of the wireless device, the wireless device being separate from the wearable device;
detecting whether the indication was received in the absence of a user desire to launch the camera;
launching the camera of the wireless device in response to the received indication; and
executing a remedial action in response to the received indication being detected without a user desire to launch the camera, wherein being detected without a user desire to launch the camera comprises at least one of:
the camera not being used within a threshold amount of time of receipt of the indication; or
the absence of movement or change to a particular orientation of the wireless device within a threshold amount of time of receipt of the indication.

19. The method of claim 18 , the launching the camera comprising opening a shutter of the wireless device and running a camera program on the wireless device.

20. The method of claim 18 , the launching the camera comprising launching the camera in response to the received indication and prior to a user touching the wireless device in order to use the camera.

21. The method of claim 18 , the remedial action comprising terminating execution of a camera program of the wireless device.

Assignees

• Google Technology Holdings LLC

Inventors

• Freund Jason

Classifications

• 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

• H04N23/66

  Remote control of cameras or camera parts, e.g. by remote control devices · CPC title

• H04N23/62

  Control of parameters via user interfaces · CPC title

• H04N23/661 Primary

  Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet · CPC title