Accommodative user interface for handheld electronic devices

Abstract

A tactile user interface for handheld electronic devices that accommodates the human hand irrespective of morphology, size or laterality thus enabling any user to conveniently operate such devices with all five fingers which comprises an outer surface, one or more continuous sensor regions on said outer surface, wherein the regions are configured with one or more sensors to detect multiple simultaneous contact patches made by one or more fingers and/or the base of the thumb of a hand, a processor connected to the one or more sensors, wherein the processor identifies a particular contact patch based on the relative location of the particular contact patch with respect to the other contact patches wherein the processor is configured to control an electronic device by identifying a sign consisting of the combined distinctive features of one or more contact patches and associating the sign with a signal for controlling the electronic device or to input data and by transmitting said signal to the device.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A device comprising:
 a housing that includes a sensor configured to detect a spatial arrangement of contact patches formed as a result of contact with a user, each contact patch in the spatial arrangement having a corresponding location; and   one or more processors configured to perform operations comprising:
 subdividing at least a portion of the detected spatial arrangement of contact patches into opposed columns of contact patches based on the corresponding locations of the spatial arrangement of contact patches relative to each other; 
 detecting a sign formed by the contact with the user based on the corresponding locations of the contact patches in the opposed columns; and 
 generating a control signal based on the detected sign. 
   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 selecting a subset of the detected spatial arrangement of contact patches based on the corresponding locations of the detected spatial arrangement of contact patches relative to each other; and wherein:   the subdividing of at least the portion of the spatial arrangement of contact patches includes subdividing the selected subset of the detected spatial arrangement of contact patches.   
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the sensor includes a continuous sensor region configured to detect the spatial arrangement of contact patches formed as a result of the contact with the user.   
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the detecting of the sign includes recognizing an arrangement of six contact patches. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein each contact patch among the spatial arrangement of contact patches has a corresponding area with a corresponding size, and the detecting of the sign is based on the corresponding sizes of the contact patches in the opposed columns of contact patches. 
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein each contact patch among the spatial arrangement of contact patches has a corresponding pressure detected by the sensor, and the detecting of the sign is based on the corresponding pressures of the contact patches in the opposed columns of contact patches. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein each contact patch among the spatial arrangement of contact patches has a corresponding size, and the detecting of the sign is based on the corresponding sizes for the contact patches in the opposed columns of contact patches. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein each contact patch among the spatial arrangement of contact patches has a corresponding pressure, and the detecting of the sign is based on the corresponding pressures for the contact patches in the opposed columns of contact patches. 
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the device is a first device communicatively coupled to a second device, and the control signal generated based on the detected sign is provided by the first device to the second device. 
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the detecting of the sign is based on movement of at least one of the corresponding locations of the contact patches in the opposed columns of contact patches. 
     
     
         11 . A method comprising:
 detecting, by a sensor included in a housing of a device, a spatial arrangement of contact patches formed as a result of contact with a user, each contact patch in the spatial arrangement having a corresponding location;   subdividing, by one or more processors of the device, at least a portion of the detected spatial arrangement of contact patches into opposed columns of contact patches based on the corresponding locations of the spatial arrangement of contact patches relative to each other;   detecting, by the one or more processors of the device, a sign formed by the contact with the user based on the corresponding locations of the contact patches in the opposed columns; and   generating, by the one or more processors of the device, a control signal based on the detected sign.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 selecting a subset of the detected spatial arrangement of contact patches based on the corresponding locations of the detected spatial arrangement of contact patches relative to each other; and wherein:   the subdividing of at least the portion of the spatial arrangement of contact patches includes subdividing the selected subset of the detected spatial arrangement of contact patches.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the sensor included in the housing of the device includes a continuous sensor region configured to detect the spatial arrangement of contact patches formed as a result of the contact with the user.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the detecting of the sign includes recognizing an arrangement of six contact patches. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein each contact patch among the spatial arrangement of contact patches has a corresponding area with a corresponding size, and the detecting of the sign is based on the corresponding sizes of the contact patches in the opposed columns of contact patches. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein each contact patch among the spatial arrangement of contact patches has a corresponding pressure detected by the sensor, and the detecting of the sign is based on the corresponding pressures of the contact patches in the opposed columns of contact patches. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein each contact patch among the spatial arrangement of contact patches has a corresponding size, and the detecting of the sign is based on the corresponding sizes for the contact patches in the opposed columns of contact patches. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein each contact patch among the spatial arrangement of contact patches has a corresponding pressure, and the detecting of the sign is based on the corresponding pressures for the contact patches in the opposed columns of contact patches. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the device is a first device communicatively coupled to a second device, and the control signal generated based on the detected sign is provided by the first device to the second device. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the detecting of the sign is based on movement of at least one of the corresponding locations of the contact patches in the opposed columns of contact patches.