Switch actuating device, mobile device, and method for actuating a switch by a non-tactile gesture
US10409384B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 26, 2017 |
| Grant date | Sep 10, 2019 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 3, 2037 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH03K2217/96035
- WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A switch actuating device for actuating a switch by eight types of non-tactile gestures performed with an object emitting heat includes a gesture sensor with four pixels configured to detect heat emitted by the object. The pixels include thin films made of pyroelectric sensitive material which generate a signal that has signal deflections corresponding to a temporal intensity curve of the heat detected by the thin film of the corresponding pixel. The types of the gestures are determined with a signal processing unit which controls an actuator to actuate the switch when a performance of one of the types of the gestures is determined. The gesture types are determined during an approach phase when the object approaches the gesture sensor, a waiting phase during when the object remains close to the gesture sensor, and a subsequent translational phase when the object moves in one of eight directions.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.