The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 30, 2013
Filed:
Nov. 30, 2007
David Alexander Butler, Cambridge, GB;
Shahram Izadi, Cambridge, GB;
Stephen E. Hodges, Cambridge, GB;
Malcolm Hall, Glasgow, GB;
David Alexander Butler, Cambridge, GB;
Shahram Izadi, Cambridge, GB;
Stephen E. Hodges, Cambridge, GB;
Malcolm Hall, Glasgow, GB;
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA (US);
Abstract
A device is described which enables users to interact with software running on the device through gestures made in an area adjacent to the device. In an embodiment, a portable computing device has proximity sensors arranged on an area of its surface which is not a display, such as on the sides of the device. These proximity sensors define an area of interaction adjacent to the device. User gestures in this area of interaction are detected by creating sensing images from data received from each of the sensors and then analyzing sequences of these images to detect gestures. The detected gestures may be mapped to particular inputs to a software program running on the device and therefore a user can control the operation of the program through gestures.