Abstract:
A method and apparatus for measuring one or more physical conditions of a computer operator and for automatically inputting signals corresponding to the physical conditions into a computer ( 12 ) for control and monitoring purposes.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application is a Continuation in Part of U.S. Pat. No. 09/567,176 titled “Human Interface Method and Apparatus” whose inventor is Ken Tamada, which was filed on May 8, 2000, now abandoned. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to computer interface devices and methods. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for measuring one or more physical conditions of a person and inputting signals corresponding to the physical conditions into a computer for control and monitoring purposes and for permitting computer users to interact with other remote computer users via a communications network. 
   2. Description of the Prior Art 
   Many computer programs are designed for use by computer operators having different levels of experience or knowledge. For example, many computer games have different “levels” or speeds that accommodate players of different skill levels. Similarly, many computer application programs have various features ranging from simple to complex that may be used by different persons depending upon their skill levels. 
   Computer operators can currently only interact with a computer by inputting data or information into the computer via a keyboard, computer mouse, or other manually operated input device. These types of computer input devices cannot determine information about a computer user and then automatically input the information but instead rely upon the operator to manually enter all information. Thus, computer operators wishing to interact with a computer program based on their skill or knowledge level must currently manually input such information into the computer. For example, a computer user having a high skill level for a particular computer game currently must manually enter information relating to their skill level to cause the computer program to operate at a higher level or speed. 
   Another problem with conventional computer input devices is that they cannot automatically enter sensory information into a computer relating to a physical condition of an operator. This is a problem because many computer users work in stressful conditions in which their current physical condition may be an important factor. Also, current computer input devices do not permit computer users to interact with other remote computer users without manually entering information. 
   OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention solves the above-described problems and provides a distinct advance in the art of computer input devices. More particularly, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for measuring one or more physical conditions of a person with a sensor and automatically inputting sensor signals corresponding to the physical conditions into a computer for control and monitoring purposes and for permitting computer users to interact with other remote computer users via a communications network. 
   One embodiment of the method of the present invention includes the steps of measuring with a sensor worn or touched by the user a physical condition of the user when the user is in a rest state and generating corresponding rest state sensor signals; inputting the rest state sensor signals into the computer; running a computer program on the computer that requires interaction by the user; measuring with the sensor the physical condition of the user when the user is interacting with the computer program and generating corresponding active state sensor signals; inputting the active state sensor signals into the computer; comparing the rest state sensor signals to the active state sensor signals; and changing some aspect of the computer program when the active state signals differ from the rest state signals by a predetermined amount. 
   These and other important aspects of the present invention are described more fully in the detailed description below. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
     A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram showing a human interface device constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention shown coupled with a personal computer. 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of several human interfaces and personal computers shown coupled with a host computer via a communications network. 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating several core components of a computer program that may be used with the human interface of the present invention. 
       FIG. 4  is a flow diagram depicting certain steps of the computer program. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Turning now to the drawing figures, and particularly  FIG. 1 , the present invention broadly includes a human interface device  10  and a computer program that may be run on a computer  12  such as the one illustrated. The human interface device  10  measures one or more physical conditions of a computer operator and automatically inputs signals corresponding to the physical conditions into the computer  12 . The computer program then analyzes the signals to control certain aspects of other computer programs run by the computer  12  or for monitoring purposes as described in more detail below. The signals may also be used to permit computer users to interact with other remote computer users via a communications network. 
   The human interface device  10  includes one or more sensors  14 , a carrier  16  that permits the sensors to be worn by an operator of the computer  12 , and a computer interface  18  for coupling the sensors with the computer  12 . The sensors  14  may be any commercially available sensors that measure physical conditions such as blood pressure, pulse rate, body temperature, static capacity, skin conductivity, brain wave activity, NO 2  or NO 3  blood density, static electricity, or blood characteristics. The sensors  14  each preferably include a signal amplifier and an analog-to-digital converter for producing digital sensor signals corresponding to the measured physical conditions. 
   The sensors  14  are mounted to or on the carrier  16  so that the sensors  14  can be worn by an operator of the computer  12 . One embodiment of the carrier  16  is a wristband that places the sensors  14  against a person&#39;s wrist or forearm as illustrated in FIG.  1 . This permits the sensors  14  to easily monitor a person&#39;s blood pressure, pulse, body temperature, or skin conductivity. The carrier  16  may also be a headphone type carrier  16  for placing the sensors against a person&#39;s ear and head. 
   The sensors  14  may also be attached to or mounted on a device that is held by an operator so that the sensors  14  do not have to be worn by the operator. For example, the sensors  14  may be incorporated into a computer mouse so that the sensors  14  monitor an operator&#39;s physical condition while the operator is manipulating the mouse. For this embodiment, the mouse would preferably include an orifice or a hole in which an operator could place one of his or her fingers. The sensor or sensors  14  would be mounted in the hole to measure the physical conditions described above while the operator used the mouse. 
   The sensors  14  may also be incorporated into a computer joystick so that the sensors  14  could monitor a physical condition of an operator while playing a computer game or before starting the game. As with the mouse, the joystick would include an orifice or a hole for receiving an operator&#39;s finger. The sensors may also be incorporated into other devices such as a table pad, a mouse pad, a desk, a chair, a floor mat, a hand print device, a foot print device, or even an automatic shoulder massager. 
   The computer interface  18  receives sensor signals from the sensors  14  and delivers the signals to the computer  12 . In preferred forms, the computer interface  18  is a universal serial bus (USB) or mini-USB interface that couples with a conventional USB port on the computer  12 . The computer interface  18  may also be a PS2 mouse type interface, an SCSI interface, an RS-232C interface, a parallel interface, a serial interface, or even a wireless interface. 
   The computer program is operable for receiving the sensor signals from the human interface device  10  and for controlling certain operations of the computer  12  in response thereto. The program is stored on computer readable memory accessible by the computer  12  such as the computer&#39;s hard drive and may be written in any computer language as a matter of design choice. 
   As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the computer program broadly includes a signal interface component  20 , a user interface component  22 , a signal analysis component  24 , and a trend recording component  26 . The signal interface component  20  receives the sensor signals from the human interface device  10  and performs any necessary error checking functions. The user interface component  22  provides a graphical user interface on the monitor of the computer  12  to allow an operator to control certain functions of the computer program as described in more detail below. The signal analysis component  24  analyzes the sensor signals received from the human interface device  10  and controls certain operations of the computer  12  or other computers as described in more detail below. The trend recording component  26  records the sensor signals along with other information in a database that may be accessed for monitoring and control purposes. 
   The flow diagram illustrated in  FIG. 4  depicts several steps performed by the computer program for one application of the present invention. The computer program is initiated in step  400  when an operator of the computer  12  connects the computer interface  18  to the computer  12 . The operator then puts on the wristband carrier  16  or other carrier so that the sensors  14  may begin to measure certain physical conditions of the operator and transmit corresponding sensor signals to the computer  12 . 
   The computer program preferably first monitors the physical conditions of the operator before the operator has begun using the computer  12  to obtain resting sensor signals as depicted in step  402 . The operator may then view the resting sensor signals on the monitor of the computer  12  and adjust the sensor signals to accommodate for irregularities as depicted in step  404 . For example, if the operator is currently experiencing a high pulse rate due to recent exercise, the operator may manually change the resting sensor signals accordingly. 
   The computer program next sets threshold levels corresponding to the resting sensor signals as depicted in step  406 . The threshold levels are typically some percentage of the resting sensor signals. For example, the threshold levels may be + or −30% of the measured resting sensor signals from each of the sensors  14  for a low alarm and + or −50% of the measured resting sensor signals from each of the sensors for a high alarm. 
   Once the computer program has received and stored the resting sensor signals and set the threshold levels, the operator may begin to use the computer  12 . For example, the operator may begin playing a computer game or using an application program stored on the computer  12 . While the operator uses the computer  12 , the human interface device  10  continues to measure the physical conditions of the operator and to send corresponding sensor signals to the computer  12  as depicted in step  408 . The computer program compares the current sensor signals to the threshold levels as depicted in step  410  and displays both the current signals and the threshold levels on the computer  12  monitor as depicted in step  412 . 
   In accordance with one important aspect of the present invention, the computer program may control certain aspects of the computer  12  based on the received sensor signals and the comparison steps. For example, the computer program may determine that an operator who is playing a computer game is not challenged based on the measurement of the operator&#39;s physical conditions. The computer program may then increase the speed or difficulty of the computer game so that the game is more exciting to the operator. 
   Similarly, the computer program may determine that an operator who is using a certain application program is experiencing high levels of stress and/or fatigue. The computer program may then reduce the workload of the operator and/or alert the operator or a supervisor that the operator needs a break or assistance. 
   The computer program also preferably stores and records the sensor signals along with other information in a database for later analysis as depicted in step  414 . For example, the computer program may store the sensor signals and the date and time each instance when an operator&#39;s current sensor signals exceed the threshold levels. A supervisor or other person may then analyze the information in the database for monitoring purposes. 
   In another embodiment of the present invention, several computers  12  and human interface devices  10  may be connected to or through a host computer  28  via a communications network  30  as depicted in FIG.  2 . The human interface devices  10  may also be connected to the host computer via mobile phones with Internet capabilities or even televisions with Internet capabilities. The communications network  30  may be any conventional network such as the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network, or even a wireless network. The communications network may also link several personal computers  12  directly without use of the host computer  28 . 
   The host computer  28  is used to remotely monitor physical conditions of operators of the computers  12  or to provide information to the computers  12 . For example, in one application, the host computer  28  may be operated by a supervisor to monitor the physical conditions of the operators of the computers  12  to ensure that the operators are not too fatigued or stressed. The host computer may also be used to monitor the physical conditions of pilots, drivers, or others that are being monitored by the operators of the computers  12 . 
   In another application, the host computer  28  may be used to conduct remote interviews. An interviewee wears the sensors  14  or places their hands on the mouse or joystick and uses one of the computers  12  to video conference with an interviewer operating the host computer  28 . The computer program running on the personal computers  12  provides sensor signals to the host computer  28  corresponding to the monitored physical conditions of the interviewees. This application provides valuable information to interviewers that cannot be obtained by conventional methods. 
   In another application, the host computer  28  may be used to remotely monitor a person&#39;s physical conditions for health reasons. For example, people who are recovering from illnesses or accidents at home may be monitored by a doctor or hospital operating the host computer  28 . 
   In another application, the host computer  28  may be used for online remote marketing research type services. For example, selected consumers may be instructed to wear the sensors  14  and then watch certain commercials presented to them on the computers. The operator of the host computer  28  may then collect and analyze sensor signals corresponding to the physical conditions of the consumers to determine how they respond to certain types of commercials. 
   In another application, the host computer  28  may be used for remote education or training purposes. For example, students may be instructed to wear or touch the sensors  14  while taking a class via one of the computers  12 . A teacher may then monitor the physical conditions of the students to determine if a lecture is of the appropriate difficulty or speed. 
   Although the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached drawing figures, it is noted that equivalents may be employed and substitutions made herein without departing from the scope of the invention as recited in the claims.