Patent Publication Number: US-2012032984-A1

Title: Data browsing systems and methods with at least one sensor, and computer program products thereof

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This Application claims priority of Taiwan Patent Application No. 99125704, filed on Aug. 3, 2010, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to data browsing system and methods with at least one sensor, and in particular relates to data browsing system and methods adopted in an electronic device to browse data according to the detection result of at least one sensor. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Recently, portable devices, such as mobile computers, mobile phones, smart phones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), and eBook devices, have become more and more technically advanced and multifunctional. Due to increased convenience and functions of the devices, these devices have become basic life necessities. 
     Currently, a handheld device may be equipped with a touch-sensitive screen to display data and receive related input via the touch-sensitive screen. For example, when users browse an electronic book on an eBook device, they can input commands by performing contact and movements on the touch-sensitive screen through their fingers. The eBook device will turn the page in corresponding ways according to the commands. 
     The touch-sensitive screen gives users a different way to input commands when compared to traditional keyboards or a mouse, but requires more system resources (i.e. additional power) than traditional input devices. Therefore, the resource issue is in need of being solved, for electronic devices limited by system resources. 
     Presently, some electronic devices may be equipped with a sensor, like an image sensor, proximity sensor, motion detector, gravity sensor and/or water level sensor?. Therefore, how to efficiently use the sensors of electronic devices to execute applications may become one of the solutions to mitigate the resource issue. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A detailed description is given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     The present invention provides an embodiment of a data browsing system with at least one sensor, which is applied to an electronic device and includes a storage unit, a display unit, at least one sensor and a processing unit. The storage unit is arranged for storing a plurality of data contents. The display unit is arranged for displaying a first data content of the plurality of data contents. The at least one sensor is arranged for detecting a first motion of the electronic device. The processing unit is arranged for determining a second data content of the plurality of data contents according to the first motion of the electronic device and displaying the second data content on the display unit. 
     The present invention provides an embodiment of a data browsing system with at least one sensor, which is applied to an electronic device and includes a storage unit, a display unit, at least one sensor and a processing unit. The storage unit stores data content. The display unit is arranged for displaying a data content. The at least one sensor is arranged for detecting a predetermined motion of the electronic device. The processing unit is arranged for determining a zooming ratio according to the predetermined motion of the electronic device, zooming in/out the data content according to the zooming ratio, and displaying the data zoomed data content on the display unit. 
     The present invention provides an embodiment of a data browsing method with at least one sensor, which is applied to an electronic device and includes displaying a first data content of a plurality of data contents; detecting a first motion of the electronic device by using at least one sensor; determining a second data content of the plurality of data contents according to the first motion of the electronic device; and displaying the second data content. 
     The present invention provides an embodiment of a data browsing method with at least one sensor, which is applied to an electronic device and includes: displaying a data content; detecting a predetermined motion of the electronic device by using the at least one sensor; determining a zooming ratio according to the predetermined motion; and zooming in/out the data content according to the zooming ratio and displaying the zoomed second data content. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a data browsing system with at least one sensor of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of an electronic device of the invention; 
         FIGS. 3A-3D  are schematic diagrams illustrating the tilt angles of the electronic device of the invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart of an embodiment of a data browsing method with at least one sensor of the invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a flowchart of another embodiment of a data browsing method with at least one sensor of the invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of data content of the invention; and 
         FIG. 7  is a flowchart of another embodiment of a data browsing method with at least one sensor of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The following description is of the best-contemplated mode of carrying out the invention. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a data browsing system with at least one sensor of the invention. The data browsing system  100  of the present embodiment can be applied to an electronic device, such as mobile computers, mobile phones, smart phones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), and eBook devices. 
     The data browsing system  100  at least includes a storage unit  110 , a display unit  120 , at least one sensor  130  and a processing unit  140 . The storage unit  110  includes a plurality of data contents  111 . In some embodiments, the data contents  111  may be photos, contact information, eBook pages, multimedia contents, or other data items. The display unit  120  is arranged for displaying the data contents  111  and/or the associated interfaces stored in the storage unit  110 . The sensor  130  can detect the motion of the electronic device  200 . It should be noted that, in some embodiments, the sensor  130  can be an image sensor, a proximity sensor, a motion detector, a G sensor and/or a water level sensor, etc. The processing unit  140  executes the data browsing method with at least one sensor of the present invention according to the motion of the electronic device  200 , the details of the processing unit  140  will be described in the following description. 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of an electronic device of the invention. As  FIG. 2  shown, the electronic device  200  includes a data is arranged for displaying area  210  which is used to display the data content  211 . The electronic device  200  includes a right side RS, a left side LS, a top side TS and a bottom side DS. As described above, the sensor  130  is arranged for detecting the motion of the electronic device  200 . It should be noted that, in some embodiments, the motion of the electronic device  200  can be caused by the user holding the electronic device  200 . For example, when a user raises the right side RS of the electronic device  200 , a tilt angle θt between the horizontal tangent and the left side LS of the electronic device  200  is made, as  FIG. 3A  shows. When a user raises the left side LS of the electronic device  200 , a tilt angle θt between the horizontal tangent and the right side RS of the electronic device  200  is made, as  FIG. 3B  shows. When a user raises the top side TS of the electronic device  200 , a tilt angle θt between the horizontal tangent and the bottom side DS of the electronic device  200  is made, as  FIG. 3C  shows. When a user raises the bottom side DS of the electronic device  200 , a tilt angle θt between the horizontal tangent and the top side TS of the electronic device  200  is made, as  FIG. 3D  shows. In addition, in some embodiments, the motion of the electronic device  200  can also be made back to the original position after raising one side (one of the right side RS, left side LS, top side TS and bottom side DS) of the electronic device  200 . Moreover, in some embodiments, the motion of the electronic device  200  can also be away or close to the users themselves. It is noted that, the motions of the electronic device  200  are only examples of the present application, and the present invention is not limited thereto. 
       FIG. 4  is a flowchart of an embodiment of a data browsing method with at least one sensor of the invention. The data browsing method with at least one sensor of the present invention can be suitable for an electronic device, such as mobile computers, mobile phones, smart phones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), and eBook devices. 
     In step S 410 , a first data content of a plurality of data contents  111  is displayed on the display unit  120 . In the step S 420 , the motion of the electronic device  200  is detected by using the at least one sensor  130 . In step S 430 , a second data content of the plurality of data contents  111  is determined according to the motion of the electronic device  200 , and in step S 440 , the second data content is displayed on the display unit  120 . 
     It should be noted that, in some embodiments, the sensor  130  is arranged for detecting at least one object, such as hands of the user. When the sensor  130  is arranged for detecting the at least one object, the process goes to step S 420 -S 440  of the  FIG. 4 . For example, the electronic device  200  executes the related judgments and actions only when a user holds the electronic device  200 . 
       FIG. 5  is a flowchart of another embodiment of a data browsing method with at least one sensor of the invention. The data browsing method with at least one sensor of the present invention can be suitable for an electronic device, such as mobile computers, mobile phones, smart phones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), and eBook devices. 
     In step S 510 , the display unit  120  is arranged for displaying a first data content of a plurality of data contents  111 . In step S 520 , the tilt angle θt induced by the motion of the electronic device  200  is detected by using the at least one sensor  130 . As described above, when one side of the electronic device  200  is raised, the tilt angle θt induced by the motion of the electronic device  200  is detected by the sensor  130 . In step S 530 , whether the tilt angle θt is larger than a threshold angle is determined by the processing unit  140 . When the tilt angle θt of the electronic device  200  is not larger than the threshold angle (No in step S 530 ), the process goes to the step S 520 . When the tilt angle θt of the electronic device  200  is larger than the threshold angle (Yes in step S 530 ), the process goes to step S 540 . In step S 540 , a second data content of the plurality of data contents  111  according to the tilt angle θt of the electronic device  200  and/or the angular velocity caused by the motion of the electronic device  200  is determined by the processing unit  140 , and then the process goes to step S 550 . In step S 550 , the second data content is displayed on the display unit  120 . 
     Similarly, in some embodiments, the sensor  130  is arranged for detecting at least one object, such as hands of the user. When sensor  130  is arranged for detecting that the at least one object exists, the process goes to step S 520 -S 550  of the  FIG. 5 . 
     It should be noted that, when one side of the electronic device  200  is raised, the sensor  130  can detect the tilt angle θt and the angular velocity caused by the motion of the electronic device  200 . In other words, the velocity of raising one side of the electronic device  200  will also be detected. In some embodiments, the data contents  111  can be arranged in accordance with a specific sequence, as  FIG. 6  shows. The storage unit  110  comprises a plurality of data contents DC 1 ˜DC 5  arranged in accordance with a specific sequence. It should be noted that, in some embodiments, the processing unit  140  is arranged for determining the second data content of the plurality of data contents  111  according to the tilt angle θt. For example, the larger the tilt angle θt, the longer the distance between the first and second data content. In addition, in some embodiments, the processing unit  140  is arranged for determining the second data content according to the angular velocity, such as, when the angular velocity is higher, the distance between the first data content and second data content arranged in accordance with the specific sequence will be longer. For example, when the display unit  120  first displays the first data content which is data content DC 1  when the sensor  130  detects that the motion of the electronic device  200  is raised to the right side RS and a low angular velocity is present during the rising motion, the processing unit  140  is arranged for determining that the data content DC 2  is the second data content. Also, when the sensor  130  detects that the motion of the electronic device  200  is raised to the same right side RS and a high angular velocity is present during the rising motion, the processing unit  140  is arranged for determining that the data content DC 4  is the second data content. Note that, in some embodiments, when data contents  111  is implemented by eBook pages, the motion of raising the right side RS of the electronic device  200  can represent a command of turning to a next page. When data contents  111  is implemented by eBook pages, the motion of raising the left side LS of a corresponding electronic device  200  can represent a command of turning to the front page. 
     In addition to the command of turning pages (turning to the next page and turning to the front page), in some embodiments, raising one side of the electronic device  200  can also execute some specific function. For example, the sensor  130  can detect whether the top side TS or bottom side DS of electronic device  200  is raised. When top side TS or bottom side DS of the electronic device  200  is raised and a specific tilt angle θt is produced, the processing unit  140  executes a specific function, such as a displaying setting adjustment and/or a displaying tag/note. 
       FIG. 7  is a flowchart of another embodiment of a data browsing method with at least one sensor of the invention. The data browsing method with at least one sensor of the present invention can be suitable for an electronic device, such as mobile computers, mobile phones, smart phones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), and eBook devices. 
     In step S 710 , one of the data contents  111  is displayed on the display unit  120 . In step S 720 , the motion of the electronic device  200  is detected by using sensor  130 . In step S 730 , a zooming ratio is determined by the motion of the electronic device  200 . In step S 740 , the data content according to the zooming ratio is zoomed in/out on the display unit  120 . In step S 750 , the zoomed data content of the data contents  111  is displayed on the display unit  120  after zoomed in/out. It should be noted that, in some embodiments, the sensor  130  can be a proximity sensor used to detect the electronic device  200  and a specific object, such as a distance of a human face and electronic device  200 , and the electronic device  200  can determine the zooming ratio according to the distance. For example, when the electronic device  200  is close to a human face, the display unit  120  is arranged for zooming in the data content, and when the electronic device  200  is moved away from the human face, the display unit  120  is arranged for zooming out the data content. Moreover, in some embodiments, the sensor  130  can be a G sensor and a motion sensor used to detect whether the user has removed the electronic device  200  away from the user themselves. Similarly, when the electronic device  200  is close to the user, the display unit  120  can zoom into the data content, and when the electronic device  200  is moved away from the user, the display unit  120  can zoom out from the data content. 
     It should be noted that, the embodiment of  FIG. 7  can be combined with the embodiments of  FIG. 4  or  5 . In the other words, the motion of the electronic device  200  detected by the sensor  130  can control the electronic device  200  to turn pages, execute specific functions and zoom in/out. 
     Therefore, the data browsing system and methods with at least one sensor of the present invention adopted in the electronic device  200  browse data according to the detection result by the sensor  130 , such that the data browsing system and methods with at least one sensor of the present invention provides a more convenient mechanism for data browsing and reduces related system resources, such as power, etc. 
     The data browsing system and methods with at least one sensor, or certain aspects or portions thereof, may take the form of a program code (i.e., executable instructions) embodied in tangible media, such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMS, hard drives, or any other machine-readable storage medium, wherein, when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine thereby becomes an apparatus for practicing the methods. The methods may also be embodied in the form of a program code transmitted over some transmission medium, such as electrical wiring or cabling, through fiber optics, or via any other form of transmission, wherein, when the program code is received and loaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the disclosed methods. When implemented on a general-purpose processor, the program code combines with the processor to provide a unique apparatus that operates analogously to application specific logic circuits. 
     While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. Those who are skilled in this technology can still make various alterations and modifications without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention shall be defined and protected by the following claims and their equivalents.