Patent Publication Number: US-11392239-B1

Title: Remote interface for hand-held smart devices

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates generally to remote interfaces. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a remote interface for smart electronic hand-held devices including a touchpad for detecting fingertip touch, tap, and gesture movements, a control module for generating a cursor on the hand-held device that tracks detected fingertip touch, tap, and gesture movement, and a band for removably attaching the touchpad to a surface, such as the back of the hand-held device 
     BACKGROUND 
     An increasingly popular form of electronic devices is the hand-held smart electronic device. Devices of this type include smartphones, tablet computers, palm or hand-held personal computers, personal digital assistants, portable video players, and portable audio players. One specific example of such a device is the iPhone® from Apple, Inc. In this class of device, a user interacts with the graphic user interface (GUI) of the device to perform and execute tasks via finger-based touch inputs on the display screen of the device. To operate the device, a user must touch the display screen of the device directly. This is disadvantageous because having to manipulate the device directly does not allow the user to control the device remotely or simply via a different more preferential means, such as by a remote touchpad. Indeed, many individuals would prefer to manipulate the GUI of the phone using a cursor such as on a computer so as to operate the device remotely and not have to touch the display screen. Moreover, this is disadvantageous because over time, the constant and repetitive touching, scrolling, and gesturing on the display screen damages the touch sensitive capabilities of the hand-held device. 
     Additionally, one-handed operation of these devices is usually awkward and difficult, especially if the device is bigger or the user has smaller hands. Indeed, when operating these devices with one hand, typically only the thumb is available to manipulate the GUI, as the rest of the hand is cradling the device. Using only the thumb to operate a GUI is difficult because the thumb may not reach across the entire screen, leaving the user no other option than to awkwardly contort or bend their thumb to reach certain portions of the GUI. Thus, users must typically operate these devices with two hands. One hand to hold the phone and the other hand to manipulate the GUI. This is disadvantageous because having to use both hands to operate these devices is inconvenient and impractical in many situations. Indeed, users need a solution that provides them with the ability to operate these devices comfortably and ergonomically with one hand while leaving the other hand free to conduct other tasks if required. 
     Accordingly, there is a need for a remote interface for smart electronic hand-held devices that includes a touchpad for detecting fingertip, touch, tap, and gesture movements, a control module for generating a cursor on the hand-held device that tracks detected fingertip touch, tap, and gesture movement, and a band for removably attaching the touchpad to a remote surface such as the back of the smart electronic device to allow a user to operate the device comfortably with one hand. 
     While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose employed, or for general use, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present disclosure as disclosed hereafter. 
     In the present disclosure, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which the present disclosure is concerned. 
     While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate the present disclosure, no technical aspects are disclaimed and it is contemplated that the claims may encompass one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     An aspect of an example embodiment in the present disclosure is to provide a remote interface having a touch sensitive surface that detects finger movements. Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a remote interface including a touchpad having a tactile surface configured to detect fingertip touch, tap, and gesture movements. 
     An aspect of an example embodiment in the present disclosure is to provide a remote interface that enables a user to interact with the GUI of a smart electronic hand-held device remotely. Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a remote interface including a control module configured to generate a cursor on the GUI of a smart electronic hand-held device that tracks fingertip touch and gesture movements detected by the touchpad, thereby enabling a user to manipulate the GUI of the smart electronic hand-held device with the cursor to perform and execute tasks on the smart electronic hand-held device. 
     An aspect of an example embodiment in the present disclosure is to provide a remote interface that enables a user to manipulate the GUI of a smart electronic device with one hand and with the same portion of the hand that is cradling the device. Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a remote interface and a case, wherein the case is attachable to the back of the phone and the remote interface is attachable to the case so as to position the remote interface on the back of the smart electronic device, thereby enabling one-handed manipulation of the GUI of the smart electronic device from the rear of the device. 
     An aspect of an example embodiment in the present disclosure is to provide a remote interface including a fastening mechanism for removably attaching the remote interface to a surface. Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a band including a fastener that attaches the remote interface flush on a surface and orients the touchpad upwardly, thereby enabling a user to mount the remote interface to a remote surface so as to operate a smart electronic hand-held device remotely. 
     An aspect of an example embodiment in the present disclosure is to provide a remote interface including a touch sensitive surface that is rotatable so as to enable a user to orient the touch sensitive surface in a direction that corresponds to the directionality of the GUI of the smart electronic hand-held device. Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a remote interface including a touchpad that is rotatable about a body of the remote interface. 
     An aspect of an example embodiment in the present disclosure is to provide a remote interface including a means for indicating the directionality of the touch sensitive surface. Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a remote interface including an indicator showing the directionality of the touch sensitive surface. 
     An aspect of an example embodiment in the present disclosure is to provide a remote interface including a means for fastening the remote interface to itself around an object. Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a remote interface including a pair of straps each having a fastener configured to removably engage when positioned against each other. 
     The present disclosure addresses at least one of the foregoing disadvantages. However, it is contemplated that the present disclosure may prove useful in addressing other problems and deficiencies in a number of technical areas. Therefore, the claims should not necessarily be construed as limited to addressing any of the particular problems or deficiencies discussed hereinabove. To the accomplishment of the above, this disclosure may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Attention is called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only. Variations are contemplated as being part of the disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the drawings, like elements are depicted by like reference numerals. The drawings are briefly described as follows. 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded view of a remote interface removably attached to a smartphone case that is mounting onto a smartphone, illustrating how the remote interface attaches to a remote surface according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the remote interface being employed by a user to manipulate the GUI of a smartphone with the cursor generated by the control module of the remote interface, illustrating how fingertip motion and gestures detected by the touchpad are communicated wirelessly to the hand-held device to control the cursor and select items on the GUI according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the remote interface being manipulated by a user illustrating how the touchpad rotates about the body according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3A  is a cross-sectional view of the remote interface illustrating how the touchpad is connected to the body according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a top view of the remote interface being manipulated by a user illustrating how the remote interface is configured to fasten to a finger thereby enabling remote utilization of the touchpad by a user according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  shows a plan view of the remote interface removably attached to a smartphone case and being manipulated by a user, illustrating how the remote interface attaches to a remote surface and how the touchpad can be utilized once attached to the remote surface according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 6  shows a block diagram of the remote interface illustrating the components of the control module in communication with a smartphone according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     The present disclosure now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show various example embodiments. However, the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the example embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these example embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure is thorough, complete and fully conveys the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the present disclosure provides a remote interface  10  that is configured to removably attach to a surface that is remote relative to a smart electronic hand-held device  13 . For example, in embodiments, the remote interface  10  is configured to removably attach to the rear surface  11 A of a case  11  of a smart electronic hand-held device  13 . In some embodiments, the remote interface  10  includes the case  11  for providing a means for positioning the remote interface  10  on the back of the smart electronic hand-held device  13 . The case  11  is configured to mount onto the back of the smart electronic hand-held device  13  as do smart electronic device cases known in the art. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , the remote interface  10  includes a touchpad  12 , a body  14  (not shown) a band  16 , a fastener  17 , and a control module  19  for remote communication with a transceiver  27  of the smart electronic hand-held device  13 . The touchpad  12  includes a sensitive surface configured to detect finger touch and gesture motions or movements made on the touchpad  12  as well as register taps, clicks, and the like made on the touchpad  12 . The sensitive surface comprises any known sensitive surface that detects hand or fingertip motions, movements, and pressure exerted thereon. For example, in one embodiment, the touch sensitive surface comprises a tactile surface including a tactile senor that comprises a capacitive touch sensor. In another embodiment, the tactile senor comprises a conductive touch sensor. 
     The control module  19  communicates wirelessly with the smart electronic hand-held device  13  via Bluetooth or any other known wireless protocols, such as Wi-Fi, WLAN, WPA, WEP, and wireless broadband. In embodiments, the control module  19  comprises a wireless transceiver  48  (not shown) that transmits a wireless signal including fingertip touch, tap, click, and gesture movement data detected by the touchpad  12  to the smart electronic hand-held device. The control module  19  generates a cursor  21  on the GUI  23  that tracks the detected fingertip touch, tap, click, and gesture movements provided in the data. In this way, a user may manipulate the GUI with the cursor  21 , select items/applications  29  on the GUI, and execute functions and commands with the cursor  21  without having to touch the display screen or touchscreen of the smart electronic hand-held device  13 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 6 , in embodiments, the control module  19  comprises a processor  42  coupled to the touchpad  12 , a memory  44 , and a logic  46  stored on the memory  44 . In operation, when the logic  46  is executed by the processor  42 , the logic  46  causes the cursor  21  to be generated on the GUI  23  of the smart electronic hand-held device  13 . The logic  46  causes the cursor  21  to mimic fingertip touch, tap, click, and gesture movement data detected by the touchpad  12  and transmitted by the wireless transceiver  48  on the GUI  23  of the smart electronic hand-held device  13 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3A , the touchpad  12  is coupled to the body  14 . The body  14  includes an upper end  15 , a lower end  31 , and a first side  38  opposing a second side  40 . The touchpad  12  is rotatably mounted onto the upper end  15  of the body  14 , such that the touchpad  12  may rotate axially about the body  14 . In one embodiment, the touchpad  12  and the body  14  are coaxial relative to each other. In another embodiment, the touchpad  12  and the body  14  are concentrically aligned. In yet another embodiment, the touchpad  12  and body  14  are circular in shape. In one embodiment, the lower end  31  of the body  14  comprises a flat surface so that the body  14  may rest flush on a surface when the remote interface  10  is attached to the surface. 
     In embodiments, the remote interface  10  includes a bezel  18  affixed to a perimeter edge of the touchpad  12 . The bezel  18  extends annularly around the touchpad  12  and body  14 . The bezel  18  circumscribes the touchpad  12  and extends outwardly from the touchpad  12 . The touchpad  12  is raised or stepped relative to the bezel  18 , such that the touchpad  12  is elevated relative to the bezel  18 . In this way, the bezel  18  does not interfere with use of the touchpad  12 . The bezel  18  extends outwardly relative to the body  14  enabling a user to grasp and manipulate the bezel  18  to rotate the touchpad axially about the body  14 . In one embodiment, the bezel  18  rotatably couples the touchpad  12  to the body  14 . In this embodiment, the bezel  18  is coupled to a groove  20  annularly disposed about the body  14 . The groove  20  contains the bezel  18  therein and enables rotation of the bezel  18  within the groove  20 . 
     In embodiments, the control module comprises a calibration module configured to calibrate the orientation of the touchpad  12  in relation to the GUI of the smart electronic hand-held device. In this way, the directionality of the touchpad  12  and the directionality of the cursor in relation to the GUI correspond regardless of the orientation of the touchpad  12  about the body  14 . In one embodiment, the calibration module comprises a gyroscope. 
     In embodiments, the band  16  comprises a first strap  16 A and a second strap  16 B. The first strap  16 A includes a proximal end  22 , a free distal end  24 , a top side  26 , and a bottom side  28 . The second strap  16 B includes a proximal end  30 , a free distal end  32 , a top side  34 , and a bottom side  36 . The proximal end  22  of the first strap  16 A is attached to a first side  38  of the body  14 . The proximal end  30  of the second strap  16 B is attached to a second side  40  of the body  14 . The first strap  16 A extends outwardly from the first side  38  of the body  14 . The first strap  16 A is pivotally connected to the first side  38  of the body  14  such that the first strap  16 A may pivot relative to the body  14 . The second strap  16 B extends outwardly from the second side  40  of the body. The second strap  16 B is pivotally connected to the second side  40  of the body  14  such that the second strap  16 B may pivot relative to the body  14 . In one embodiment, the first strap  16 A tapers from its proximal end  22  to its free distal end  24  and the second straps  16 B tapers from its proximal end  30  to its free distal end  32 . 
     In embodiments, the fastener  17  comprises a first fastener  17 A disposed on the free distal end  24  of the first strap  16 A and a second fastener  17 B disposed on the free distal end  32  of the second strap  16 B. The first fastener  17 A faces away from the bottom side  28  of the first strap  16 A and the second fastener  17 B faces away from the bottom side  36  of the second strap  16 B. The first and second fasteners  17 A,  17 B fasten to a surface when positioned against the surface. In this way, the first and second fasteners  17 A,  17 B position the body  14  and band  16  flush against the surface, orienting the touchpad upwardly relative to the surface for accessibility by a user. In one embodiment, the first and second fasteners  17 A,  17 B are circumscribed by the edges of the first and second straps  16 A,  16 B, respectively. In another embodiment, the first and second fasteners  17 A,  17 B attach to each other when the free distal end  24  of the first fastener  17 A and the free distal end  32  of the second fastener  17 B are positioned against each other. In embodiments, the first and second fasteners  17 A,  17 B comprise magnets. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , in embodiments, the remote interface  10  comprises an indicator  25  coupled to the touchpad  12  and bezel  18 . The indicator  25  provides a visual indication of the directionality of the touchpad  12 . In other words, the indicator  25  indicates which direction on the touchpad  12  is up, down, left, and right. In this way, a user knows how to engage the touchpad  12 , such that the direction of movement on the touchpad  12  corresponds with the direction of movement of the cursor on the display screen and GUI of the hand-held device. Moreover, the indicator  25  enables a user to keep track of the orientation of the touchpad  12  when the touchpad  12  is rotated about the body. In this way, a user may adjust the position of the touchpad  12  based on the indictor  25  after the remote interface  10  has been mounted onto a surface such that the directionality of the touchpad  12  corresponds to the directionality of the GUI. In some embodiments, the indicator  25  is a virtual indicator disposed on the touchpad  12  that virtually displays the upward direction of the touchpad  12 . In other embodiment, the indicator  25  is indicia disposed on the sensitive surface of the touchpad  12  that shows the upwards direction of the touchpad  12 . In one embodiment, the indicia is an arrow that points in the upwards direction of the touchpad  12 . In another embodiment, the indicia is a compass rose indicating up, down, left, and right in place of north, south, west, and east, respectively. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , in one operation of the remote interface  10 , a user fastens the band  16  around a finger, such as the index finger, to operate a smart electronic hand-held device remotely. Once fastened to the finger, the user may rotate the touchpad  12  by rotating the bezel  18  about the body of the remote interface  10 . In this way, the user may rotate the touchpad  12  to a desired directionality of the touchpad  12 . The indicator  25  shows the orientation of the touchpad  12  such that the user may keep track of the directionality of the cursor as they control the hand-held device remotely. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , in another operation of the remote interface  10 , a user fastens the straps  16 A,  16 B to the back of the smart electronic hand-held device  13  widthwise via the case  11 , such that the straps  16 A,  16 B, and the body  14  (see  FIG. 3A ) rest flush with the surface of the case  11 . The rear surface  11 A of the case  11  includes a ferromagnetic material, such as metal or the like, that enables the magnets of the first and second fastener  17 A,  17 B to magnetically attach to any portion of the rear surface  11 A of the case  11 . In this way, a user may position the remote interface  10  anywhere on the rear surface  11 A of the case  11  and in various orientations on the rear surface  11 A of the case  11  to accommodate user preferences. The remote interface  10  includes a longitudinal length that is smaller than a width of the case  11 , such that when positioned on the rear surface  11 A of the case  11 , the band  16  does not extend past the edges of the case  11 . In other words, the rear surface  11 A is larger than the span of the remote interface  10 , including the band  16 . 
     Once, the remote interface is positioned on the back of the phone via the case, the user then rotates the bezel  18  so as to move the touchpad  12  until the indicator  25  points in the same upwards directions as the GUI of the smart electronic hand-held device  13 . In this way, the user may operate the smart electronic hand-held device  13  from the back without having to touch the display smart electronic hand-held device  13 . 
     It is understood that when an element is referred hereinabove as being “on” another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may be present therebetween. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on” another element, there are no intervening elements present. 
     Moreover, any components or materials can be formed from a same, structurally continuous piece or separately fabricated and connected. 
     It is further understood that, although ordinal terms, such as, “first,” “second,” “third,” are used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another element, component, region, layer or section. Thus, “a first element,” “component,” “region,” “layer” or “section” discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings herein. 
     Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper” and the like, are used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature&#39;s relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It is understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device can be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly. 
     Example embodiments are described herein with reference to cross section illustrations that are schematic illustrations of idealized embodiments. As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, example embodiments described herein should not be construed as limited to the particular shapes of regions as illustrated herein, but are to include deviations in shapes that result, for example, from manufacturing. For example, a region illustrated or described as flat may, typically, have rough and/or nonlinear features. Moreover, sharp angles that are illustrated may be rounded. Thus, the regions illustrated in the figures are schematic in nature and their shapes are not intended to illustrate the precise shape of a region and are not intended to limit the scope of the present claims. 
     As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied as a system, method or computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon. 
     Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s), e.g., logic, may be utilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium (including, but not limited to, non-transitory computer readable storage media). A computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readable storage medium would include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus or device. 
     A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus or device. 
     Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing. 
     Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. Other types of languages include XML, XBRL and HTML5. The program code may execute entirely on the user&#39;s computer, partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user&#39;s computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). 
     Aspects of the present disclosure are described below with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the disclosure. Each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. Each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions. 
     The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the disclosure and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. 
     The flow diagrams depicted herein are just one example. There may be many variations to this diagram or the steps (or operations) described therein without departing from the spirit of the disclosure. For instance, the steps may be performed in a differing order and/or steps may be added, deleted and/or modified. All of these variations are considered a part of the claimed disclosure. 
     In conclusion, herein is presented a remote interface for hand-held smart devices. The disclosure is illustrated by example in the drawing figures, and throughout the written description. It should be understood that numerous variations are possible, while adhering to the inventive concept. Such variations are contemplated as being a part of the present disclosure.