Abstract:
A wireless remote control device for transmitting control commands to a Bluetooth™ enabled electronic device, such as a television set, an audio player, or a cellular telephone by manipulating the zipper in a garment, handbag or the like. The zipper fastener consists of opposing rows of interlocking teeth attached to a pair of elongated flexible supports and a manually movable sliding traveler that locks and unlocks said teeth at is moves longitudinally along the length of said flexible supports. A sensor is coupled to said zipper fastener for generating a position signal that indicates the current position of said sliding traveler with respect to said supports, and a Bluetooth™ transmitter coupled to said sensor sends control commands indicative of the current position of the slider and the state of a pushbutton attached to the slider.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/636,602 filed Dec. 16, 2004, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to controllers for sending commands to remotely located electronic devices. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In 1917, Gideon Sundback obtained U.S. Pat. No. 1,219,881 for a ‘Separable Fastener’ and designed a manufacturing machine for the fastener. The popular name came from the B. F. Goodrich Company which used the name for on a new type of rubber boots or galoshes and renamed the Sundback fastener the “zipper”. In the 1930&#39;s, the zipper came into widespread when the fashion industry adopted it for garments, handbags, and other items, and continues to be widely used throughout the world. 
     Zippers commonly take one of three different forms. Coil zippers employ a slider (also called the “traveler”) that runs on two coils which form the “teeth” of the zipper. The coils may be in a spiral form, usually with a cord running inside the coils. Metallic zippers use teeth formed from individual shaped pieces of metal attached to a tape support membrane at uniform intervals. Plastic molded zippers are formed like metallic zippers, but the individual teeth are plastic instead of metal, and have the advantage that the plastic can be dyed to the color of the garment. Plastic molded zippers are commonly seen in jackets and backpacks and other items where the zipper is exposed. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,603,327 issued to Leonard et al describes a zip fastener for a garment that includes a pair of electrical contacts at one position along its length such that opening of the zip causes a circuit to open to issue a warning signal. 
     British Patent Application 2,307,346A by McGlone describes a detector consisting of spaced flexible strips which carry contacts and extend down the back of a garment so that, if the wearer bends her back, an alarm is sounded. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,596,955 issued to Eves et al. describes a modified zipper fastener consisting of two strips of fabric which hold arrays of interlocking teeth that are locked and unlocked by the movement of a slider. The fabric establishes electrical connections between adjacent teeth using a conductive thread or conductive ink. Moving the traveler causes an increase or decrease in length of the electrical path through the teeth and the traveler, and therefore a change in resistance, so that the modified zip fastener acts as a potentiometer that can be used, for example, to control the volume of an audio system built into a garment. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention uses a zipper as an input device/interface for a digital remote controller that can be used to control an electronic device that is coupled to the controller by a standard interface, such as a digital USB or wireless communication link using a standard protocol such as the AT command set or the Bluetooth™ Human Interface Device (HID) Profile. 
     More particularly, the present invention is a zipper operated remote controller that can be used to transmit command signals to a Bluetooth™ enabled electronic device, such a television set, an audio player, a cellular phone, a PDA, or the like. 
     A preferred embodiment of the invention takes the form of a Bluetooth™ remote control device for transmitting control commands to a Bluetooth™ enabled electronic device by manipulating the zipper in a garment, handbag or the like. The fastener portion of the zipper is conventional, and consists of opposing rows of interlocking teeth attached to a pair of elongated flexible support membranes (typically fabric tapes) and a manually movable sliding traveler that locks and unlocks the teeth at is moves along the length of the flexible support membranes. A sensor is coupled to the zipper fastener for generating a position signal that indicates the current position of the sliding traveler with respect to the longitudinal support membranes, and a Bluetooth™ transmitter coupled to the sensor sends control commands indicative of the current position of the slider and the state of a manually operated pushbutton switch attached to the slider. 
     The parameters readable from the zipper are the degree of to which the zipper is opened or closed, as well as the velocity or acceleration of the zipper&#39;s slider motion as it is opened or closed. Additionally a button switch attached to the slider enlarges the potential use of the zipper controller by permitting the user to perform additional functions, such as switching between multiple modes, indicating a selection of a particular position, or for other control purposes. When augmented with a button switch, the zipper provides not only signal value which is continuously variable in a range between a totally open and totally closed position, but also permits the user to move the zipper to a selected position and then “select” an output value using the button. Thus, the zipper controller may be used to perform functions often performed by other control devices, such as the scroll wheel on a mouse, a rotary or sliding dial control, or the directional keys on a keyboard or the track pad. Thus, the zipper may be used to accurately control such functions as adjusting the volume on an audio player, selecting a playback position on a recorded voice message or other audio file, or even selecting and entering letters and numbers from an alphabet of available characters, thus operating as a keyboard. 
     These control functions can be provided without detracting from the zipper&#39;s ability to act as a fastener. Thus, for example, the zipper controller may be implemented using zipper that closes a carrying case for an audio player, and also be used as a convenient volume control or to select particular songs, or playback positions within songs, as indicated by a scrolling display on the player. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the detailed description which follows, frequent reference will be made to the attached drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is block schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a side, cross-sectional view illustrating the manner in which a resistive wire interconnects rows of metallic teeth in one embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure and function of the metallic zipper remote control device that implements the invention; and 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure and function of an embodiment of the invention used with a plastic zipper. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The description that follows explains the structure and operation of various preferred embodiments of the invention, including embodiments different kinds of zippers, including zippers with both metallic and plastic teeth, as well as mechanisms for transmitting control signals indicative of the position and/or motion of the zipper&#39;s slider to a utilization device that is coupled to the zipper controller, typically by means of a wireless communication link that implements a standard interface protocol between the zipper controller and the utilization device, such as the Bluetooth HID protocol or the AT command set protocol. 
     The operation of the invention is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . A zipper controller includes a manually movable slider seen at  100  which moves longitudinally along the length of the zipper, either closing the zipper by urging opposing teeth into engagement with one another, or when moved in the opposite direction, opening the zipper by disengaging the teeth. The position of the slider is detected (in various ways to be described) by a position sensing mechanism indicated schematically at  102  in  FIG. 1 . The position sensor delivers a signal to a microcontroller  104  which converts the position signal into suitable form for transmission via a Bluetooth™ transceiver  106  to a Bluetooth™ capable utilization device, illustrated in  FIG. 1  by a Bluetooth™ enabled cellular telephone handset. A manually operated pushbutton  109 , discussed later, is placed on the pull-tab attached to the slider  100 . 
     Controller and Utilization Device Connections Using Standard Protocols 
     The functionality of both portable and fixed electronic devices has been dramatically extended and improved by the advent of improved short range wireless connectivity provided by Bluetooth™ radio transmitters which are now widely incorporated into new electronic devices. The Bluetooth™ radio is built into a small microchip and operates within a globally available frequency band. The Bluetooth™ specification defines two power levels: a lower power mode with a range of about 10 meters for covering a personal area within a room, and a higher power level with a range of about 100 meters covering a larger area, such as a home or office. Software controls and identity coding built into each microchip ensure that only those units preset by their owners can communicate, and provide a mechanism for identifying other devices that are within range. Many remotely controlled electronic devices are coupled to external control devices using the short range Bluetooth™ capability. 
     The Specification of the Bluetooth™ System, Version 2.0 (2004) available at https://www.Bluetooth™.org/spec describes the details of the Bluetooth™ protocol. In addition, the HUMAN INTERFACE DEVICE (HID) PROFILE VERSION 1.0 defines how devices with Bluetooth™™ wireless communications can use the HID Protocol initially to discover the feature set of a human interface device (HID), and then communicate with the HID. A HID (Human Interface Device) is the device providing the service of human data input and output to and from the host. Because the USB specification&#39;s definition of HID includes all devices that report data in a similar fashion to HIDs. Examples of HIDs are mice, joysticks, gamepads, keyboards, and also voltmeters and temperature sensors. The HID is normally the slave in the Bluetooth™ piconet structure. The host is the device using or requesting the services of a Human Interface Device. Examples would be a personal computer, handheld computer, gaming console, industrial machine, or data-recording device. The host is normally the master in the Bluetooth™ piconet structure. Thus, the zipper controller contemplated by the present invention may be advantageously implemented as a Bluetooth™ Human Interface Device conforming top the HID Profile, and in that way perform the functions provided by other kinds of peripheral controllers, such as mice, joysticks and gamepads. 
     Alternatively, a direct serial connection using, for example, a USB port or a serial data RS-232 port, or a USB connection implemented with a wireless link, may be used to transfer control commands directly from the zipper to a connected utilization device. The Bluetooth™ module  108  may be a class 2 module WML-1019 ABN from Mitsumi Electric Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan. The commands may take the form of AT commands of the type originally used by computers to communicate with modems. Since virtually every newer mobile phone has built in wireless modem capabilities, AT commands became the de facto standard language for controlling such devices, mobile phone products and other devices can often be controlled by mapping zipper and zipper button movements to appropriate AT commands or to commands which conform to the HID Protocol noted above. 
     As a further alternative, an infrared communication link conforming to the IrDA Serial Infrared Data Link Standard promulgated by the Infrared Data Association may be used to transfer control commands from the zipper controller to a nearby utilization device. The IRDA data link standard is which is widely used with notebook computers, mobile phones, and other handheld devices communicating over distances up to 1 meter may also be employed. U.S. Pat. No. 6,091,530 issued to Duckworth on Jul. 18, 2000, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a low-cost, low-power, half-duplex communication system that can be used to provide data transfer from the zipper controller to a utilization device. In that system, an LED is used as an infrared emitter and exhibits negligible standby power consumption as well as low power consumption during data transfer. Such an infrared link has the disadvantage that line-of-sight exposure between the controller and the utilization device must exist, limiting its utility to applications in which controller and the utilization device are within view of one another. 
     A Metallic Zipper Controller 
     A first embodiment of the invention uses a metallic zipper in which the metallic zipper teeth are interconnected by a resistance alloy wire which passes between the clamps formed by the metal zipper&#39;s teeth as seen  FIG. 2 . As seen at  202  and  204 , each of the teeth forms a clamp whose upper and lower walls are pressed together to secure the tooth element to the zipper tape seen at  220 . The tooth  202  also clamps and secures a metallic alloy wire  230  which runs longitudinally alone the sequence of teeth including tooth  220  on one side of the zipper, while the tooth  204  claims and secures a metallic alloy wire  235  which extends longitudinally along the other side of the zipper, joining the teeth including tooth  204 . The slider (traveler)  240  is also metallic and provides a conductive pathway for current flowing from the open end of the zipper through the metallic alloy wire  230  to the slider  240  and then along the circuit pathway provided by the metallic alloy wire  235  back to the open end of the zipper. 
     The two metallic alloy wires  230  and  235  establish an electrical connection between each of the zipper elements (e.g. its teeth) and thus across the entire metal zipper. The alloy wires are built into the zipper when it is fabricated at the same time the teeth are clamped to the zipper tape  220 . Alternatively, a pathway providing a resistive electrical connection between each pair of adjacent teeth in the sequence along each side of the zipper may be achieved by sewing one or more resistance alloy wires into the zipper tape. 
     When a single wire is used as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , it may have a maximum diameter of 0.12 mm and consist of a material called ISAOHM® produced by Isabellenhuetten, Dillenburg, Germany, a resistance alloy consisting of nickel, chromium, aluminum, ferric and silicon (NiCr20AISi; DIN Material Code=2.4872). This wire provides an electrical resistivity of around 1.32*10-6 ohms/meter which thereby provides a sufficient change in resistance over the relatively short travel distance of the zipper slider. That specific material also exhibits a high long-term stability and absence of corrosives. 
     A voltage applied across the two open ends of the metallic alloy wire induces a current illustrated by the dashed line arrow  270  seen in  FIG. 3  that flows through the resistive wires  230  and  235  and a electrical connection between these wires created by the slider  204 . The opening and closing of the zipper as the slider  240  moves longitudinally results in a longer and shorter current path length, changing the amount of total resistance presented by the wire segments  230  and  235  which are connected at the slider  240 . The high resistivity of the wire provides a significant increase or decrease of resistance by even the small movements of zipper slider  240 . As seen in  FIG. 3 , the variable resistance presented by the variable length resistive wire in the zipper is connected in series with a fixed resistance  300  across a regulated voltage source. The change in resistance alters the voltage at the junction of the zipper resistance and the fixed resistor  100  which is applied to the input of an analog-to-digital converter  300  (which may be built into the microcontroller  104 ). The microcontroller  104  may be implemented by the BX24 microcontroller available from Netmedia Inc., Tucson, Ariz., USA. The microcontroller chip is programmed to detect voltage level changes in its I/O pin and convert it into a digital value which is transmitted by the Bluetooth™ transceiver  108  to one of various remote electronic computing device using a standard controller interface protocol. 
     A Plastic Zipper Controller 
     A second method uses a different technique that results in a similar outcome: A zipper controller providing an analog output signal which having a value related to position to which the zipper slider is moved. This approach is particularly useful for plastic zippers, but can also be used in conjunction with metal zippers. 
     As seen in  FIG. 4 , an array often Hall effect sensors, two of which are seen at  410 , are attached to the back of the zipper tape near too, but spaced from, the zipper teeth  420 . Each Hall effect sensor produces an output voltage in response to changes in magnetic field density produced by a magnet  425  attached to the back of a moving zipper slider (traveler)  430 . In this application, the Hall effect sensors may be HAL 556 sensors available from Micronas GmBH, Freiburg, Germany. Each Hall effect device is connected between a voltage supply conductor  451  and a grounded connection  452 , and delivers an output voltage to a unique tap location on the resistor chain  440 . Although shown separately in  FIG. 4  for tutorial purposes, the resistor chain  440  may take the form of a resistive wire in the support membrane that connects the Hall effect devices. The Hall effect devices  410  may produce a voltage which continuously increases in magnitude as the magnet  425  draws near, or may be designed to turn ON fully whenever the magnetic flux intensity exceeds a predetermined value. The number of Hall effect sensors  410  determines the granularity (resolution) of the interface. Each Hall effect sensor produces output current that is applied to the junction between two resistors in a chain of series-connected resistors  440 . Each resistor in the series  440  has a fixed value, and the total number of resistors connected between each Hall effect device and the grounded connection  450  determines the magnitude of current flowing through the bottom sensing resistor  460 . 
     As a result, when the zipper fastener is closed, the magnet  425  is closest to and activates the bottom Hall effect device, and the maximum current flows through the sensing resistor in the digital interface module  200  (described earlier in connection with  FIG. 2 ), delivering the maximum voltage to an analog-to-digital converter  303 . In contrast, when the zipper is fully open and the magnet  425  on the traveler  430  is adjacent the topmost Hall Effect device, current flows the all of the resistors in the chain  440 , resulting in only a small current through the sensing resistance  300 . The analog-to-digital converter  303  converts the voltage across the resistance  300  into a digital value, and the microcontroller  104  may be programmed to perform a lookup operation to translate that digital voltage level indication into a numerical position indication. 
     In the arrangement seen in  FIG. 4 , the ten Hall effect sensors thus deliver a numerical position value 0-9. As seen in  FIG. 4 , the corresponding digits 0-9 may be printed as visible indicia on the zipper tape, illustrated by the numeral “9” seen at  450 , serving as a visual position guide to the user. A user may move the slider to a position adjacent one of the numerals and then use the pushbutton switch on the slider pull tab (as illustrated at  101  in  FIG. 1 ) to select that number. A series of numbers may be selected in sequence using the zipper controller to perform a function like entering an access code to unlock an electronic lock, or dialing a telephone number on on Bluetooth enabled phone. 
     The small magnet seen at  425  attached to the back of the zip fastener slider&#39;s body  430  produces sufficient magnetic flux density to trigger each Hall effect sensor as it passes by. The magnet may be a 6×6 mm neodymium magnet from Eclipse Magnetics, Sheffield, England. The magnet  420  triggers each Hall effect device as it passes by, causing a momentary increase in current through the Hall effect sensor, changing in voltage across the connected fixed resistor  300  which is applied to an input of the analog to digital converter  303 . The occurrence of this unique voltage level indicates which Hall effect sensor has been triggered by the proximity of the magnet  425  attached to the traveler. A corresponding digital value is assigned in the microcontroller to each Hall effect sensor. For example if the Hall effect device at the bottom which is triggered when the zipper is completely closed may be assigned the digital output value “9”, while the topmost Hall effect device which is triggered when the zipper is completely open is assigned the value “0” These digital values may then be wirelessly transferred via the Bluetooth™ transceiver  108  to a utilization device which is controlled by the zipper movement using a standard interface protocol. Note that, using Hall effect devices, there is no mechanical abrasion caused by friction of the slider on the resistance wire and other mechanical solutions. Hall effect sensors are designed for hostile industrial and automotive applications. Moreover, the Hall effect devices have no physical contacts and therefore are less error prone. 
     The Button Switch on the Zipper&#39;s Slider 
     Regardless of the mechanism used to detect the position of the zipper slider, it is desirable to attach a button switch to the pull-tab of the zip fastener slider as illustrated at  101  in  FIG. 1  and at  480  in  FIG. 4 . The pressing of the button transmits a command signal via the standard protocol to the utilization device that typically results either in a change of modes or provides a “selection” signal analogous to the button on a mouse. The condition of the button switch may be communicated to the interface module  200  by a direct wire connection, by applying a unique signal to the resistance chain  440 , or may be transferred wirelessly to the microcontroller. For example, button switch may be connected to a RT4-433.9 Radio Frequency Transmitter available from Telecontrolli SpA, Italy, and a RR 10 receiver also from Telecontrolli SpA may be placed in the interface module  200  and connected to the microcontroller. The Button switch and transmitter may be powered using a rechargeable battery such as a Lithium-Polymer cell e.g. UBC641739 from Ultralife Batteries Inc, Newark, N.Y., USA. These parts (not shown) are attached on the back of the zipper&#39;s slider  430 . 
     Commercial Applications 
     By combining an analog output control based on slider position with an On-Off selector control using the button switch, the zipper controller may be used to perform many tasks typically performed by traditional interface devices such as a mouse or track pad. The enhanced zipper allows the gradual or analog selection of particular options, such as it those presented by an audio device playlist or song list, or the menu of available telephone numbers in a cellular phone directory. 
     The mechanism described may be used to control a utilization device based on the whether or not a zipper is open or closed. For example, a cellular phone may be placed in a carrying bag or purse with a zipper closure. If the zipper is closed, the zipper controller may be used to control the ring tone of the cellular phone so that it rings more loudly; whereas, if the zipper is open, indicating that the bag is open, the ring tone volume may be reduced. In this way, the user is more likely to hear the louder ring tone when the cellular phone is stored within the closed carrying bag, but the ring tone level is reduced automatically if the bag is unzipped. 
     The zipper controller may be used in bag or pocket to define the ring tone intensity of a mobile phone carried in the bag. While an open zipper on an open bag or pocket results in the loudest possible ring sound, the closing of the zipper decreases the sound level until finally a completely closed zipper “suffocates” the ring sound. This state can also activate silent cues such as embedded lights or a wearable vibrating motor to alert the user without using sound. The opening of the zipper results in an decreased sound level until finally a completely opened zipper results in the normal operating sound level used when the phone is in normal use. 
     A zipper controller may be used in bag or pocket to define the amount of personal information to be revealed in electronic business cards sent by mobile phones. The more the zipper is opened the more the user exposes personal information. The user may position the slider to define the degree of information is to be revealed, and then presses the button switch on the zipper&#39;s slider in order to transmit the information. 
     Opening the zipper and opening a pocket works well as a metaphor for taking out wallet and thus paying. The degree of opening determines the price intended to pay. The above-described modified zipper can be thus used in bag or pocket to bid in auctions, indicating intentions of paying a specific price or simply paying at all while being in a mobile environment. This is used in conjunction with a mobile or PDA, which works as visual display for the transaction. 
     When used with a mobile phone or PDA in which the screen resolution is limited, the zipper provides an alternative method to scroll through large collections of text, such as phone directory or a document. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 4  which shows how a zipper select a letter of the alphabet by positioning the slider next to a printed character and pressing the slider pushbutton to select that character. Alternatively, the zipper may be used to scroll through a nested list of displayed characters shown, for example, on a PDA or cellular phone display. Used in combination with a word prediction algorithm, this method of spelling small amounts of text is competitive to traditional key based entry methods. 
     CONCLUSION 
     It is to be understood that the methods and apparatus which have been described above are merely illustrative applications of the principles of the invention. Numerous modifications may be made by those skilled in the are without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.