PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-9588643-B2
Application Number: US-201414575051-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Electronic devices with hand detection circuitry

Abstract:
An electronic device may include a touch-sensitive display and sensor circuitry that detects whether a user&#39;s right hand or left hand is being used to operate the touch-sensitive display. Control circuitry may arrange icons and virtual buttons on the touch-sensitive display based on which hand is being used to provide touch input to the touch-sensitive display. For example, when the sensor circuitry detects a user operating the electronic device with his or her left hand, the control circuitry may position icons and virtual buttons closer to the left edge of the touch-sensitive display so that the icons and virtual buttons are easier to reach with the user&#39;s left hand. The sensor circuitry may include one or more touch sensors, proximity sensors, fingerprint sensors, motion sensors, or other suitable sensors capable of gathering information about which hand is being used to operate the electronic device.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic device, comprising:
 at least one sensor that gathers sensor data; 
 control circuitry that determines whether the electronic device is being operated by a left hand or a right hand of a user based on the sensor data; and 
 a touch-sensitive display that displays a virtual button, wherein the control circuitry positions the virtual button on the touch-sensitive display based on whether the electronic device is being operated by the left hand or the right hand of the user, wherein the at least one sensor comprises a fingerprint sensor that determines an angle of a fingerprint on the fingerprint sensor relative to an axis, and wherein the control circuitry determines whether the electronic device is being operated by a left hand or a right hand based on the angle of the fingerprint. 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the at least one sensor comprises a motion sensor. 
     
     
       3. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the at least one sensor comprises a touch sensor. 
     
     
       4. The electronic device defined in  claim 3  wherein the touch sensor comprises an array of capacitive touch sensor electrodes that forms part of the touch-sensitive display. 
     
     
       5. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the electronic device has first and second opposing sides and wherein the at least one sensor comprises a first touch sensor on the first side and a second touch sensor on the second side. 
     
     
       6. The electronic device defined in  claim 5  wherein the first and second touch sensors comprise first and second capacitive touch sensors on opposing sides of the touch-sensitive display. 
     
     
       7. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the electronic device has first and second opposing sides and wherein the at least one sensor comprises a first proximity sensor on the first side and a second proximity sensor on the second side. 
     
     
       8. The electronic device defined in  claim 7  wherein the first and second proximity sensors comprise first and second light-based proximity sensors. 
     
     
       9. A method for operating an electronic device, comprising:
 with at least one sensor in the electronic device, gathering sensor data; 
 with control circuitry in the electronic device, determining whether the electronic device is being operated by a right hand or a left hand of a user based on the sensor data; and 
 with the control circuitry, positioning a virtual button on a touch-sensitive display based on whether the electronic device is being operated by the right hand or the left hand of the user, wherein the at least one sensor comprises a motion sensor, wherein gathering the sensor data comprises detecting a rotation of the electronic device, and wherein determining whether the electronic device is being operated by the right hand or the left hand of the user comprises determining whether the rotation is a clockwise rotation or a counterclockwise rotation. 
 
     
     
       10. The method defined in  claim 9  wherein the at least one sensor comprises a touch sensor that gathers touch input from a user and wherein gathering the sensor data comprises detecting a pattern in the touch input. 
     
     
       11. The method defined in  claim 9  wherein the at least one sensor comprises a fingerprint sensor and wherein gathering the sensor data comprises gathering fingerprint information. 
     
     
       12. The method defined in  claim 11  wherein determining whether the electronic device is being operated by the right hand or the left hand of the user comprises determining an orientation of a thumbprint. 
     
     
       13. The method defined in  claim 9  wherein the electronic device comprises first and second opposing sides, wherein the at least one sensor comprises a first sensor on the first side and a second sensor on the second side, and wherein determining whether the electronic device is being operated by the right hand or the left hand of the user comprises comparing information from the first sensor and the second sensor. 
     
     
       14. A method for operating a portable electronic device having first and second opposing sides and having a touch-sensitive display, comprising:
 with at least one light-based proximity sensor, gathering sensor data; 
 with control circuitry, comparing a first surface area covered on the first side of the electronic device with a second surface area covered on the second side of the electronic device based on the sensor data; 
 determining whether the touch-sensitive display is being operated by a left hand or a right hand based on the sensor data; and 
 arranging icons on the touch-sensitive display based on whether the electronic device is being operated by the left hand or the right hand. 
 
     
     
       15. The method defined in  claim 14  wherein the touch-sensitive display has first and second opposing edges, the method further comprising:
 in response to determining that the touch-sensitive display is being operated by the left hand, arranging the icons along the first edge of the touch-sensitive display. 
 
     
     
       16. The method defined in  claim 15  further comprising:
 in response to determining that the touch-sensitive display is being operated by the right hand, arranging the icons along the right edge of the touch-sensitive display. 
 
     
     
       17. The method defined in  claim 14  wherein the at least one light-based proximity sensor comprises a first light-based proximity sensor on a first edge of the portable electronic device and a second light-based proximity sensor on an opposing second edge of the portable electronic device.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     This relates generally to electronic devices and, more particularly, to electronic devices with hand detection circuitry. 
     Electronic devices often include touch screen displays. In a typical configuration, a touch screen display serves as the primary user input mechanism for an electronic device. For example, a portable electronic device may include a small number of physical buttons for performing a specific set of input functions and a touch screen display for performing a much larger and more dynamic set of input functions. The touch screen display typically displays user interface elements such as icons and virtual buttons that, when touched by a user, perform a desired action. 
     Portable electronic devices such as handheld computing devices are often held in and operated with one hand. For example, a user often holds an electronic device in the palm of his or her hand while using the thumb of that hand to interact with the touch screen display. Even when an electronic device is held in two hands, a user will tend to use one hand to provide touch input to the touch screen display. 
     For some users, it can be difficult to reach the entirety of a touch screen display with one hand. For example, a left handed user may easily be able to reach icons along the left edge of the display but may find it difficult to reach icons along the right edge of the display. 
     Some electronic devices have made one-handed use easier by allowing for a one-handed mode in which icons near the upper edge of a display are lowered to be closer to the lower edge of the display. This type of adjustment makes it easier for a user to reach the icons with his or her thumbs. However, because conventional electronic devices do not take into account which hand is being used, some icons may still be difficult to reach with one hand even when lowered to the bottom portion of the display. 
     It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved electronic devices for one-handed use. 
     SUMMARY 
     An electronic device may include a touch-sensitive display and sensor circuitry that detects whether a user&#39;s right hand or left hand is being used to operate the touch-sensitive display. Control circuitry in the electronic device may arrange icons and virtual buttons on the touch-sensitive display based on which hand is being used to provide touch input to the touch-sensitive display. 
     For example, when the sensor circuitry detects a user operating the electronic device with his or her left hand, the control circuitry may position icons and virtual buttons closer to the left edge of the touch-sensitive display so that the icons and virtual buttons are easier to reach with the user&#39;s left hand. Similarly, when the sensor circuitry detects a user operating the electronic device with his or her right hand, the control circuitry may position icons and virtual buttons closer to the right side of the display. 
     The sensor circuitry may include one or more touch sensors, proximity sensors, fingerprint sensors, motion sensors, or other suitable sensors capable of gathering information on which hand is being used to operate the electronic device. 
     A motion sensor may detect a rotation of the electronic device as a user moves the electronic device from one position (e.g., the user&#39;s pocket) to a another position (e.g., near the user&#39;s ear). The rotation may be indicative of which hand is being used to hold and operate the electronic device. 
     Sensors along opposite sides of the electronic device may be used to gather information about how the device itself is being held, which in turn can be used to determine whether the electronic device is in a user&#39;s left or right hand. The sensors may include a first touch or proximity sensor on a first side of the electronic device and a second touch or proximity sensor on a second side of the electronic device. 
     A touch sensor may be used to detect a pattern of touch input which can in turn be indicative of the arc path followed by a user&#39;s thumb during one-handed operation. The arc path information may in turn be used to determine which hand is being used to provide touch input to the electronic device. 
     A fingerprint sensor may be used to detect the orientation of a user&#39;s finger, which can in turn be used to determine whether the fingerprint is associated with a user&#39;s left or right hand. For example, the angle at which a fingerprint (e.g., a thumbprint) is oriented and/or the orientation of ridges in a fingerprint may be used to determine which hand is being used to operate the electronic device. 
     Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantages will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device of the type that may be provided with hand detection circuitry in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device having hand detection circuitry in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional side view of an electronic device showing illustrative sensors that may be used in detecting which hand is being used to operate the electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4A  is a diagram illustrating how the orientation of an electronic device when the electronic device is not in use can be indicative of which hand is typically used to operate the electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4B  is a diagram illustrating how the electronic device of  FIG. 4A  may rotate in a predictable manner when moved from the user&#39;s pocket to a position near the user&#39;s ear in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5A  is a diagram illustrating how sensors along the sides of an electronic device can detect when a user is holding the electronic device with his or her left hand in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5B  is a diagram illustrating how sensors along the sides of an electronic device can detect when a user is operating the electronic device with his or her right hand in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6A  is a diagram illustrating how a touch sensor in an electronic device can be used to detect when a user is operating the electronic device with his or her left hand in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6B  is a diagram illustrating how a touch sensor in an electronic device can be used to detect when a user is operating the electronic device with his or her right hand in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7A  is a diagram illustrating how a fingerprint sensor in an electronic device can detect when a user is operating the electronic device with his or her left hand in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7B  is a diagram illustrating how a fingerprint sensor in an electronic device can detect when a user is operating the electronic device with his or her right hand in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8A  is a diagram illustrating how user interface elements may be presented for a user operating the electronic device with his or her left hand in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8B  is a diagram illustrating how user interface elements may be presented for a user operating the electronic device with his or her right hand in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9A  is a diagram illustrating how virtual buttons can be positioned closer to the left edge of a display when the user is operating an electronic device with his or her left hand in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9B  is a diagram illustrating how virtual buttons can be positioned closer to the right edge of a display when the user is operating an electronic device with his or her right hand in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in operating an electronic device with hand detection circuitry in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An illustrative electronic device that may be provided with hand detection circuitry is shown in  FIG. 1 . Electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1  may be a handheld electronic device or other electronic device. For example, electronic device  10  may be a cellular telephone, media player, or other handheld portable device, a somewhat smaller portable device such as a wrist-watch device, pendant device, or other wearable or miniature device, gaming equipment, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a desktop computer, a television, a computer monitor, a computer integrated into a computer display, or other electronic equipment. 
     In the example of  FIG. 1 , device  10  includes a display such as display  14 . Display  14  has been mounted in a housing such as housing  12 . Housing  12 , which may sometimes be referred to as an enclosure or case, may be formed of plastic, glass, ceramics, fiber composites, metal (e.g., stainless steel, aluminum, etc.), other suitable materials, or a combination of any two or more of these materials. Housing  12  may be formed using a unibody configuration in which some or all of housing  12  is machined or molded as a single structure or may be formed using multiple structures (e.g., an internal frame structure, one or more structures that form exterior housing surfaces, etc.). 
     Display  14  may be a touch screen display that incorporates a layer of conductive capacitive touch sensor electrodes or other touch sensor components (e.g., resistive touch sensor components, acoustic touch sensor components, force-based touch sensor components, light-based touch sensor components, etc.) or may be a display that is not touch-sensitive. Capacitive touch screen electrodes may be formed from an array of indium tin oxide pads or other transparent conductive structures. 
     Display  14  may include an array of display pixels formed from liquid crystal display (LCD) components, an array of electrophoretic display pixels, an array of plasma display pixels, an array of organic light-emitting diode display pixels, an array of electrowetting display pixels, or display pixels based on other display technologies. The brightness of display  14  may be adjustable. For example, display  14  may include a backlight unit formed from a light source such as a lamp or light-emitting diodes that can be used to increase or decrease display backlight levels and thereby adjust display brightness. Display  14  may also include organic light-emitting diode pixels or other pixels with adjustable intensities. In this type of display, display brightness can be adjusted by adjusting the intensities of drive signals used to control individual display pixels. 
     Display  14  may be protected using a display cover layer such as a layer of transparent glass or clear plastic. Openings may be formed in the display cover layer. For example, an opening may be formed in the display cover layer to accommodate a button such as button  16 . An opening may also be formed in the display cover layer to accommodate ports such as speaker port  18 . 
     In the center of display  14 , display  14  may contain an array of active display pixels. This region is sometimes referred to as the active area of the display. A rectangular ring-shaped region surrounding the periphery of the active display region may not contain any active display pixels and may therefore sometimes be referred to as the inactive area of the display. The display cover layer or other display layers in display  14  may be provided with an opaque masking layer in the inactive region to hide internal components from view by a user. 
     A schematic diagram of device  10  is shown in  FIG. 2 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , electronic device  10  may include control circuitry such as storage and processing circuitry  40 . Storage and processing circuitry  40  may include one or more different types of storage such as hard disk drive storage, nonvolatile memory (e.g., flash memory or other electrically-programmable-read-only memory), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random-access-memory), etc. Processing circuitry in storage and processing circuitry  40  may be used in controlling the operation of device  10 . The processing circuitry may be based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, baseband processor integrated circuits, application specific integrated circuits, etc. 
     With one suitable arrangement, storage and processing circuitry  40  may be used to run software on device  10  such as internet browsing applications, email applications, media playback applications, activity logging applications, fitness applications, operating system functions, software for capturing and processing images, software implementing functions associated with gathering and processing sensor data, software that makes adjustments to display brightness and touch sensor functionality, etc. 
     To support interactions with external equipment, storage and processing circuitry  40  may be used in implementing communications protocols. Communications protocols that may be implemented using storage and processing circuitry  40  include internet protocols, wireless local area network protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.11 protocols—sometimes referred to as WiFi®), protocols for other short-range wireless communications links such as the Bluetooth® protocol, etc. 
     Input-output circuitry  32  may be used to allow input to be supplied to device  10  from a user or external devices and to allow output to be provided from device  10  to the user or external devices. 
     Input-output circuitry  32  may include wired and wireless communications circuitry  34 . Communications circuitry  34  may include radio-frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry formed from one or more integrated circuits, power amplifier circuitry, low-noise input amplifiers, passive RF components, one or more antennas, and other circuitry for handling RF wireless signals. Wireless signals can also be sent using light (e.g., using infrared communications). As shown in  FIG. 2 , circuitry  34  may include one or more radio-frequency transceivers such as cellular telephone transceiver circuitry  42  (e.g., one or more cellular telephone transmitters and/or receivers), IEEE 802.11 (WiFi®) transceiver circuitry  44  (e.g., one or more wireless local area network transmitters and/or receivers), Bluetooth® transceiver circuitry  46  such as a Bluetooth® Low Energy (Bluetooth LE) transmitter and/or receiver, and satellite navigation system receiver circuitry  48  (e.g., a Global Positioning System receiver or other satellite navigation system receiver). 
     Input-output circuitry  32  may include input-output devices  36  such as buttons, joysticks, click wheels, scrolling wheels, touch screens, other components with touch sensors such as track pads or touch-sensor-based buttons, vibrators, audio components such as microphones and speakers, image capture devices such as a camera module having an image sensor and a corresponding lens system, keyboards, status-indicator lights, tone generators, key pads, keyboards and other equipment for gathering input from a user or other external source and/or generating output for a user. 
     Sensor circuitry such as sensors  38  of  FIG. 2  may include an ambient light sensor for gathering information on ambient light levels, proximity sensor components (e.g., light-based proximity sensors and/or proximity sensors based on other structures), accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetic sensors, and other sensor structures. Sensors  38  of  FIG. 2  may, for example, include one or more microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensors (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes, microphones, force sensors, pressure sensors, capacitive sensors, or any other suitable type of sensor formed using microelectromechanical systems technology). If desired, other components in device  10  may be formed using microelectromechanical systems technology. 
     Sensors  38  may include hand detection circuitry  50  (sometimes referred to as dominant hand sensor circuitry). Hand detection circuitry  50  may include one or more sensors for detecting a user&#39;s hands and for determining which hand is being used to operate electronic device  10 . Sensors that may be used in hand detection circuitry  50  include accelerometers (e.g., accelerometers that measure acceleration along one, two, three, four, five, or six axes), gyroscopes, compasses, air pressure sensors, other suitable types of motion sensors, force sensors, switches or other mechanical sensors, capacitive sensors, resistance-based sensors, light-based sensors, and/or acoustic-based sensors such as ultrasonic acoustic-based sensors (as examples). 
     Hand detection circuitry  50  may be formed from designated hand detection sensors that are used exclusively for determining whether a right or left hand is operating electronic device  10  or may be formed from electronic components that perform other functions (e.g., functions other than detecting which hand is being used to operate electronic device  10 ). For example, hand detection circuitry  50  may gather information from a touch sensor in electronic device  10  (e.g., a touch sensor that forms part of touch screen display  14 ), a fingerprint sensor in electronic device  10 , a motion sensor in electronic device  10 , an antenna in electronic device  10 , or other suitable electronic component in electronic device  10  to determine which hand is being used to operate electronic device  10 . 
     Hand detection circuitry  50  may use control circuitry such as storage and processing circuitry  40  to store and process sensor data gathered using hand detection circuitry  50  and to take suitable actions based on which hand is being used to operate electronic device  10 . Control circuitry  40  may dynamically adjust the operating system to accommodate one-handed operation and, in particular, to customize the user interface such that a user can operate the electronic device more easily with one hand. 
     A cross-sectional side view of electronic device  10  is shown in  FIG. 3 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , display  14  may be mounted in housing  12 . Display structures  58  such as a liquid crystal display module, an organic light-emitting diode display layer, or other display structures that include an array of active display pixels may be formed under display cover layer  52  in active area AA of display  14 . Display structures  58  may include polarizer layers, color filter layers, thin-film transistor layers, adhesive layers, layers of liquid crystal material, or other structures for producing images on display  14 . Display cover layer  52  may be formed from a clear glass layer, a layer of transparent plastic, or other cover layer material. An opaque masking layer such as a layer of ink (e.g., black ink or white ink or ink of other colors) may be formed on the underside of display cover layer  52  in inactive area IA and may be used to hide internal components from view by a user. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , display  14  may include one or more layers of touch-sensitive components such as touch sensor  56  attached to cover layer  52 . Touch sensor  56  may be attached to cover layer  52  using an adhesive material such as optically clear adhesive (OCA)  54 . Adhesive  54  may be a liquid adhesive, light-cured adhesive, pressure-sensitive adhesive or other suitable adhesive. Touch sensor  56  may include touch sensor components such as an array of capacitive touch sensor electrodes formed from transparent conductive materials such as indium tin oxide. Display structures  58  may be attached to touch sensor  56  using an additional layer of optically clear adhesive  54 . 
     Electronic device  10  may include biometric sensors such as fingerprint sensor  60 . Fingerprint sensor  60  may be configured to read a user&#39;s fingerprint when the user places his or her finger over sensor  60 . Sensor  60  may include a sensor surface formed from anisotropic dielectric material such as sapphire. The sensor surface captures a detailed image of the user&#39;s fingerprint, and processing circuitry (e.g., processing circuitry  40  of  FIG. 2 ) reads the ridges of the fingerprint (e.g., to match the fingerprint with a previously stored fingerprint). 
     Communications paths such as metal lines on dielectric substrates may be used in interconnecting sensor structures  60  with processing circuitry in device  10 . As an example, sensors  60  may be mounted on a substrate such as substrate  66 . Substrate  66  may be coupled to additional substrates in device  10  such as illustrative substrate  62  using connectors such as connector  68  (e.g., a board-to-board connector or other connection structures). 
     Device  10  may have electrical components such as components  64 . Components  64  may include integrated circuits, buttons, connectors, sensors, and other circuitry of the type shown in  FIG. 2 . Components  64  may be mounted on one or more substrates such as substrate  62  and/or substrate  66 . Substrates  62  and  66  may be dielectric carriers such as molded plastic carriers or may be printed circuits. For example, substrates  62  and  66  may be printed circuits such as rigid printed circuit boards formed from a material such as fiberglass-filled epoxy or flexible printed circuits formed from sheets of polyimide or other flexible polymer layers. 
     In some embodiments, hand detection circuitry  50  may use fingerprint information from fingerprint sensor  60  to determine which hand is the user&#39;s dominant hand and/or to determine which hand is currently being used to operate electronic device  10 . Fingerprint information may, for example, be used to determine the angle at which a user places his or her finger on fingerprint sensor  60 , which in turn can be indicative of whether the left or right hand is being used. The orientation of ridges in a fingerprint can also be indicative of a user&#39;s handedness. If desired, fingerprint information can be gathered by hand detection circuitry during normal fingerprint detection operations (e.g., during authentication operations when a user unlocks electronic device  10 ). 
     In some embodiments, hand detection circuitry  50  may use touch sensor  56  to determine which hand is the user&#39;s dominant hand and/or to determine which hand is currently being used to operate electronic device  10 . For example, touch sensor  56  may be used to gather information about the arc path followed by a user&#39;s thumb during normal touch input operations. The arc path information may be indicative of which hand is being used to operate electronic device  10 . 
     If desired, hand detection circuitry  50  may gather information using other sensors in electronic device  10  such as side sensors  70 . Side sensors  70  may be located on one or more sidewalls  12 S of electronic device  10  and may be used to detect the proximity and/or contact of a user&#39;s hands on the edges of electronic device  10 . Side sensors  70  may be located on one, two, three, or all four sides of electronic device  10 . Side sensors  70  may, for example, be located on a left hand side of electronic device  10  and an opposing right hand side of electronic device  10 . By determining where the sides of electronic device  10  are being contacted by a user&#39;s hands and/or by determining how much of one side is covered by a user&#39;s hands relative to the opposing side, hand detection circuitry  50  can determine whether electronic device  10  is being operated with a user&#39;s left hand or right hand. 
     Side sensors  70  may be formed from force sensors, from switches or other mechanical sensors, from capacitive sensors, from resistance-based sensors, from light-based sensors, and/or from acoustic-based sensors such as ultrasonic acoustic-based sensors (as examples). In one illustrative arrangement, sensors  70  may be formed from touch sensor elements. The touch sensor elements that form touch sensors  70  may be based on any suitable touch sensor technology such as capacitive touch technology, acoustic touch technology, force-sensor-based touch technology, or resistive touch technology (as examples). 
     In capacitive touch sensors, capacitive electrodes may be formed from a conductive material. For example, the touch sensor electrodes may be formed from a transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide. Configurations in which sensors  70  are capacitive touch sensors and in which touch sensor electrodes for touch sensors  70  are formed from transparent conductive materials are sometimes described herein as an example. Other types of arrangements may be used for sensors  70  if desired (e.g., arrangements with non-capacitive sensors, arrangements with capacitive electrodes formed from materials other than indium tin oxide, touch sensor electrodes formed from non-transparent metal, etc.). 
     In some embodiments, hand detection circuitry  50  may gather information from one or more motion sensors in electronic device  10  to determine which hand is being used to operate electronic device  10 . A user in possession of electronic device  10  may move electronic device  10  through a series of predictable motions during use and during non-use, and these motions can be indicative of the user&#39;s handedness. 
     Diagrams illustrating how a user&#39;s motion of electronic device  10  can be indicative of which hand is being used to operate electronic device  10  are shown in  FIGS. 4A and 4B .  FIG. 4A  shows how electronic device  10  may be oriented when the device is not in use (e.g., when device  10  is in a user&#39;s pocket).  FIG. 4B  shows how electronic device  10  may be oriented when the device is in use (e.g., when a user is operating touch screen display  14  of electronic device  10  and/or when electronic device  10  is in a position near the user&#39;s ear during a telephone call). Motion sensor circuitry in electronic device  10  (e.g., motion sensors in sensors  38  of  FIG. 2 ) may track the change in orientation of electronic device  10  as the device moves from a not-in-use position to an in-use position. The change of orientation may be indicative of the handedness of the user. 
     In  FIG. 4A , for example, user  72  has electronic device  10  in his pocket. In a typical scenario, the front face of electronic device  10  (e.g., the display side of electronic device  10 ) faces the user&#39;s body while in the user&#39;s pocket. The top of electronic device  10  points in from of the user in direction  74 . 
     In  FIG. 4B , user  72  has removed electronic device  10  from his pocket and holds the device in one of two positions. In position  80 , user  72  holds electronic device  10  in front of his face while user  72  views the display of electronic device  10 . In this position, the front of electronic device  10  faces the user and the top of electronic device  10  points in direction  76 . In position  82 , user  72  holds electronic device  10  next to his ear while user  72  listens to audio from a speaker in electronic device  10  and/or while user  72  talks to a microphone in electronic device  10  (e.g., during a telephone call). In this position, the front of electronic device  10  faces the user and the top of electronic device  10  points behind the user in direction  78 . 
     The rotation and change of orientation of electronic device  10  as it moves from the pocket position of  FIG. 4A  to the in-use position  80  or  82  of  FIG. 4B  may be indicative of what hand the user prefers to use to operate electronic device  10 . For example, the rotation of electronic device  10  for the left-handed user of  FIGS. 4A and 4B  may be in a counter-clockwise direction, whereas the rotation of an electronic device for a right-handed user performing a similar movement may be in a clockwise direction (as an example). A motion sensor (e.g., a gyroscope and/or an accelerometer that measures acceleration along one, two, three, four, five, or six axes of motion) may detect the change of orientation and rotation of electronic device  10  as it moves from one location to another, which may in turn be used by hand detection circuitry  50  to determine whether a left or right hand is being used to operate electronic device  10 . 
     If desired, electronic device  10  may store information about types of gestures so that the device can recognize when one hand is being used versus the other hand. The information may be based on previously gathered data (e.g., data gathered and stored during manufacturing) and/or may be based on data gathered during operation of electronic device  10 . 
     If desired, orientation information may be gathered during certain activities to determine which hand is being used by the user. For example, an accelerometer may be used to determine the orientation of electronic device  10  during a telephone call, which in turn can be used to determine whether electronic device  10  is being held against the user&#39;s right ear or left ear. If the accelerometer detects that the user holds electronic device  10  up to his or her right ear, hand detection circuitry  50  may determine that the user is currently using his or her right hand to operate electronic device  10 . If the accelerometer repeatedly detects that the user holds electronic device  10  up to his or her right ear, hand detection circuitry  50  may determine that the user is right-handed. 
       FIGS. 5A and 5B  illustrate how sensors along the sides of electronic device  10  can be used to determine whether a right or left hand is being used to hold and/or operate electronic device  10 . Electronic device  10  may, for example, include left side sensors  70 L along left side  94 L and right side sensors  70 R along right side  94 R. Sensors  70  may be proximity sensors and/or touch sensors that are configured to detect the proximity or contact of external objects such as a user&#39;s fingers along the sides of electronic device  10 . 
     In the example of  FIG. 5A , a user&#39;s left hand  92 L is being used to operate electronic device  10 . With this type of grip, the user&#39;s left thumb and palm may be in contact with left side  94 L of electronic device  10  in regions  86 A and  86 B, respectively. The other fingers may be in contact with right side  94 R of electronic device  10  in regions  84 A,  84 B,  84 C, and  84 D. Side sensors  70  may detect the regions of contact on left side  94 L and right side  94 R, which may in turn be used by hand detection circuitry  50  to determine whether a right or left hand is being used to operate electronic device  10 . Hand detection circuitry  50  may use sensors  70  to determine which side is more covered and/or to determine which side has the greater number of contact points. For example, as shown in  FIG. 5A , left side  94 L may have a greater portion covered by hand  92 L than right side  94 R, but may have a fewer number of contact areas than right side  94 R (e.g., may have two regions of contact instead of four). Based on this information, hand detection circuitry  50  may determine that a left hand is being used to hold and operate electronic device  10 . 
     In the example of  FIG. 5B , a user&#39;s right hand  92 R is being used to operate electronic device  10 . With this type of grip, the user&#39;s right thumb and palm may be in contact with right side  94 R of electronic device  10  in regions  90 A and  90 B, respectively. The other fingers may be in contact with left side  94 L of electronic device  10  in regions  88 A,  88 B,  88 C, and  88 D. Side sensors  70  may detect the regions of contact on left side  94 L and right side  94 R, which may in turn be used by hand detection circuitry  50  to determine whether a right or left hand is being used to operate electronic device  10 . Hand detection circuitry  50  may use sensors  70  to determine which side is more covered and/or to determine which side has the greater number of contact points. For example, as shown in  FIG. 5B , right side  94 R may have a greater portion covered by hand  92 R than left side  94 L, but may have a fewer number of contact areas than left side  94 L (e.g., may have two regions of contact instead of four). Based on this information, hand detection circuitry  50  may determine that a right hand is being used to hold and operate electronic device  10 . 
     If desired, sensors  70  may be formed from one or more antennas in electronic device  10 . Electronic device  10  may, for example, have multiple antennas so that optimal antenna performance can be maintained even when one antenna is not operating in optimal performance conditions. When the performance of one antenna is compromised (e.g., due to the presence of an external object such as a user&#39;s hand), the electronic device may switch to using a different antenna to transmit and receive radio frequency signals. Hand detection circuitry  50  may use antenna attenuation information and/or information about which antenna is being actively used to determine how electronic device  10  is being held by a user. For example, the use of one antenna may indicate that a certain portion of electronic device  10  is covered or not covered by a user&#39;s hand, which may in turn be indicative of whether a right or left hand is being used to operate electronic device  10 . This is, however, merely illustrative. If desired, sensors  70  may be formed using proximity and/or touch sensing technologies such as capacitive touch sensor electrodes and/or light-based proximity sensor structures. 
       FIGS. 6A and 6B  illustrate how a touch sensor in electronic device  10  can be used to gather information about which hand is being used to operate electronic device  10 . When a user operates electronic device  10  using one hand, the user&#39;s thumb is often used as the primary finger with which the user provides touch input to touch screen display  14 . With this type of grip, certain regions of display  14  may be easier to reach than others. This may in turn lead to certain patterns of contact with display  14 . 
     For example, left hand  92 L of  FIG. 6A  may tend to make more contact with the top left and bottom left corners (on left side  94 L) of display  14  than the top right and bottom right corners (on right side  94 R), simply because these regions may be easier to reach with the user&#39;s left thumb. In the central portion of display  14 , the user&#39;s left thumb may tend to make more contact with the center portion on right side  94 R of display  14  than the center portion on left side  94 L of display  14 . With repeated use, touch sensor  56  ( FIG. 2 ) may detect a pattern of touches corresponding to the arc path followed by a user&#39;s left thumb such as arc path  96 L. Based on the detected pattern  96 L, hand detection circuitry  50  may determine that a left hand  92 L is being used to operate electronic device  10 . 
     Right hand  92 R of  FIG. 6B  may tend to make more contact with the top right and bottom right corners (on right side  94 R) of display  14  than the top left and bottom left corners (on left side  94 L), simply because these regions may be easier to reach with the user&#39;s right thumb. In the central portion of display  14 , the user&#39;s right thumb may tend to make more contact with the center portion on left side  94 L of display  14  than the center portion on right side  94 R of display  14 . With repeated use, touch sensor  56  ( FIG. 2 ) may detect a pattern of touches corresponding to the arc path followed by a user&#39;s right thumb such as arc path  96 R. Based on the detected pattern  96 R, hand detection circuitry  50  may determine that a right hand  92 R is being used to operate electronic device  10 . 
       FIGS. 7A and 7B  illustrate how a fingerprint sensor in electronic device  10  can be used to gather information about which hand is being used to operate electronic device  10 . When a user operates electronic device  10  using one hand, the user will sometimes place his or her thumb on fingerprint sensor  60  (e.g., when pressing a button such as button  16  of  FIG. 1  and/or during identity verification operations). Fingerprint information gathered by fingerprint sensor  60  may be indicative of which hand is being used to operate electronic device  10 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 7A , for example, longitudinal axis  100 L of left thumbprint  98 L will typically be rotated at a positive angle  102  with respect to center axis  108 . In contrast, longitudinal axis  100 R of right thumbprint  98 R of  FIG. 7B  will typically be rotated at a negative angle with respect to center axis  108 . Hand detection circuitry  50  may use information about the orientation of a user&#39;s thumbprint (e.g., the angle of the thumbprint relative to center axis  108 ) to determine which hand is being used to operate electronic device  10 . 
     The orientation of the ridges in a thumbprint may also be indicative of which hand is being used. For example, ridges  106 L of left thumbprint  98 L may tend to arc one way, whereas ridges  106 R of right thumbprint  98 R may tend to arc another way. If desired, hand detection circuitry  50  may use ridge information from fingerprint sensor  60  to determine which hand is being used to operate electronic device  10 . 
       FIGS. 8A and 8B  illustrate how user interface elements can be adjusted according to what hand is being used to operate electronic device  10 . In the example of  FIG. 8A , a user is prompted by display  14  to slide icon  114  in direction  110  to unlock the device and thereby enable certain functions and operations. In the example of  FIG. 8B , a user is prompted by display  14  to slide icon  114  in direction  112  to unlock the device. Adjusting the direction of sliding according to which hand is being used may make it easier for a user to operate electronic device with one hand. For example, a user holding electronic device  10  in his or her left hand may find it easier to slide icon  114  in direction  110  than in direction  112 . In contrast, a user holding electronic device  10  in his or her right hand may find it easier to slide icon  114  in direction  112  than in direction  114 . Using hand detection circuitry  50  to determine which hand is being used to operate electronic device  10 , control circuitry (e.g., control circuitry  40  of  FIG. 2 ) may adjust the “slide to unlock” direction based on which hand is being used. If desired, the sliding direction may be based on user preferences and/or may be preset for a particular hand (e.g., direction  110  may be the sliding direction for left-handed users and direction  112  may be the sliding direction for right-handed users, or vice versa). 
       FIGS. 9A and 9B  show another illustrative way in which user interface elements can be adjusted according to which hand is being used to operate electronic device  10 . In the example of  FIG. 9A , hand detection circuitry  50  may determine that a user is operating electronic device  10  with his or her left hand  92 L. In response to determining that left hand  92 L is being used, control circuitry  40  may position virtual buttons such as virtual buttons or icons  116  closer to left side  94 L of display  14 . In the example of  FIG. 9B , hand detection circuitry  50  may determine that a user is operating electronic device  10  with his or her right hand  92 R. In response to determining that right hand  92 R is being used, control circuitry  40  may position virtual buttons such as virtual buttons or icons  116  closer to right side  94 R of display  14 . 
     Icons  116  may, for example, form part of a keypad that is displayed during unlock operations when a user is prompted to enter a passcode, may form part of a keypad that is displayed during dialing operations when a user is dialing a telephone number, or may correspond to any other suitable display icon or virtual button. In one example, virtual buttons such as a “back” button in a browser application running on electronic device  10  may be located closer to left side  94 L of display  14  when a user is operating electronic device  10  with his or her left hand, but may be closer to the right side  94 R when a user is operating electronic device  10  with his or her right hand. 
       FIG. 10  is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in operating an electronic device with hand detection circuitry such as hand detection circuitry  50  of  FIG. 2 . 
     At step  200 , hand detection circuitry  50  may gather sensor data from one or more sensors in electronic device  10 . This may include, for example, gathering motion sensor data from one or more motion sensors in electronic device  10  (e.g., from an accelerometer and/or gyroscope in electronic device  10 ), gathering touch or proximity data from sensors  70  along the side of electronic device  10 , gathering antenna attenuation information from one or more antennas in electronic device  10 , gathering arc path or touch pattern information from touch sensor  56  in electronic device  10 , gathering fingerprint information from fingerprint sensor  60  in electronic device  10 , and/or gathering information from other electronic components in electronic device  10 . 
     At step  202 , hand detection circuitry  50  may determine which hand is being used to operate electronic device  10  based on the sensor data gathered in step  200 . For example, motion sensor data may be used to determine how electronic device  10  is moved by a user and thereby determine which hand is being used to operate electronic device  10 ; touch and/or proximity data from side sensors  70  may be used to determine which side of electronic device  10  is more covered and/or to determine which side has a greater number of points of contact, which in turn can be used to determine which hand is being used to operate electronic device  10 ; antenna attenuation information can be used to determine whether an antenna signal is attenuated as a result of a user&#39;s hand being present in a particular location on electronic device  10 , which in turn can be used to determine which hand is being used to operate electronic device  10 ; touch input patterns from touch sensor  56  can be used to determine the arc path of a user&#39;s thumb, which in turn can be indicative of what hand is being used to operate electronic device  10 ; and thumbprint information can be used to determine the angle at which a thumbprint is oriented and/or the orientation of ridges within the thumbprint, which in turn can be indicative of what hand is being used to operate device  10 . 
     At step  204 , control circuitry (e.g., control circuitry  40  of  FIG. 2 ) may take appropriate action based on which hand is being used to operate electronic device  10 . For example, user interface elements such as icons  114  of  FIGS. 8A and 8B  and icons  116  of  FIGS. 9A and 9B  may be positioned such that one-handed operation is made easier. This may include positioning icons closer to a left side of the display when a user&#39;s left hand is being used to operate electronic device  10  and positioning icons closer to a right side of the display when a user&#39;s right hand is being used to operate electronic device  10 . 
     The use of sensors to determine the handedness of a user is merely illustrative. If desired, control circuitry may adjust user interface elements according to user preferences. For example, a user may select whether he or she would like to have user interface elements optimized for right-handed use or for left-handed use. 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this invention and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20141218
Publication Date: 20170307
Grant Date: 20170307
Priority Date: 20141218
Inventors: MILLER THAYNE M.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G06F1/1694", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/04817", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/169", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/017", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0488", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/04842", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F2200/1637", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/04883", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1684", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1643", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0488", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F2203/04101", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/04817", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/04886", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06V40/13", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1694", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06K9/00013", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/044", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F2203/04101", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1694", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06K9/00375", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/04817", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/04842", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06V40/107", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06V40/13", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06V40/107", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F2200/1637", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/04886", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1684", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1643", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0488", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/04883", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/017", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/169", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 55394827