FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a method for receiving user input via a (touch) screen to control an output of a device, in particular a connected lighting device for general illumination. The invention further relates to a computer program product for performing the method, an online software delivery service arranged for electronically delivering the computer program product and a device comprising the computer program product.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Controllable devices, such as connected lighting devices for providing general illumination, can be controlled using applications on computer devices, such as a smart phone. As control options of connected lighting devices increase, so does the need for space on the (touch) screen of the smart phone to display control options. Providing, for example, a button for every single control option in a single menu typically leads to a multi page menu that a user needs to scroll through. Existing solutions provide clustered control options accessible per cluster via a cluster selection menu (e.g. a pull down menu, a tree structure or another menu type for selecting the cluster of options a user desires access to). This limits the amount of screen real estate needed, yet increases the number of steps a user has to take to get to the desired control option (e.g. a user first needs to select a cluster and then interact with the control option). This is in turn undesirable for control options that are frequently used. There is therefore a tradeoff between the ease of accessing a control option and the amount of space required on a (touch) screen for displaying control options. Generally this problem area is referred to as optimized use of 'screen real estate'.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The inventors have realized that sliders, such as bar sliders and circular sliders, are a special type of user interaction elements. They allow a user to provide input (i.e. select a value out of a range of values), yet even when a user is not providing input they have an important function, namely providing a user visual feedback on the selected (or current) value. Given these two distinct functions provided by essentially the same user interaction element the inventors have provided a method which advantageously uses this when multiple control options are offered for controlling the same device and one of these control options uses a slider to receive user input. Screen real estate used for providing a slider to receive user input for controlling a device can be reused for providing further control options for the same device when the slider is only needed for providing feedback on the selected (or current) value.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved method to control an output of a device, such as a lighting device, based on receiving user input and further to provide a computer program product for the same, an online software delivery service for delivering the computer program product and a device comprising the computer program product.

The following is an example to illustrate the invention. An application for a phone allows a user to control a connected lighting device. The touch screen of the phone displays a first area comprising buttons to select a lighting scene (e.g. romantic,

concentration, relaxation) and a second area comprising a slider bar related to the dim level of the lighting device. The slider bar can initially only provide feedback to the user about the current dim level, such as showing that the lighting device is at 50% dim level by displaying a line halfway along the slider bar. In this feedback mode the slider bar is only a few pixels tall and as such takes up little screen real estate. This allows the user to access the scene selection icons and at the same time quickly see what the current dim level is. When the user touches (a part of the second area near) the slider bar, the slider expands to overlap the first area. The scene selection may then not be (completely) visible anymore and in any case can (at least partially) no longer be selected while the slider bar is expanded. Easy control of the dim level is provided through the expanded slider bar and when the dim level has been selected (e.g. when the user lifts his/her finger from the screen) the slider bar can shrink to the size it has in the feedback mode.

In a first aspect, a method for acquiring user input for controlling an output of a device, such as a lighting device, is provided. The method comprising: providing, via a first area of a screen, a first user interface element and, via a second area of the screen, a second user interface element. The first user interface element is arranged for receiving a first user input for controlling a first aspect of the output of the device. The second user interface element comprising a slider arranged for receiving a value within a range of values as second user input for controlling a second aspect of the output of the device. As an example, the output device can be a lighting device and the first aspect can be illumination on/off control and the second aspect can be a dim level (e.g. dimming to a range between 20% and 100%). As a further example, the output device can be an audio output device and the first aspect can be an equalizer on/off control and the second aspect can be various settings for an equalizer audio processing function (e.g. audio enhancement for rock, pop, jazz or classical music).

The slider is arranged for receiving a value within a range of values in an adjustment mode, and further arranged for, in a feedback mode, providing an indication of the received value. Although the naming of the modes here is chosen to assist the reader, these mode names are not intended to be limiting and one could read 'a first' and 'a second' mode instead. The method further comprises that the output of the device is controlled according to the received first user input and the received second user input.

In the feedback mode the first user input can be received via the first area of the screen. As an example, if the screen is a touch screen then the user can touch the touch screen in the first area. This first area could for example show three buttons, each button for selecting a specific lighting scene (e.g. romantic, concentration, relaxation) for controlling a lighting device or each button for selecting a level of influence (e.g. low, middle, high) an equalizer has for controlling an audio output. In the adjustment mode the slider expands whereby the second area overlaps the first area. In various embodiments the expansion, or explosion, can be visualized in one or more steps on the screen or can be immediate. The second area comprising the slider can fully or partially overlap the first area comprising, in the aforementioned example, the three buttons. When the slider is expanded, the second user input can be received but the first user input cannot be received. It is not excluded that there are other modes besides the feedback mode and the adjustment mode. As an example only, the three buttons of the aforementioned example could remain visible behind a partially translucent slider in the adjustment mode and upon selection of one of the buttons they move in a further mode to the foreground (i.e. in front of the slider) such that they are selectable.

In an embodiment the method further comprises: switching from the feedback mode to the adjustment mode when an input in or close to the second area is detected; and switching from the adjustment mode to the feedback mode when the second user input has been received. The method can be implemented using, for example, a touch screen. Such a touch screen detects the position where a user's finger (or other bodily object, stylus, etc.) touches or approximates the touch screen. When the user' s finger touches the slider, approaches the slider, or touches an area near the slider (not being the three buttons of the aforementioned example) in the feedback mode, then the adjustment mode can be activated in which the slider expands to receive the user' s input. In an embodiment of the method the user can activate the adjustment mode and make the selection with a single touch by simply placing the finger on the touch screen on or near the slider in the feedback mode and moving the finger in the adjustment mode to the desired location for selecting the desired value. Upon finger release the slider can then return to the size it has in the feedback mode allowing access to the control options in the first area again. Such an embodiment can also be realized with other modalities than a touch screen (e.g. gesture, rotary knob or gaze based control, each of which are known to the skilled person as input methods).

In an embodiment of the method the device is a connected lighting device arranged to provide general illumination. Controlling the output of the lighting device can then relate to characteristics (or qualities) of the illumination the lighting device provides. Examples of lighting devices are retrofit LED light bulbs, CFL lamps, lasers, etc. Examples of the range of values that can be controlled, for a lighting device, via the slider are: a range of intensities (e.g. 90% dim level, low light, reading light level), a range of colors (e.g.

coordinates x,y in a two dimensional color space, red, sky) a range of beam patterns (e.g. wide beam, circular beam, highlighting), a range of static or dynamic scenes (e.g. sunset, relaxation, rainbow effect), a hue, a saturation level and a selection of a number of lighting nodes to be controlled. As a further example, the first user input can relate to one of: an intensity, a color, a beam pattern, a dynamic lighting effect, an on/off switch, a configuration setting (e.g. naming a lamp), a scene selection (e.g. romantic, concentration, relaxation) or a menu selection (e.g. settings menu, color picker, scene selection menu).

In various embodiments the slider can expand in multiple directions (e.g. generally become larger, like a zoom function) or in a single direction only. It is especially advantageous when the slider expands in a direction orthogonal to an axis along which the range of values are positioned on the slider (e.g. in a direction other than the control direction). The slider can then show the range of values selectable and the user can then, when a touch screen is used, touch the slider at the location where the selected value is indicated and as the slider expands the position the user has placed his/her finger is still related to the previously selected (or current) value. As a further option this could also be achieved by expanding the slider in multiple directions yet positioning it relative to the user' s finger. This however has an impact on the ordering of values on the slider in the adjustment mode or the size of the slider on the screen. It is further especially advantageous when, where the screen is a touch screen, the size of the slider in the adjustment mode is based on the touch imprint in the second area. The slider can then expand such that the selectable values are more clearly visible to the user, as no values are left invisible due to the user's finger (or stylus) blocking the user's view of one or more values. In a further embodiment, the expansion of the slider is controlled based on the force exerted by the user on the touch screen, for example, the more force (or pressure) a user exerts on the touch screen, the larger the slider becomes (e.g. allowing more granular control of a picked value or allowing better visibility of the selectable values due to the slider being larger when more force is exerted). In yet a further embodiment, the direction in which the user's finger (or other bodily object, stylus, etc.) approaches the touch screen, when a touch input is provided, determines the expansion of the slider. The slider in the adjustment mode is then based on this determined direction (e.g. finger approaches from the left) such that, for example, greater visibility of the slider values is provided (e.g. the slider expands to the right of the location where the user's finger touches the screen such that the user' s finger, approaching from the left, does not block the view of the expanding slider).

In an embodiment the slider is a bar slider and in a further embodiment the slider is a circular slider. A bar slider can be a horizontal bar slider, a vertical bar slider or a bar in any other direction in relation to the screen or to other interaction elements on the screen. A circular slider is also known as a dial (slider). Other slider types (partial circles, wavy, elliptical, etc.) could be used as well.

In various embodiments of the method, the slider shows all values within the range of values in the adjustment mode. The slider could instead show only a range of values and when the user comes close to an edge of the slider the values can move along the slider such that further selectable values appear. In the feedback mode the slider can provide an indication of the received value, but not show any other values in the range of values or instead show all values within the range of values.

In a second aspect, a computer program product is provided. The computer program product arranged for, when run on a computer device comprising a screen, a processor, a memory and an interface between the processor and the device of which the output is to be controlled, performing the method according to any one of the preceding claims. Where it is mentioned that the computer device comprises these elements (e.g.

screen, processor, memory and interface), it is not excluded that these elements are distributed amongst multiple physical devices. For example, the processor can be part of a home control device, the memory is remotely located in a data center and the screen is part of a wall panel.

In a third aspect, an online software delivery service is provided. The online software delivery service arranged for electronically delivering to a computer device the computer program product according to the second aspect. Such online services are generally known as application, or app, stores providing electronic distribution of computer program products. A device, such as a phone, can download or access the computer program product via the service.

In a fourth aspect, a computer device comprising a screen, a processor, an interface and a memory is provided. Wherein the memory comprises the computer program product according to the second aspect and further wherein the processor is arranged to run the computer program product, the interface is arranged for controlling the output of the device and the screen is arranged to provide the first and second user interface elements. Examples of such computer devices are (smart) phones, (intelligent) remote controls, control panels, etc.

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

Fig. la and Fig. lb show schematically and exemplarily a mobile phone with an interface implementing an embodiment of the method,

Fig. 2a, Fig. 2b and Fig. 2c show schematically and exemplarily various slider bar options for the feedback state,

Fig. 3a and Fig. 3b show schematically and exemplarily various slider bar options for the adjustment state, and

Fig. 4a, Fig. 4b and Fig. 4c show schematically and exemplarily various circular slider options.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In Fig. la and Fig. lb a mobile phone 100 is shown. The display 110 shows a user interface implementing the method for controlling three lighting devices. In this example, the user interface comprises a top 120, middle 130 and bottom 140 interface of the same type for respectively controlling a lighting device in the kitchen, a lighting device in the dining room and a lighting device in the living room. The lighting device in the dining room is currently being controlled (e.g. because the lighting devices in the kitchen and living room are turned off), as indicated in this example by the top 120 and bottom 140 interfaces being ghosted. The middle 130 interface shows three scene selection buttons, left 150, middle 160 and right 170, for respectively selecting a romantic, a concentration and a relaxation scene. The middle 130 interface further shows a slider bar 180 underneath the three buttons 150, 160, 170. The slider bar in the feedback state 180 as shown in Fig. la provides an indication of the current dim level of the lighting devices in the kitchen. When a user touches the slider bar in the feedback state 180 it expands to the slider bar in the adjustment state 190 as shown in Fig. lb.

In the adjustment state the user can control the dim level of the kitchen lighting device, but is no longer able to perform scene selection for this lighting device via buttons 150, 160, 170. When the user has selected a dim level, the slider bar in the adjustment state 190 returns to the feedback mode. As further examples, the three buttons 150, 160, 170 could stay (partially) visible in the adjustment mode, for example by making the slider bar 190 (partially) transparent or by having the slider bar 190 only partially overlap the screen area where the buttons 150, 160, 170 are located. Where it is mentioned that the adjustment mode is activated by the user touching the slider 180 (in the feedback mode), this is merely one example as other options include the user touching an area close to the slider bar, moving a finger towards the slider or pressing a dedicated button. When a touch screen is used that is able to detect proximity of a finger (or other bodily object, stylus, etc.), the slider can expand when the user' s finger approaches the slider or the general area of the screen in which it is located. Other technologies such as speech control, gesture recognition or gaze tracking can also be used.

Fig. 2a, Fig. 2b and Fig. 2c show some further examples of an interface 130 comprising a slider bar in the feedback mode 180. In these examples a 50% dim level has been selected by the user (or is the current status of the output of the lighting device based on another person or device having set this dim level). In Fig. 2a the 50% dim level is indicated by showing approximately half of the slider bar in a first color (e.g. the gray scale mimicking the dim level) and the remaining slider bar in another color. In Fig. 2b the full slider bar has taken on the color representing the selected dim level. Further the dim level is indicated by a textual feedback (in this case "50%"). These can be used simultaneously or alternatively and the textual feedback could be used in combination with such options as shown in Fig. 2a and Fig. 2c as well. In Fig. 2c a slider bar is shown wherein the selectable dim levels are displayed (e.g. a gradient).

Fig. 3a shows an interface 130 comprising a slider bar in the adjustment mode 190, in this case the slider bar of Fig. 2c has been expanded. In another embodiment the dim levels can be displayed in the slider bar as shown in Fig. 3b or the slider bar can comprise a two dimensional color palette (not shown).

Various slider types can be used, such as a circular slider as illustrated in Fig. 4a, Fig. 4b and Fig. 4c. In Fig. 4a a user interface 430 is shown for controlling a lighting device. There is an on/off button 450 in the middle of a circular slider in the feedback mode 480. This circular slider provides an indication of the current dim level of the lighting device. When the adjustment level is activated the slider expands to the slider in the adjustment mode 490 as shown in Fig. 4b, where the active area of the slider expands both inwards and outwards, or as in Fig. 4c, where the active are of the slider expands inwards only. The on/off 450 option can remain visible, such as in Fig. 4b where it is ghosted to indicate that it is not available for selection in the adjustment mode, or can be fully hidden in the adjustment mode as shown in Fig. 4c.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive; the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. In particular the examples used in the description focus on lighting devices, on controlling a dim level with a slider bar or circular slider, etc. Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.