Electronic device with sensing assembly and method for interpreting consecutive gestures

A method for detecting two or more consecutive specified patterns of movement of an external object relative to an electronic device, the method comprising:

• providing as part of the electronic device a sensing assembly including at least one phototransmitter and a plurality of photoreceivers, wherein the phototransmitter is positioned to emit infrared light away from the electronic device about a central transmission axis, and each photoreceiver is positioned to receive infrared light about a corresponding central receiving axis, wherein each central receiving axis is oriented in a different direction with respect to the others;
• controlling emission of infrared light by the phototransmitter during each of a plurality of sequential time periods;
• for each of the plurality of photoreceivers and for each of the plurality of sequential time periods, generating a corresponding measured signal indicative of a respective amount of infrared light which originated from the phototransmitter during the corresponding time period and was reflected by the external object prior to being received by the corresponding photoreceiver;
• and
• evaluating the measured signals to identify a first gesture, wherein the first gesture includes a first of the two or more consecutive specified patterns of movement;
• controlling the electronic device in response to the identification of the first gesture according to a first mode of operation of the electronic device;
• determining a parameter of a second gesture;
• and
• controlling the electronic device in response to the determined parameter of the second gesture according to a second mode of operation.

A method for interpreting at least two consecutive gestures, wherein each gesture is a specified pattern of movement of an external object relative to an electronic device, the method comprising:

• providing as part of the electronic device a sensing assembly including at least one photoreceiver and a plurality of phototransmitters, wherein each phototransmitter is positioned to emit infrared light away from the electronic device about a corresponding central transmission axis, wherein each central transmission axis is oriented in a different direction with respect to the others;
• controlling emission of infrared light by each of the phototransmitters during each of a plurality of time periods;
• for each of the plurality of phototransmitters and for each of the plurality of time periods, generating a corresponding measured signal indicative of a respective amount of infrared light which originated from that phototransmitter during that time period and was reflected by the external object prior to being received by a photoreceiver;
• evaluating the measured signals to identify a first gesture;
• controlling the electronic device in response to the identification of the first gesture according to a first mode of operation of the electronic device;
• determining a parameter of a second gesture, wherein the first gesture and the second gesture are the same type of gesture and the first mode of operation and the second mode of operation are different;
• and
• controlling the electronic device in response to the determined parameter of the second gesture according to a second mode of operation.