Proximity based gesturing devices, systems and methods

A method, adapted to a device comprising a plurality of sensors and a programmable integrated circuit having an analog portion and a digital portion, wherein the sensors are aligned in a sensor plane, and wherein the method comprises:

• generating, by each of the sensors, sensor data, wherein the sensor data generated by each of the sensors varies according to a physical distance between that sensor and an object;
• acquiring, by the analog portion of the programmable integrated circuit in a first mode, the sensor data from the sensors;
• detecting, by the digital portion of the programmable integrated circuit in the first mode, a hover or glove operation by the object in a detection space above the sensor plane using the sensor data;
• acquiring, by the analog portion of the programmable integrated circuit in a second mode, additional sensor data from the sensors;
• and
• detecting, by the digital portion of the programmable integrated circuit in the second mode, a touch operation by the object in the detection space above the sensor plane using the additional sensor data, and wherein detecting the hover or glove operation comprises:
• detecting, by the digital portion, differences between a first plurality of positions of the object in a first dimension extending from the sensor plane using the sensor data;
• and
• detecting, by the digital portion, differences between a second plurality of positions of the object in a second dimension and a third dimension in another plane that is substantially parallel with the sensor plane using the sensor data, wherein the sensors comprise a first sensor and a second sensor aligned along a first axis, and a third sensor and a fourth sensor aligned along a second axis different than the first axis, and the detecting the differences between the second plurality of positions of the object in the other plane comprises generating a first position value from sensor data from the first and second sensors, and generating a second position value from sensor data from the third and fourth sensors.

A device comprising:

• a first sensor configured to generate first proximity data for an object in a detection space adjacent to a device body;
• a second sensor configured to generate second proximity data for the object in the detection space;
• a third sensor configured to generate third proximity data for the object in the detection space;
• a fourth sensor configured to generate fourth proximity data for the object in the detection space;
• and
• processing circuits configured to determine a two-dimensional position of the object in a first plane of the detection space using at least two of the first proximity data, the second proximity data, the third proximity data, and the fourth proximity data and to determine movement of the object in a first direction substantially perpendicular to the first plane using at least two of the first proximity data, the second proximity data, the third proximity data, and the fourth proximity data, wherein the processing circuits are further configured to detect a hover or glove operation in a first mode using the two-dimensional position of the object in the first plane and the movement of the object in the first direction, and wherein the processing circuits are further configured to detect a touch operation in a second mode using the two-dimensional position of the object in the first plane.