Optical proximity sensors

• US 10,534,479 B2
• Filed: 05/25/2018
• Issued: 01/14/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Neonode, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Neonode, Inc.
• Inventors: Holmgren, Stefan Johannes, Iyer, Sairam, Berglind, Tom Richard, Nordstrom, Karl Erik Patrik, Sparf, Lars Bertil, Rosengren, Per Carl Sture, Rosengren, Erik Anders Claes, Karlsson, John Elis Gosta, Eriksson, Bjorn Thomas, Jubner, Bjorn Alexander, Behdasht, Remo, Fellin, Simon Greger, Aman, Robin Kjell, Shain, Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Myhr, Justin L
• Application Number:
  US15/990,587
• Publication Number:
  US 20180296915A1
• Time in Patent Office: 599 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/21 characterised by their sensors, purposes or types
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/211 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/213 comprising photodetecting means, e.g. cameras, photodiodes or infrared cells A63F13/219, A63F13/655 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/26 having at least one additional display device, e.g. on the game controller or outside a game booth
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/31 Communication aspects specific to video games, e.g. between several handheld game devices at close range
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/33 using wide area network [WAN] connections
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/355 Performing operations on behalf of clients with restricted processing capabilities, e.g. servers transform changing game scene into an encoded video stream for transmitting to a mobile phone or a thin client
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/428 involving motion or position input signals, e.g. signals representing the rotation of an input controller or a player's arm motions sensed by accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/92 Video game devices specially adapted to be hand-held while playing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/245 visual
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 9/24 Electric games; Games using electronic circuits not otherwise provided for video games A63F13/00; computerized gaming systems G07F17/32
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/0411 using focussing or collimating elements, i.e. lenses or mirrors; Aberration correction
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/42 using electric radiation detectors optical or mechanical part G01J1/04; by comparison with a reference light or electric value G01J1/10
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/04 Systems determining the presence of a target
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/48 Active triangulation systems, i.e. using the transmission and reflection of electromagnetic waves other than radio waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/88 Lidar systems specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4811 common to transmitter and receiver
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4813 Housing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4815 using multiple transmitters
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/169 : the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04809 : Textured surface identifying touch areas, e.g. overlay structure for a virtual keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 : Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/021 : Arrangements integrating additional peripherals in a keyboard, e.g. card or barcode reader, optical scanner
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0219 : Special purpose keyboards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0304 : Detection arrangements using opto-electronic means constructional details of pointing devices not related to the detection arrangement using opto-electronic means G06F3/033; optical digitisers G06F3/042
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 : Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 : by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0428 : by sensing at the edges of the touch surface the interruption of optical paths, e.g. an illumination plane, parallel to the touch surface which may be virtual sensing beam interruptions in a planar beam grid of an optical touch-screen G06F3/0421
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 : using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 : for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A proximity sensor, including a housing, an array of lenses mounted in the housing, an array of alternating light emitters and light detectors mounted in the housing, each detector being positioned along the image plane of a respective one of the lenses so as to receive maximum light intensity when light enters the lens at a particular angle, an activating unit mounted in the housing and connected to the emitters and detectors, synchronously co-activating each emitter with at least one of the detectors, each activated emitter projecting light out of the housing along a detection plane, and a processor receiving outputs from the detectors corresponding to amounts of projected light reflected by an object in the detection plane to the detectors, and calculating a two-dimensional location of the object in the detection plane based on the detector outputs and the particular angle.

Claims

1. A proximity sensor, comprising:

a housing;

an array of lenses mounted in said housing;

an array of alternating light emitters and light detectors mounted in said housing, each detector being positioned along the image plane of a respective one of said lenses so as to receive maximum light intensity when light enters the lens at a particular angle;

an activating unit mounted in said housing and connected to said emitters and detectors, synchronously co-activating each emitter with at least one of said detectors, each activated emitter projecting light out of said housing along a detection plane; and

a processor receiving outputs from said detectors corresponding to amounts of projected light reflected by an object in the detection plane to said detectors, and calculating a two-dimensional location of the object in the detection plane based on the detector outputs and the particular angle.

2. The proximity sensor of claim 1, wherein each detector is positioned along the image plane of a respective second one of said lenses to receive maximum light intensity when light enters the second lens at a second particular angle, enabling said processor to calculate the two-dimensional location of the object in the detection plane based on the detector outputs and the second particular angle.

3. The proximity sensor of claim 2, wherein the particular angle and the second particular angle for each lens are on separate sides of the lens'"'"'s optical axis.

4. The proximity sensor of claim 1, wherein each of said emitters is positioned such that the light it projects out of said housing passes through a respective one of said lenses.

5. The proximity sensor of claim 1, wherein said array of alternating light emitters and light detectors comprises an array of diodes mounted on a single PCB, and wherein no light transmissive material separates the diodes from said lenses.

6. A car, comprising the proximity sensor of claim 1 mounted in the car body detecting objects on the car window.

7. The car of claim 6, wherein an electronic system in the car responds to taps on the car window detected by the proximity sensor.

8. The car of claim 6, wherein an electronic system in the car responds to gestures on the car window detected by the proximity sensor.

9. A building, comprising the proximity sensor of claim 1 mounted in a wall in the building, detecting objects on the wall.

10. The building of claim 9, wherein an electronic system in the building responds to taps on the wall detected by the proximity sensor.

11. The building of claim 10, further comprising a panel on the wall, the panel featuring digits or icons on which the taps are performed.

12. The building of claim 9, wherein an electronic system in the building responds to gestures on the wall detected by the proximity sensor.