Input device and pointer control method

• US 20030146899A1
• Filed: 12/03/2002
• Published: 08/07/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Component Limited (Fujitsu Limited)
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Component Limited (Fujitsu Limited)
• Inventors: Kikuchi, Ryoji, Sakurai, Satoshi, Endo, Michiko, Endo, Norio, Yatsu, Nobuo, Nishiyama, Yuriko
• Granted Patent: US 6,937,226 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0338 Fingerprint track pad, i.e. fingerprint sensor used as pointing device tracking the fingertip image
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface

Abstract

An input device that transmits, to a host device having a display displaying a pointer, information relating to the pointer and includes a sensor detecting contact information, and further includes an area extracting part and a control part. The area extracting part extracts a contact area of the sensor and a finger based on the contact information detected by the sensor. The control part controls the pointer based on the contact area extracted by the area extracting part.

Claims

1. An input device that transmits, to a host device having a display displaying a pointer, information relating to the pointer and includes a sensor detecting contact information, comprising:

an area extracting part extracting a contact area of the sensor and a finger based on the contact information detected by the sensor; and

a control part controlling the pointer based on the contact area extracted by said area extracting part.

2. The input device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control part comprises a first control part and a second control part,

said first control part detecting a barycenter position or a center position of the contact area extracted by the area extracting part and controlling the pointer based on the detected position, and

said second control part controlling the pointer based on a value obtained from the contact area extracted by the area extracting part.

3. The input device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second control part controls a moving speed of the pointer based on the size of the contact area.

4. The input device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second control part controls a moving speed of the pointer based on the length of an outline of the contact area.

5. The input device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second control part controls a moving speed of the pointer based on the length of sides of a rectangle circumscribing the contact area.

6. The input device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a click detecting part detecting a click based on time in which the contact area is extracted by the area extracting part.

7. The input device as claimed in claim 2, further comprising:

a click detecting part detecting a click based on the value obtained by the second control part.

8. The input device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the click detecting part detects a double-click when two clicks are detected in a predetermined interval.

9. The input device as claimed in claim 2, further comprising:

a perpendicular position detecting part detecting a position of the finger in a direction almost perpendicular to the sensor according to a value obtained from the contact area.

10. The input device as claimed in claim 9, further comprising:

fingerprint dictionary information recording fingerprint information beforehand; and

a fingerprint information identification part identifying fingerprint information read by the sensor using said fingerprint dictionary information.

11. The input device as claimed in claim 10, further comprising:

a switching part selecting one of operation modes,

wherein the operation modes comprise;

a first operation mode in which the first control part is activated;

a second operation mode in which the first and second control parts are activated;

a third operation mode in which the fingerprint information identification part is activated; and

a fourth operation mode in which the perpendicular position detecting part is activated.

12. The input device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the operation modes are switched based on an identification result by the fingerprint information identification part.

13. The input device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

an information reducing part generating contact area information by reducing the amount of area information obtained by the area extracting part.

14. The input device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

an information compressing part generating contact area information by compressing the amount of area information obtained by the area extracting part.

15. A pointer control method of controlling a pointer displayed on a display of a host device based on contact information detected by a sensor, comprising the steps of:

(a) extracting a contact area of the sensor and a finger; and

(b) controlling the pointer based on the contact area extracted in step (a).

16. An input device that transmits, to a host device having a display displaying a pointer, information relating to the pointer and includes a sensor detecting contact information, comprising:

a fingerprint authentication part authenticating a fingerprint of a finger touching the sensor;

an area detecting part detecting the size of a contact area of the sensor and the finger based on the contact information detected by the sensor; and

a control part controlling a moving speed of the pointer based on the fingerprint authenticated by said fingerprint authentication part and the size of the contact area detected by said area detecting part.

17. The input device as claimed in claim 16, wherein the control part sets a speed parameter used as a moving speed of the pointer and stored such that the speed parameter corresponds to the fingerprint based on the fingerprint authenticated by the fingerprint authentication part, and controls the moving speed of the pointer based on the speed parameter and the size detected by the area detecting part.

18. The input device as claimed in claim 16, wherein:

when the size detected by the area detecting part is equal to or less than a first area, the control part moves the pointer at a lowest speed;

when the size detected by the area detecting part is equal to or larger than a second area, the control part moves the pointer at a highest speed; and

when the size detected by the area detecting part is larger than the first area and smaller than the second area, the control part moves the pointer at an intermediate speed faster than the lowest speed and slower than the highest speed based on the detected area.