System and method for controlling polling of a signal in a hand-held computing device

• US 20040222967A1
• Filed: 05/05/2004
• Published: 11/11/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Inventec Appliances Corporation (Inventec Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Inventec Appliances Corporation (Inventec Corporation)
• Inventors: Lee, Allen, Riccomini, Roy J., Twerdahl, Timothy D.
• Application Number:
  US10/839,925
• Publication Number:
  US 20040222967A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/161
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• 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 3/0213 Arrangements providing an integrated pointing device in a keyboard, e.g. trackball, mini-joystick for pointing devices integrated in a laptop computer G06F1/169; joysticks G05G9/047; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0338 with detection of limited linear or angular displacement of an operating part of the device from a neutral position, e.g. isotonic or isometric joysticks
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03549 Trackballs G06F3/03541 takes precedence

Abstract

A system and method are described for selectively controlling polling of a signal representing displacement information of an analog input device included in a hand-held computing device. In one embodiment, the analog input device generates a signal representing a displacement of the input device. A switch directs the signal to a threshold detector system, which determines whether the signal exceeds a predetermined threshold. If the threshold is exceeded, the threshold detector system generates an interrupt. The switch then directs the signal to a processor that is configured to receive a digitized version of the signal and to poll the digitized signal at a higher specified frequency.

Claims

1. A system for selectively controlling polling of a signal representing displacement information in a hand-held computing device, comprising:

an analog input device system configured to generate the signal;

a threshold detector system configured to receive the signal and to generate an interrupt if the signal exceeds a predetermined threshold; and

a switch having at least a first and a second state, the switch configured to direct the signal to the threshold detector system when in the first state and to a processor when in the second state.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the switch is further configured to switch from the first to the second state in response to the generation of the interrupt.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising an analog-to-digital converter configured to receive the signal directed by the switch when the switch is in the second state, the analog-to-digital converter further configured to digitize the signal and to direct the digitized signal to the processor.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the predetermined threshold corresponds to a displacement of 30-40% of a maximum possible displacement of an analog input device, the analog input device being coupled to the analog input device circuitry such that the analog input device circuitry generates the signal when the analog input device is displaced.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to poll the digitized signal at a specified frequency for purposes of computing displacement information when the switch is in the second state.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the specified frequency is 100 Hertz.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the processor is further configured to determine, while polling the digitized signal, whether the digitized signal has indicated zero displacement for a predetermined amount of time, and configured to cause the switch to return to the first state upon making such a determination.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the predetermined amount of time is 5-10 seconds.

9. A system for selectively controlling polling of signals representing displacement information in a hand-held computing device, comprising:

an analog input device system configured to generate a first signal representative of displacement in a first dimension and a second signal representative of displacement in a second dimension;

a threshold detector system configured to receive the first and second signals and to generate a first interrupt if the first signal exceeds a first predetermined threshold or a second interrupt if the second signal exceeds a second predetermined threshold;

a first switch having at least a first and a second state, the first switch configured to direct the first signal to the threshold detector system when in the first state and to a processor when in the second state; and

a second switch having at least a first and a second state, the second switch configured to direct the second signal to the threshold detector system when in the first state and to the processor when in the second state.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the first switch is further configured to switch from the first to the second state in response to the generation of the first interrupt.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the second switch is further configured to switch from the first to the second state in response to the generation of the second interrupt.

12. A system for selectively controlling polling of a signal representing displacement information in a hand-held computing device, comprising:

an analog input device system configured to generate the signal; and

a processor configured to receive a digitized signal corresponding to the signal and to determine whether the digitized signal exceeds a predetermined threshold, the processor further configured to poll the digitized signal at a first frequency if the digitized signal does not exceed the predetermined threshold and to poll the digitized signal at a second frequency if the digitized signal exceeds the predetermined threshold, the second frequency being greater than the first frequency.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the predetermined threshold corresponds to a displacement of 30-40% of a maximum possible displacement of an analog input device, the analog input device being coupled to the analog input device system such that the analog input device system generates the signal when the analog input device is displaced.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the first frequency is 10 Hertz and the second frequency is 100 Hertz.

15. The system of claim 12, further comprising an analog-to-digital converter configured to receive the signal generated by the analog input device system, to digitize the signal, and to direct the digitized signal to the processor.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to determine, while polling the digitized signal at the second frequency, whether the digitized signal has indicated zero displacement for a predetermined amount of time, and configured to return to polling the digitized signal at the first frequency upon making such a determination.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the predetermined amount of time is 5-10 seconds.

18. A method for selectively controlling polling of a signal representing displacement information in a hand-held computing device, comprising:

directing the signal to a threshold detector system;

determining whether the signal exceeds a predetermined threshold;

generating an interrupt if the signal exceeds the predetermined threshold; and

polling the digitized signal at a specified frequency for purposes of computing displacement information.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising directing a digitized signal corresponding to the signal to a processor in response to the generation of the interrupt.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising determining, while polling the digitized signal, whether the digitized signal has indicated zero displacement for a predetermined amount of time, and directing the signal back to the threshold detector system upon making such a determination.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the predetermined amount of time is 5-10 seconds.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the predetermined threshold corresponds to a displacement of 30-40% of a maximum possible displacement of an analog input device, the analog input device being coupled to an analog input device system such that the analog input device system generates the signal when the analog input device is displaced.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the specified frequency is 100 Hertz.

24. A method for selectively controlling polling of a signal representing displacement information in a hand-held computing device, comprising:

directing a digitized signal corresponding to the signal to a processor;

polling the digitized signal at a first frequency for purposes of computing displacement information;

determining whether the digitized signal exceeds a predetermined threshold; and

polling the digitized signal at a second frequency if the digitized signal exceeds the predetermined threshold.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising determining, while polling the digitized signal at the second frequency, whether the digitized signal has indicated zero displacement for a predetermined amount of time, and returning to polling the digitized signal at the first frequency upon making such a determination.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the predetermined amount of time is 5-10 seconds.

27. The method of claim 24, wherein the predetermined threshold corresponds to a displacement of 30-40% of a maximum possible displacement of an analog input device, the analog input device being coupled to an analog input device system such that the analog input device system generates the signal when the analog input device is displaced.

28. The method of claim 24, wherein the first frequency is 10 Hertz and the second frequency is 100 Hertz.

29. A computer readable medium having embodied thereon a program, the program being executable by a machine to perform a method for selectively controlling the polling of a signal representing displacement information in a hand-held computing device, the method comprising:

directing the signal to a threshold detector system;

determining whether the signal exceeds a predetermined threshold;

generating an interrupt if the signal exceeds the predetermined threshold; and

polling the digitized signal at a specified frequency for purposes of computing displacement information.

30. The computer readable medium of claim 29, wherein the method further comprises directing a digitized signal corresponding to the signal to a processor in response to the generation of the interrupt.

35. The system of claim 30, wherein the first frequency is 10 Hertz and the second frequency is 100 Hertz.

31. A system for selectively controlling the polling of a signal representing displacement information in a hand-held computing device, comprising:

means for directing a digitized signal corresponding to the signal to a processor;

means for polling the digitized signal at a first frequency for purposes of computing displacement information;

means for determining whether the digitized signal exceeds a predetermined threshold; and

means for polling the digitized signal at a second frequency if the digitized signal exceeds the predetermined threshold.

32. The system of claim 31, further comprising means for determining, while polling the digitized signal at the second frequency, whether the digitized signal has indicated zero displacement for a predetermined amount of time and returning to polling the digitized signal at the first frequency upon making such a determination.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the predetermined amount of time is 5-10 seconds.

34. The system of claim 31, wherein the predetermined threshold corresponds to a displacement of 30-40% of the maximum possible displacement of an analog input device, the analog input device being coupled to an analog input device system such that the analog input device system generates the signal when the analog input device is displaced.