Data input apparatus, medium, and method detecting selective data input

• US 20070081728A1
• Filed: 07/11/2006
• Published: 04/12/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Park, Dong-ryeol, Hong, Young-jin, Chung, Seung-Nyung
• Granted Patent: US 8,319,732 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/190
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0426 tracking fingers with respect to a virtual keyboard projected or printed on the surface virtual keyboards on touch screens G06F3/04886
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/141 Control of illumination

Abstract

A data input apparatus, medium, and method detecting a selected data key input. The data input apparatus may include an image output module, an image input module, and a control module, with the image output module generating an input image having a predetermined number of input keys for the input of data. The image input module may capture the generated input image, and the control module may then binarize the captured images of the respective input keys, e.g., using a predetermined threshold value. Accordingly, the proper selection of input keys can be determined by comparing the binarized images with previously stored binarized images.

Claims

1. A data input apparatus, comprising:

an image input module to obtain an input image representing at least one selectable input; and

a controller to control a binarizing of at least one respective image of at least one respective input from the obtained input image, and to control a determining selection by a user of the at least one respective selectable input based on a comparison of a corresponding binarized image of the at least one respective image with a corresponding previously stored binarized image.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

an image output to generate an illumination of light, for forming an illumination on a surface, of the at least one respective selectable input, such that the obtaining of the input image includes a capturing of the illumination of light.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at least one respective selectable input is an image of a key representing a key from a keyboard.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the image output further comprises a charge coupled device (CCD) to capture the illumination light.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller provides information about a key code corresponding to the determined at least one selectable input to control a computational device based upon input of the key code.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the apparatus further comprises the computational device, with the apparatus being a computer.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the binarizing of the at least one respective input image is performed based upon a predetermined threshold value, wherein the predetermined threshold value is derived based on an adaptive thresholding algorithm.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller controls a calculating of differences between the corresponding binarized image of the at least one selectable input and the corresponding previously stored binarized image, on a pixel basis, and controls a determining that the at least one selectable input has been selected by the user based upon a sum of the calculated differences being greater than a predetermined value.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one selectable input includes a power input for controlling a drive module to control a driving of the control module.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a keypress duplication determination module determining, wherein there are a plurality of selectable inputs in the obtained input image, which of the plurality of selectable inputs that are identified as having been selected by the user, in the determining of the selection by the user of the at least one respective selectable input, should be an end determination of an actual input selection, when the identification of the selectable inputs results in identifying multiple inputs.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the keypress duplication determination module determines which of the plurality of selectable inputs has been actually selected by the user based on weights corresponding to relative locations of the selectable inputs in the obtained input image.

12. A method of detecting input of data, comprising:

obtaining an input image representing at least one selectable input;

binarizing at least one respective image of at least one respective selectable input from the obtained input image; and

determining selection by a user of the at least one respective selectable input based on a comparison of a corresponding binarized image of the at least one respective image with a corresponding previously stored binarized image.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

generating an illumination of light, for forming an illumination on a surface, of the at least one respective selectable input, such that the obtaining of the input image includes a capturing of the illumination of light.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the at least one respective selectable input is an image of a key representing a key from a keyboard.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the capturing of the illumination light is performed by a charge coupled device (CCD).

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the determining of the selection of the at least one respective selectable input further comprises providing information about a key code corresponding to the determined at least one selectable input to control a computational device based upon input of the key code.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the binarizing of the at least one respective input image is performed based upon a predetermined threshold value, wherein the predetermined threshold value is derived based on an adaptive thresholding algorithm.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the determining of the selection of the at least one respective selectable input further comprises:

calculating differences between the corresponding binarized image of the at least one selectable input and the corresponding previously stored binarized image, on a pixel basis; and

determining that the at least one selectable input has been selected by the user based upon a sum of the calculated differences being greater than a predetermined value.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

determining, where there are a plurality of selectable inputs in the obtained input image, which of the plurality of selectable inputs that are identified as having been selected by the user, in the determining of the selection by the user of the at least one respective selectable input, should be an end determination of an actual input selection, when the identification of the selectable inputs results in identifying multiple inputs.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the determining of which of the plurality of selectable inputs are the actual input selection further comprises:

determining which of the plurality of selectable inputs has been actually selected by the user based on weights corresponding to relative locations of the selectable inputs in the obtained input image.

21. At least one medium comprising computer readable code to implement the method of claim 12.