Inertia sensing module

• US 20100077857A1
• Filed: 09/30/2008
• Published: 04/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: China Mobile Hong Kong Company Limited (China Mobile Limited)
• Original Assignee: CyWee Group Ltd.
• Inventors: Ye, Zhou
• Granted Patent: US 8,042,391 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 73/504.20
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/105 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/166 Mechanical, construction or arrangement details of inertial navigation systems
• 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 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors

Abstract

An inertia sensing module is connected to a portable electronic device. The inertia sensing module includes an accelerometer unit for generating at least one of acceleration sensing signals a_x, a_y, a_z corresponding to the directions of X, Y, Z respectively; a gyroscope unit for generating at least one of angular rate sensing signals ω_x, ω_y, ω_z corresponding to the axes of X, Y, Z respectively; and a connector module having a plug that is inserted into a docking connector of the portable electronic device. With the inertia sensing module being connected to or disconnected from the portable electronic device, a user can control a specific cursor or graphic user interface on a picture of an electronic game player via his/her own motions.

Claims

1. An inertia sensing module connected to a portable electronic device, the portable electronic device comprising a docking connector, a microprocessor control unit (MCU) and a wireless signal transmission unit, the inertia sensing module comprising:

an accelerometer unit for generating at least one of acceleration sensing signals a_x, a_y and a_z, corresponding to the directions X, Y, Z respectively, when the accelerometer unit is subjected to accelerations in the directions X, Y and Z;

a gyroscope unit for generating at least one of angular rate sensing signals ω

_x, ω

_y, ω

_z corresponding to the rotational axes X, Y, Z, respectively, when subjected to angular rates along the rotational axes X, Y, Z; and

a connector module having a plug that is inserted into the docking connector of the portable electronic device;

thereby the plug of the connector module is inserted into the docking connector and the inertia sensing module and the portable electronic device are combined with each other to achieve an electrical connection therebetween;

the microprocessor control unit receives the at least one of acceleration sensing signals generated by the accelerometer unit and the at least one of angular rate sensing signals generated by the gyroscope unit, and converts these acceleration sensing signals and angular rate sensing signals into digital sensing signals;

the digital sensing signals are converted into various control signals following an operation process;

the control signals are outputted in order to control a cursor or graphic user interface on a display of an electronic game player via the wireless signal transmission unit of the portable electronic device.

2. The inertia sensing module according to claim 1, further comprising a casing, wherein the accelerometer module, the gyroscope module and the connector module are disposed in the casing, and the plug of the connector module protrudes from the casing.

3. The inertia sensing module according to claim 1, further comprising a memory module, the memory module continuously receiving and recording the at least one of acceleration sensing signals generated by the accelerometer unit and the at least one of angular rate sensing signals generated by the gyroscope unit.

4. The inertia sensing module according to claim 1, further comprising a memory module, the memory module continuously receiving and recording the digital sensing signals generated by the microprocessor control unit.