Electronic Devices, Systems, Methods and Computer Program Products for Detecting a User Input Device Having an Optical Marker Thereon

• US 20100149100A1
• Filed: 12/15/2008
• Published: 06/17/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Meiby, Linda
• Application Number:
  US12/334,865
• Publication Number:
  US 20100149100A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/168
• 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 1/1686 the I/O peripheral being an integrated camera
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0425 using a single imaging device like a video camera for tracking the absolute position of a single or a plurality of objects with respect to an imaged reference surface, e.g. video camera imaging a display or a projection screen, a table or a wall surface, on which a computer generated image is displayed or projected tracking a projected light spot to determine a position on a display surface G06F3/0386
• 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 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus

Abstract

An electronic device includes a user input display having a plurality of input keys on the input display. Each of the plurality of input keys corresponds to an input function for the input display. An optical detector is configured to detect optical data including a user input device. The user input device has an optical marker thereon. A user input management system is coupled to the user input display and the optical detector. The user input management system is configured to receive optical data from the optical detector, to identify a location of the optical marker of the user input device with respect to the user input display based on the optical data, and to identify a selected one of the plurality of input keys on the display responsive to the location of the optical marker.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a user input display having a plurality of input keys on the input display, each of the plurality of input keys corresponding to an input function for the input display;

an optical detector configured to detect optical data comprising a user input device, wherein the user input device has an optical marker thereon; and

a user input management system coupled to the user input display and the optical detector, wherein the user input management system is configured to receive optical data from the optical detector, to identify a location of the optical marker of the user input device with respect to the user input display based on the optical data, and to identify a selected one of the plurality of input keys on the display responsive to the location of the optical marker.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the user input display further comprises a touch-sensitive display configured to detect touch-sensitive data when the user input device contacts the user input display, and wherein the user input management system is further configured to receive touch-sensitive data from the touch-sensitive display unit, to correlate the optical data and the touch-sensitive data and to identify the selected one of the plurality of input keys on the display responsive to the touch-sensitive data and the location of the optical marker.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the user input device comprises a finger and the user input marker has a contrasting color and/or brightness that optically distinguishes the marker from the user input device.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the user input marker is positioned in a central region of the user input device.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the user input marker is connected to a sleeve and/or glove configured to attach the user input marker to a finger of a user.

6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the user input management system is configured to visually enlarge a selected one of the plurality of input keys based on the location of the user input marker.

7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the user input management system is configured to identify the user input marker based on a contrasting color and/or brightness between the user input marker and the user input device.

8. A method for operating a hand-held electronic device by detecting an input on a user input display, the method comprising:

providing a user input display having a plurality of input keys on the input display, each of the plurality of input keys corresponding to an input function for the input display;

optically detecting a user input device using an optical detector configured to detect optical data comprising the user input device, wherein the user input device has an optical marker thereon;

identifying a location of the optical marker of the user input device with respect to the user input display based on the optical data; and

identifying a selected one of the plurality of input keys on the display responsive to the location of the optical marker.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

detecting touch-sensitive data when the user input device contacts the user input display, and

correlating the optical data and the touch-sensitive data to identify the selected one of the plurality of input keys on the display responsive to the touch-sensitive data and the location of the optical marker.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the user input device comprises a finger and the user input marker has a contrasting color and/or brightness that optically distinguishes the marker from the user input device.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising positioning the user input marker in a central region of the user input device.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising connecting the user input marker to a sleeve and/or glove configured to attach the user input marker to a finger of a user.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising visually enlarging a selected one of the plurality of input keys based on the location of the user input marker.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising identifying the user input marker based on a contrasting color and/or brightness between the user input marker and the user input device.

15. A computer program product for operating a hand-held electronic device by detecting a user input on a user input display, wherein the user input display has a plurality of input keys on the input display, each of the plurality of input keys corresponding to an input function for the input display, the computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied in said medium, said computer readable program code comprising;

computer readable program code configured to optically detect a user input device using an optical detector, wherein the user input device has an optical marker thereon;

computer readable program code configured to identify a location of the optical marker of the user input device with respect to the user input display based on the optical data; and

computer readable program code configured to identify a selected one of the plurality of input keys on the display responsive to the location of the optical marker.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising:

computer readable program code configured to detect touch-sensitive data when the user input device contacts the user input display, and

computer readable program code configured to correlate the optical data and the touch-sensitive data to identify the selected one of the plurality of input keys on the display responsive to the touch-sensitive data and the location of the optical marker.

17. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising computer readable program code configured to detect the user input marker when the user input marker is positioned in a central region of the user input device.

18. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising computer readable program code configured to visually enlarge a selected one of the plurality of input keys based on the location of the user input marker.

19. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising computer readable program code configured to identify the user input marker based on a contrasting color and/or brightness between the user input marker and the user input device.