User input device for a computer system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An apparatus, comprising:
- a light source;
a multilayer, multichannel transmission waveguide portion optically coupled to receive light from said light source, said transmission waveguide portion integrally housing a plurality of light transmission waveguides that produce a first set of light beams by guiding the light received from said light source so that said first set of light beams emanate from said light transmission waveguides in a first direction;
a multilayer, multichannel reception waveguide portion spaced apart from said transmission waveguide in the first direction, said reception waveguide portion integrally housing a plurality of light reception waveguides for receiving said first set of light beams emanating from said light transmission waveguides; and
a light detector optically coupled to said reception waveguide portion to receive the light from the light reception waveguides of said reception waveguide portion, said light detector including a plurality of light detecting elements that substantially simultaneously detects light intensity of the light from at least the first set of the light reception waveguides of said reception waveguide portion.
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Abstract
A user input device for an electronic device is disclosed. The user input device provides positional information using a grid of light. The grid of light is produced from a light source and waveguides. The grid of light is also received and processed using waveguides and a light detector. Optionally, optics may be used to enhance the operation of the user input device. The user input device is particularly suited for use as a user input device for a computer system or the like.
287 Citations
43 Claims
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1. An apparatus, comprising:
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a light source; a multilayer, multichannel transmission waveguide portion optically coupled to receive light from said light source, said transmission waveguide portion integrally housing a plurality of light transmission waveguides that produce a first set of light beams by guiding the light received from said light source so that said first set of light beams emanate from said light transmission waveguides in a first direction; a multilayer, multichannel reception waveguide portion spaced apart from said transmission waveguide in the first direction, said reception waveguide portion integrally housing a plurality of light reception waveguides for receiving said first set of light beams emanating from said light transmission waveguides; and a light detector optically coupled to said reception waveguide portion to receive the light from the light reception waveguides of said reception waveguide portion, said light detector including a plurality of light detecting elements that substantially simultaneously detects light intensity of the light from at least the first set of the light reception waveguides of said reception waveguide portion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 30, 31)
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23. An input device for an electronic device, comprising:
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at least one light source; a light detector to detect light intensity at a plurality of light detecting elements; and a lithographically defined multilayer waveguide structure including a plurality of waveguides, wherein said light source couples light into a first set of the waveguides of said waveguide structure, said first set of waveguides directs the light coupling into the waveguides to produce a grid of light beams from the light coupling into the waveguides, the grid of light beams transverse an input area and are then directed to the light detecting elements of said light detector by a second set of the waveguides of said waveguide structure. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40)
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39. An input device as recited in clam 37, wherein the dielectric structure is a BCB polymeric material.
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41. A method for determining a user'"'"'s input with respect to a high resolution input device, said method comprising:
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(a) providing a source of light; (b) producing a plurality of parallel light beams by guiding light from the source of light through a plurality of paths housed within multichannel one-piece transmission waveguide, the multichannel one-piece transmission waveguide having a multilayer structure; (c) simultaneously directing the parallel light beams across an input area of the input device, the input area being positioned with respect to the input device; (d) simultaneously receiving certain of the parallel light beams after having crossed the input area; (e) substantially concurrently determining light intensity for each of the parallel light beams received; and (f) determining whether there is a user'"'"'s input with respect to the input area based on the determining light intensity values. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43)
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Specification