Remote pointers for interactive televisions

• US 5,926,168 A
• Filed: 09/05/1995
• Issued: 07/20/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: CDN Innovations, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Nong-Qiang Fan
• Inventors: Fan, Nong-qiang
• Primary Examiner(s): Hjerpe, Richard A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Laneau, Ronald
• Application Number:
  US08/523,283
• Time in Patent Office: 1,414 Days
• Field of Search: 345/158, 345/157, 250/200, 348/734
• US Class Current: 345/158
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0325 using a plurality of light emitters or reflectors or a plurality of detectors forming a reference frame from which to derive the orientation of the object, e.g. by triangulation or on the basis of reference deformation in the picked up image
• 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 3/03542 Light pens for emitting or receiving light
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/037 using the raster scan of a cathode-ray tube [CRT] for detecting the position of the member, e.g. light pens cooperating with CRT monitors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0386 for light pen
• 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: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42206 characterized by hardware details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications

Abstract

A pointing device that enable an user to remotely control the position of a cursor (10) on the display means (20) of a computer or interactive TV (30) is disclosed. The cursor (10) on the display means (20) appears at the position pointed by the remote pointing device. The remote pointing device comprising a microprocessor based machine (30), display means (20), a cursor (10), pointing means (40), means for determining the position on the display means (20) pointed by the pointing means (40), and means for inputting into the microprocessor based machine (30) the position on the display means (20) pointed by the pointing means (40) as the position of the cursor (10). Two optical embodiments are described: the first one uses imaging devices (1150) and the second one uses light scopes (1400). Interactive monitors (1500) with capability of displaying invisible images and the methods of using the same are also described. Improved light scope (1400) are described as well. Among the six applications of the pointing devices, two applications are important for interactive televisions: the first application is to use the pointing device to make the ultimate remote control (1005) with one or two buttons (1010 and 1020), and the second application is to improve a conventional remote control (1000) by adding a pointing means (40) thereon.

Claims

1. An improved remote control to provide easy interface between a human user and a television having a cursor displayed on the television screen, comprising:

a remote control;

a conventional control button fixed on said remote control, and the function of said conventional control button being independent of where the cursor appears on the television screen, and said conventional control button being used to perform a frequently used television control function selecting from a group consisting of volume up, volume down, channel up, channel down, power on and off, and mute;

a light scope having a lens for defining a narrow filed of view and a photo detector for detecting the light signal passing through the lens, and said light scope being fixed on said remote control and having the narrow filed of view defined by the lens aligned in the same direction as pointed by said remote control;

electronic circuitry for using the light signal measured by the photo detector in said light scope to determine the position on the television screen pointed by said remote control, whereby the television can display the cursor at the position on the television screen pointed by said remote control; and

an unconventional control button fixed on said remote control, and the function of said unconventional control button being depend on where said cursor appear on the television screen;

whereby the human user can easily and intuitively control the cursor position on the television screen from a distance and also perform conventional remote control functions at the same time.