Adjustable area coordinate position data-capture system

• US 6,153,836 A
• Filed: 04/02/1998
• Issued: 11/28/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cyberscan Tech Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Kurt A. Goszyk
• Inventors: Goszyk, Kurt A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shankar, Vijay
• Application Number:
  US09/053,919
• Time in Patent Office: 971 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/175, 345/176, 345/177, 345/179, 178/18.01, 178/18.03, 178/18.04, 178/19.01, 178/19.02, 178/19.04
• US Class Current: 178/19.01
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/002 for measuring two or more coordinates
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/16 using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03542 Light pens for emitting or receiving light
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03549 Trackballs G06F3/03541 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0423 using sweeping light beams, e.g. using rotating or vibrating mirror
• 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

Abstract

Capturing coordinate path data from a stylus moving across a surface of arbitrary size and shape. A first receiver is mountable to the surface, and is for receiving a first light beam from the stylus. A second receiver is also mountable to the surface, and is for receiving a second light beam from the stylus. The stylus either emits a plurality of divergent cones of light comprising the first and second light beams from an internal light source or provides at least one divergent cone of light comprising the light beams by reflection from at least one divergent light source that shines at least one divergent cone of light over the surface. The first light beam has a first angle with respect to a two-dimensional coordinate system defined within the surface, and the second light beam has a second angle with respect to the two-dimensional coordinate system. The first receiver determines the first angle, and the second receiver determines the second angle. A processor determines the position of the stylus given the first and second angles and the locations of the first and second receiver means in the two-dimensional coordinate system.

Claims

1. A system for capturing coordinate path data from a stylus moving across a surface of arbitrary size and shape, characterized by:

(a) first receiver means mountable to the surface for receiving a first light beam from the stylus, the first light beam having a first angle with respect to a two-dimensional coordinate system defined within the surface, the first receiver means having means for determining the first angle;

(b) second receiver means mountable to the surface for receiving a second light beam from the stylus, the second light beam having a second angle with respect to the two-dimensional coordinate system, the second receiver means having means for determining the second angle, wherein the first and second receiver means respectively include first and second solid state incident angle detectors (IADs) mounted closely together in a common housing on a single corner of a rectangle within the two-dimensional coordinate system;

(c) means for determining the position of the stylus given the first and second angles and the locations of the first and second receiver means in the two-dimensional coordinate system; and

(d) means for determining a stylus characteristic.

2. The system of claim 1, further including a divergent light source incorporated within the common housing and for shining divergent light over the surface, wherein the stylus comprises means for reflecting the light from the divergent light source as the first and second light beams.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein means (c) is a processor capable of performing triangulation to determine the position of the stylus.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein means (c) includes means for determining the path of the stylus given a real-time sequence of determined stylus positions.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the stylus includes means for emitting a plurality of divergent cones of light comprising the first and second light beams.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the stylus includes a pressure sensitive tip for activating or deactivating the first and second light beams in accordance with pressure applied to the stylus.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the light beams are infrared (IR) radiation.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one divergent light source for shining at least one divergent beam of light over the surface, wherein the stylus includes means for reflecting the light from the divergent light source as the first and second light beams.

9. The system of claim 2, wherein the divergent light source includes one of light-emitting diodes and solid state laser diodes.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the first and second receiver means each include:

a light detection amplifier having a gain; and

an automatic gain control (AGC) sensor circuit for sensing the amplitude of the light detected by the respective receiver means and for adjusting the gain of the light detection amplifier in accordance with the amplitude sensed.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the means for determining a stylus characteristic includes a pulse code modulated (PCM) frequency generator in the stylus that generates a unique stylus characteristic code and a means for sensing and interpreting the code.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the means for determining a stylus characteristic includes means for determining the diameter of the stylus.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second IADs comprises two adjacent photodiode elements and means for determining the respective first or second angle based upon the ratio of light from the respective first or second light beam falling on the two adjacent photodiode elements of said each IAD.

13. A system for capturing coordinate path data from a stylus moving across a surface of arbitrary size and shape, characterized by:

(a) a first solid state incident angle detector (IAD) comprising two adjacent photodiode elements and mounted in a common housing mountable at a corner of a rectangle within a two-dimensional coordinate system defined within the surface, wherein the first IAD is for receiving a first light beam from the stylus, the first light beam having a first angle with respect to the two-dimensional coordinate system, the first IAD comprising means for determining the first angle based upon the ratio of light from the first light beam falling on the two adjacent photodiode elements of the first IAD;

(b) a second IAD comprising two adjacent photodiode elements, wherein the second IAD is mounted in the common housing and separated from the first IAD by a known, fixed distance, wherein the second IAD is for receiving a second light beam from the stylus, the second light beam having a second angle with respect to the two-dimensional coordinate system, the second IAD comprising means for determining the second angle based upon the ratio of light from the second light beam falling on the two adjacent photodiode elements of the second IAD; and

(c) means for determining the position of the stylus given the first and second angles and the locations of the first and second receiver means in the two-dimensional coordinate system.

14. The system of claim 13, further including a divergent light source incorporated within the common housing and for shining divergent light over the surface, wherein the stylus comprises means for reflecting the divergent light from the divergent light source as the first and second light beams.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the divergent light source includes one of light-emitting diodes and solid state laser diodes.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein means (c) is a processor capable of performing triangulation to determine the position of the stylus.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein means (c) includes means for determining the path of the stylus given a real-time sequence of determined stylus positions.

18. The system of claim 13, further comprising:

(d) means for determining a stylus characteristic.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the means for determining the stylus characteristic includes means for determining the diameter of the stylus.