Proximity detector for a seeing eye mouse

• US 6,281,882 B1
• Filed: 03/30/1998
• Issued: 08/28/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company (HP Inc.), Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.), PixArt Imaging Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Knee, Derek L., Gordon, Gary B., Hartlove, Jason T., Badyal, Rajeev
• Primary Examiner(s): Saras, Steven
• Assistant Examiner(s): KUMAR, SRILAKSHMI K
• Application Number:
  US09/052,046
• Time in Patent Office: 1,247 Days
• Field of Search: 345/168, 345/166, 345/163, 250/577, 382/103, 382/236, 348/169, 348/170
• US Class Current: 345/166
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0317 in co-operation with a patterned surface, e.g. absolute position or relative movement detection for an optical mouse or pen positioned with respect to a coded surface
• 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 3/03543 Mice or pucks G06F3/03541 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry

Abstract

An optical mouse images as an array of pixels the spatial features of generally any micro textured or micro detailed work surface below the mouse. The photo detector responses are digitized and stored as a frame into memory. Motion produces successive frames of translated patterns of pixel information, which are compared by autocorrelation to ascertain the direction and amount of movement. A hold feature suspends the production of movement signals to the computer, allowing the mouse to be physically relocated on the work surface without disturbing the position on the screen of the pointer. This may be needed if the operator runs out of room to physically move the mouse further, but the screen pointer still needs to go further. The hold feature may be implemented with an actual button, a separate proximity detector or by detecting the presence of a characteristic condition in the digitized data, such as loss of correlation or velocity in excess of a selected limit. A convenient place for an actual hold button is along the sides of the mouse near the bottom, where the thumb and the opposing ring finger grip the mouse. The gripping force used to lift the mouse engages the hold function. Hold may incorporate a brief delay upon either the release of the hold button, detection of proper proximity or the return of reasonable digitized values. During that delay any illumination control or AGC servo loops stabilize. A new reference frame is taken prior to the resumption of motion detection.

Claims

1. A hand held pointing device for a computer system, the pointing device comprising:

a housing having a bottom surface that moves against a work surface having imageable features;

the housing also having a top surface shaped to receive the human hand;

the housing also having a skirt connecting a perimeter of the bottom surface with tie top surface;

the housing also having a first axis extending generally in the direction from where the heel of the hand rests on the top surface to where the middle finger rests on the top surface, and a second axis perpendicular to the first, both axes being parallel to the bottom surface;

an aperture in the bottom surface;

a source of illumination mounted within the interior of the housing, proximate the aperture and that produces highlights and shadows by illuminating micro texture on the work surface;

a lens mounted within the interior of the housing, proximate the aperture and receiving light from the illuminated micro texture;

an optical motion detection circuit mounted within the interior of the housing and optically coupled by the lens to the highlights and shadows of the illuminated micro texture, the optical motion detection circuit producing motion signals indicative of motion in the directions along the first and second axes and relative to the highlights and shadows of the illuminated micro texture; and

wherein the optical motion detection circuit comprises a plurality of photo detectors each having an output, a memory containing reference and sample frames of digitized photo detector output values representing the highlights and shadows of the illuminated micro texture on the work surface;

a proximity detector that detects when the bottom surface is away from the work surface by more than a selected distance, that is coupled to the optical motion detection circuit, and that inhibits production of the motion signals when the bottom surface is away from the work surface by more than the selected distance, the proximity detector including arithmetic comparison circuits coupled to the reference and sample frames in the memory of the optical motion detection circuit, the proximity detector detecting an amount of correlation between the reference frame and sample frames that is less than an amount of correlation corresponding to the selected distance.