Remote coordinate input device and remote coordinate input method

• US 6,317,118 B1
• Filed: 11/09/1998
• Issued: 11/13/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Yoneno, Kunio
• Primary Examiner(s): Shalwala, Bipin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Osorio, Ricardo
• Application Number:
  US09/188,146
• Time in Patent Office: 1,100 Days
• Field of Search: 345/39, 345/44, 345/45, 345/46, 345/156-168, 345/169, 353/101, 353/42, 359/142, 359/146
• 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

Abstract

The invention prevents an audience from being distracted by movements of a demonstrator that are not related to movements of a pointer on a screen, and by the demonstrator moving away from the screen, during a presentation which is performed by enlarging and projecting the display of a personal computer onto the screen by a projector. A designating tool, which is held by the hand of the demonstrator, is imaged by an imaging part which is disposed at the top of the screen. On the front of the designating tool, infrared LEDs are disposed at each vertex of an isosceles triangle, and recessed at the center, and the orientation of the designating tool is obtained from the positional relationship of the infrared LEDs of an image which has been imaged by the imaging part. This orientation is converted to planar coordinates and is sent to a computer, a marker is displayed on a screen, and the software is operated.

Claims

1. A remote coordinate input system for use with a screen, comprising:

an imaging device that images relative positional relationship between first and second light emitting elements of a designator, said first light emitting element includes at least three light emitting elements, said second light emitting element is arranged on an orthogonal axis to a plane which is composed of said at least three light emitting elements;

a coordinate converter that obtains an orientation of the designator with respect to said imaging device from an image which is imaged by said imaging device and converts the image to planar coordinates;

an output device that outputs the planar coordinates that are obtained by the coordinate converter; and

a display that displays designating information on the screen based on the planar coordinates that are obtained from said output device.

2. The remote coordinate input system of claim 1, each of the at least three first light emitting elements being respectively disposed at each vertex of an isosceles triangle, a base of the isosceles triangle that is formed by connecting two of the at least three first light emitting elements is substantially horizontally arranged.

3. The remote coordinate input system of claim 1, each of the at least three first light emitting elements being respectively arranged at each vertex of a rhombus, one diagonal line of said rhombus being substantially horizontally arranged.

4. The remote coordinate input system of claim 1, further comprising:

an operator disposed at the designator that provides operating information;

a modulator that modulates the at least three first light emitting elements or the second light emitting element according to the operating information of the operator; and

a light receiver that detects the modulation of the at least three first light emitting elements and the second light emitting element.

5. The remote coordinate input system of claim 1, further comprising a hand detector that detects whether the designator is being held by a hand of a user, at least one of lighting and turning off of the light of the first and second light emitting elements being controlled by an output of said hand detector.

6. A remote coordinate input method, comprising the steps of:

obtaining a first image from a first light emitting element;

obtaining a second image from a second light emitting element;

obtaining a reference coordinate from a coordinate of said first image;

obtaining an orientation of a designator with respect to an imaging device from a positional relationship between the second image and the reference coordinate; and

specifying a designating position on a display according to said orientation.

7. The remote coordinates input method of claim 6, further comprising the steps of:

obtaining independent designating tool images in which an image of a plurality of designators are separated into images independent from images which have been imaged by said imaging device;

obtaining an orientation of each designator with respect to the imaging device for each independent designating tool image; and

specifying designated positions on the display according to said orientations.