Pointing device which uses an image picture to generate pointing signals

• US 6,351,257 B1
• Filed: 08/13/1999
• Issued: 02/26/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Ventures I LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Primax Electronics Limited
• Inventors: Liu, Wen-Hsiung
• Primary Examiner(s): Jankus, Almis R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): AWAD, AMR A
• Application Number:
  US09/373,757
• Time in Patent Office: 928 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156-179, 250/231.13, 250/232
• US Class Current: 345/163
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0336 Mouse integrated fingerprint sensor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03543 Mice or pucks G06F3/03541 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0383 Signal control means within the pointing device

Abstract

The invention relates to a pointing device which uses an image picture to generate pointing signals. The pointing device comprises a housing, a line-shaped contact image sensor installed on an upper side of the housing for inputting a line-shaped image and generating a corresponding line image signal, and an image processing circuit installed in the housing and connected to the image sensor for receiving and processing the line image signal generated by the image sensor. A user can move an image picture across the image sensor in a direction perpendicular to the line direction of the image sensor to sequentially generate a series of line image signals, and the image processing circuit saves the series of line image signals in a bit map format which contains the image of the image picture in it. When the user moves the image picture across the image sensor to generate a first line image signal and a second line image signal, the image processing circuit will convert the first and second line image signals into first and second coordinates according to the positions of the first and second line image signals within the bit map, and generate a pointing signal according to the difference between the first and second coordinates.

Claims

1. A pointing device comprising:

a housing;

a line-shaped contact image sensor installed on an upper side of the housing for sensing a line-shaped image and generating a corresponding line image signal, each line image signal comprising a predetermined number of data bits; and

an image processing circuit installed in the housing and connected to the image sensor for receiving and processing the line image signal generated by the image sensor;

wherein a user can move an image picture across the image sensor in a direction perpendicular to the line direction of the image sensor to sequentially generate a series of line image signals, and the image processing circuit saves the series of line image signals in a bit map format which contains the image of the image picture in it, and then the user can move the image picture across the image sensor to generate a first line image signal and a second line image signal, and the image processing circuit will convert the first and second line image signals into first and second coordinates according to the positions of the first and second line image signals within the bit map, and generate a pointing signal according to the difference between the first and second coordinates.

2. The pointing device of claim 1 being a mouse which further comprises a roller ball installed on a bottom side of the housing and two optical sensors installed in the housing for detecting the rotations of the roller ball in two directions perpendicular to each other and generating corresponding two dimensional pointing signals.

3. The pointing device of claim 1 being connected to a computer system, the computer system comprising:

a display device for displaying a window;

a memory for storing programs and data;

a processor for executing the programs stored in the memory;

an input device control program stored in the memory for receiving and processing the pointing signals generated by the image processing circuit; and

a display control program stored in the memory for controlling the scrolling of the window displayed on the display device according to the pointing signals.

4. A pointing device connected to a computer system, the pointing device comprising:

a housing; and

a line-shaped contact image sensor installed on an upper side of the housing for sensing a line image and generated a corresponding line image signal, each line image signal comprising a predetermined number of bits;

the computer system comprising;

an image processing circuit connected to the image sensor for receiving and processing the line image signals generated by the image sensor;

wherein a user can move an image picture across the image sensor in a direction perpendicular to the line direction of the image sensor to sequentially generate a series of line image signals, and the image processing circuit saves the line image signals in a bit map format which contains the image of the image picture in it, and then the user can move the image picture across the image sensor to generate a first line image signal and a second line image signal, and the image processing circuit will convert the first and second line image signals into a first and second coordinates according to the positions of the first and second line image signals within the bit map, and generate a pointing signal according to the difference between the first and second coordinates.

5. The pointing device of claim 4 being a mouse which further comprises a roller ball installed on a bottom side of the housing and two optical sensors installed in the housing for detecting the rotations of the roller ball in two directions perpendicular to each other and generating corresponding two dimensional pointing signals.

6. The pointing device of claim 4 wherein the computer system further comprising:

a display device for displaying a window;

a memory for storing programs and data;

a processor for executing the programs stored in the memory;

an input device control program stored in the memory for receiving and processing the pointing signals generated by the image processing circuit; and

a display control program stored in the memory for controlling the scrolling of the window displayed on the display device according to the pointing signals.