Image sensor mouse

• US 6,697,053 B2
• Filed: 12/04/2001
• Issued: 02/24/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hosiden Corporation
• Original Assignee: Hosiden Corporation
• Inventors: Kajihara, Kiyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): CHOW, DOON Y
• Application Number:
  US10/006,257
• Publication Number:
  US 20020070919A1
• Time in Patent Office: 812 Days
• Field of Search: 345/165, 345/166, 345/163, 345/156, 345/157, 345/175, 345/179, 250/221, 341/31
• US Class Current: 345/166
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen

Abstract

An image sensor mouse of a contact-less type is provided which employs a full color light emitting diode 80 having a red (R) light emitting unit diode 801, a green (G) light emitting unit diode 802, and a blue (B) light emitting unit diode 803, and a voltage control integrated circuit 910 which makes selection of one or more of the three unit diodes to be operative by varying a driving voltage applicable across each of the unit diodes separately to vary intensity of the emitted light therefrom, whereby obtaining a mixed light in arbitrary color.

Claims

1. An image sensor mouse of a contact-less type that is moved on a reflection surface in the state that a light emitted from a light emitting diode is irradiating the reflection surface, and performs recognition and comparison computation process of ever changing moving images of the reflection surface formed on a built-in image sensor to obtain information of moving direction and amount of movement of the image sensor mouse comprising:

a full color light emitting diode, as the light emitting diode, having a red light emitting unit diode, a green light emitting unit diode, and a blue light emitting unit diode; and

means for varying separately respective driving voltages applicable to the respective unit diodes so as to select one or more unit diodes to be driven out of those three unit diodes and so as to vary the intensity of each of the emitted lights from the respective unit diodes;

whereby obtaining a mixed light in an arbitrary color.

2. The image sensor mouse according to claim 1 wherein said means varies any of said driving voltages in stepwise.

3. The image sensor mouse according to claim 1 wherein said means varies any of said driving voltages continuously in either increasingly or decreasingly.

4. The image sensor mouse according to claim 1 wherein the means for varying the driving voltages varies each of the respective driving voltages at intervals of constant or at random.