Stabilized laser pointer
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A pointing device comprising:
- a handheld housing;
a laser that generates a light beam that exits said housing;
a beam steering assembly for causing said light beam to move relative to said housing;
a housing orientation sensor that measures the orientation of said housing; and
a controller that operates said beam steering assembly to compensate for changes in said housing orientation in response to a state of a first actuating button during the time that said light beam is generated and exits said housing and, in response to a state of a second actuating button, directs said beam steering assembly such that the emitted light beam moves in a desired pattern.
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Abstract
A pointing device having a laser in a handheld housing is disclosed. The laser generates a light beam that exits the housing. A beam steering assembly causes the light beam to move relative to the housing. The pointer includes a housing orientation sensor that measures the orientation of the housing. A controller operates the beam steering assembly to compensate for changes in the housing orientation. Embodiments based on housing orientation sensors constructed from a gyroscope and a camera are described. In addition to stabilizing the light beam location, embodiments in which the beam steering assembly also causes the light beam to execute a fixed pattern can also be constructed.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A pointing device comprising:
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a handheld housing; a laser that generates a light beam that exits said housing; a beam steering assembly for causing said light beam to move relative to said housing; a housing orientation sensor that measures the orientation of said housing; and a controller that operates said beam steering assembly to compensate for changes in said housing orientation in response to a state of a first actuating button during the time that said light beam is generated and exits said housing and, in response to a state of a second actuating button, directs said beam steering assembly such that the emitted light beam moves in a desired pattern. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A pointing device comprising:
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a handheld housing; a laser that generates a light beam that exits said housing; a beam steering assembly for causing said light beam to move relative to said housing; an image sensor that measures the orientation of said housing, the image sensor integrated within the handheld housing; and a controller that operates said beam steering assembly to compensate for changes in said housing orientation in response to a state of a first actuating button during the time that said light beam is generated and exits said housing and, in response to a state of a second actuating button, directs said beam steering assembly such that the emitted light beam moves in a desired pattern. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
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11. A pointing device comprising:
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a handheld housing; a laser that generates a light beam that exits said housing; a beam steering assembly for causing said light beam to move relative to said housing; a housing orientation sensor that measures the orientation of said housing; a controller that operates said beam steering assembly to compensate for changes in said housing orientation; a first input device, wherein said controller operates said beam steering assembly to compensate for said changes in said housing orientation in response to said first input device being actuated; and a second input device, said controller operating said beam steering assembly to cause said light beam to execute a predetermined pattern when said second input device is actuated. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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14. A method for operating a hand-held pointing device comprising:
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providing a handheld housing comprising; a laser that generates a light beam that exits said housing; and a beam steering assembly for causing said light beam to move relative to said housing; measuring the orientation of said handheld housing relative to a fixed reference outside of said hand-held housing; responding to a first input by operating said beam steering assembly to compensate for changes in said orientation during the time that said light beam is generated and exits said housing; and responding to a second input by operating said beam steering to execute a predetermined pattern. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification