Speckle-based optical navigation on curved tracking surface
First Claim
1. A speckle-based trackball apparatus for user input, the apparatus comprising:
- a trackball configured to be rotated by a user;
an illuminator configured to illuminate a spot area on a curved surface of the trackball with a curved-wavefront illumination beam so that an ensemble of optical features used for motion sensing interact with the illumination beam at different phase points as a function of a location within the illuminated spot area on the curved surface of the trackball;
imaging optics configured to image the optical features emanating from the illuminated spot area of the trackball; and
an array of photosensitive elements configured to detect intensity data relating to the optical features imaged by the imaging optics.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A speckle-based trackball apparatus with an optical architecture employing curved-wavefront illumination beam or a modified imaging lens and aperture configuration is provided. The apparatus includes a trackball configured to be rotated by a user. In the curved-wavefront embodiment, an illuminator is configured to illuminate a spot area of the curved surface of the trackball with a curved-wavefront illumination beam so that an ensemble of optical features used for motion sensing interact with the illumination beam at different phase points as a function of a location within the illuminated spot area on the curved surface of the trackball. In the modified imaging lens and aperture configuration, the aperture is positioned between the back focal plane and the image plane of the imaging lens, and the illuminator may be configured to illuminate a portion of the trackball with a planar-wavefront illumination beam. Other embodiments, aspects and features are also disclosed.
104 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A speckle-based trackball apparatus for user input, the apparatus comprising:
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a trackball configured to be rotated by a user; an illuminator configured to illuminate a spot area on a curved surface of the trackball with a curved-wavefront illumination beam so that an ensemble of optical features used for motion sensing interact with the illumination beam at different phase points as a function of a location within the illuminated spot area on the curved surface of the trackball; imaging optics configured to image the optical features emanating from the illuminated spot area of the trackball; and an array of photosensitive elements configured to detect intensity data relating to the optical features imaged by the imaging optics. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of sensing movement of a trackball for a user input device, the method comprising:
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illuminating a portion of the trackball with a curved-wavefront illumination beam so that optical features emanate from the illuminated portion of the trackball; mapping images of the optical features emanating from the illuminated portion of the trackball to an array of photosensitive elements using imaging optics; and determining displacement of optical features emanating from the illuminated portion of the trackball in a succession of frames to sense rotational movement of the trackball. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A speckle-based trackball apparatus for user input, the apparatus comprising:
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a trackball configured to be rotated by a user; an illuminator configured to illuminate a portion of the trackball with an illumination beam so that optical features emanate from the illuminated portion of the trackball; and an imaging lens and an imaging aperture which are configured to image the optical features emanating from the illuminated portion of the trackball onto an array of photosensitive elements which is configured to detect intensity data relating to the optical features, wherein the imaging aperture is positioned between a back focal plane and an image plane of the imaging lens, and wherein a distance from a principal plane of the imaging lens to the aperture is a focal length, f, of the imaging lens plus mf2/(f+md), where m is a magnification of the imaging lens and d is approximately equal to R/(1+cos Θ
), where R is the radius of the trackball, and Θ
is an illumination incident angle. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. A method of sensing movement of a trackball for a user input device, the method comprising:
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illuminating a portion of the trackball with an illumination beam so that optical features emanating form the illuminated portion of the trackball onto an array of photosensitive elements which is configured to detect intensity data relating to the optical features, wherein the imaging aperture is positioned between a back focal plane and an image plane of the imaging lens; and determining displacement of optical features emanating from the illuminated portion of the trackball in a succession of frames to sense rotational movement of the trackball, wherein the illuminating is performed using a coherent light source and an optical lens system to form a planar-wavefront illumination beam, and wherein the optical features comprise a speckle pattern which is a complex interference pattern created by coherent light reflected from a curved surface of the trackball, and wherein the photosensitive elements comprise photodiodes. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification