Input device having the function of recognizing hybrid coordinates and operating method of the same

• US 8,269,720 B2
• Filed: 02/17/2006
• Issued: 09/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Finger System, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Finger System, Inc.
• Inventors: Lee, Seung Gol, Yang, Hong Young, Cho, Chang Hee
• Primary Examiner(s): Boddie, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shapiro, Leonid
• Application Number:
  US11/884,690
• Publication Number:
  US 20080259029A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,405 Days
• Field of Search: 345/158, 345/161, 345/163, 345/173, 345/179
• US Class Current: 345/158
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0317 in co-operation with a patterned surface, e.g. absolute position or relative movement detection for an optical mouse or pen positioned with respect to a coded surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0321 by optically sensing the absolute position with respect to a regularly patterned surface forming a passive digitiser, e.g. pen optically detecting position indicative tags printed on a paper sheet constructional details of pen-shaped pointing devices G06F3/03545, G06F3/03542, G06F3/037
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0383 Signal control means within the pointing device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

The present invention relates a coordinate input device to input a variety of job commands, diagrams or characters, and to store or output the input data. More particularly, the present invention provides an input device for recognizing hybrid coordinates and a method of operating the device. The input device uses an absolute coordinate recognition method and a relative coordinate recognition method in a combined fashion as a coordinate recognition method for inputting the track of the characters or diagrams. By doing so, input coordinates are converted into absolute coordinates, and the tracks of handwritten characters and diagrams are stored as the converted absolute coordinates such that the tracks are displayed on a display of the input device or on a monitor of an information terminal connected to the input device. Accordingly, problems of respective conventional input devices for recognizing coordinates can be solved, the structure of hardware can be simplified, and characters or diagrams can be input with accurate recognition of coordinates.

Claims

1. A method of recognizing coordinates using a hybrid coordinate recognition input device in which a variety of commands, characters, and diagrams are input and stored or output, the input device including:

a hybrid coordinate sensing unit for obtaining the absolute coordinates with respect to position of the input device, and obtaining relative coordinates by sensing an amount of relative movement with respect to a moving track; and

a coordinate calculation unit for obtaining the absolute coordinates and the relative coordinates and converting the obtained relative coordinates into converted absolute coordinates;

the method comprising;

recognizing the relative coordinates the instant the input device is turned on;

if an absolute coordinate sensing switch means operates in the process of recognizing the relative coordinates, obtaining the absolute coordinates at predetermined time intervals and if the absolute coordinate sensing switch means does not operate, obtaining only the relative coordinates; and

calculating the converted absolute coordinates by using the obtained said absolute coordinates, converting the relative coordinate information into the converted absolute coordinates;

wherein the relative coordinates are at least one selected among relative coordinates recognized before obtaining absolute coordinates, relative coordinates recognized at the instant the absolute coordinates are obtained, and relative coordinates recognized after obtaining the absolute coordinates; and

wherein in the converting of the relative coordinates, the relative coordinates are converted into the converted absolute coordinates by using the following equation;

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the hybrid coordinate sensing unit comprises:

an absolute coordinate sensing unit having an absolute coordinate sensing switch means determining whether or not to operate in order to obtain the absolute coordinates so that the absolute coordinates are recognized; and

a relative coordinate sensing unit capable of continuously obtaining the relative coordinates the instant the input device is turned on.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the hybrid coordinate sensing unit comprises:

an optical system having a hybrid imaging system;

an image sensor; and

an absolute coordinate sensing switch means allowing a microcode image printed on pattern paper to be obtained through the optical system and the image sensor.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the absolute coordinate sensing switch means is a pen-tip to obtain the absolute coordinates in a down operation in which the pressure of contact with a ground surface is sensed.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the absolute coordinate sensing switch means is a pen-tip to obtain the absolute coordinates in a down operation in which the pressure of contact with a ground surface is sensed.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the absolute coordinate sensing unit senses the absolute coordinates at a frequency at least twice per second while the absolute coordinate switch means operates.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the absolute coordinate sensing unit obtains the absolute coordinates through a tablet method or an ultrasonic method.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the coordinate calculation unit corrects an error of the absolute coordinates by using the relative coordinates, or corrects an error of the obtained relative coordinates by using the converted absolute coordinates.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

a storage unit storing the relative coordinates and/or the absolute coordinates obtained in the hybrid coordinate sensing unit, sensing time, and the converted absolute coordinates obtained in the coordinate calculation unit;

a function key inputting a command at predetermined coordinates obtained through the coordinate calculation unit;

a communication unit transmitting the converted absolute coordinates calculated in the coordinate calculation unit and/or the command input through the function key to the main body of a computer; and

a central processing unit (CPU) controlling the function of each element.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising a display unit outputting the converted absolute coordinates with respect to the track of handwritten characters or diagrams obtained in the coordinate calculation unit.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising a display unit outputting the converted absolute coordinates with respect to the track of handwritten characters or diagrams obtained in the coordinate calculation unit.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein in the converting of the relative coordinates into the converted absolute coordinates by using the obtained said absolute coordinates, if an error of recognition of the absolute coordinates occurs, the method further comprises:

determining an error of recognition of the absolute coordinate by comparing the obtained said absolute coordinate with the converted absolute coordinates of the identical point converted from the results of recognition of the relative coordinates; and

if an error is determined, correcting the absolute coordinate that is determined to have the error, by using the result of recognition of the relative coordinates and the result of recognitions of the absolute coordinates of other points.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein in the converting of the relative coordinates into the converted absolute coordinates by using the obtained said absolute coordinates, if an error of recognition of the relative coordinates occurs, the method further comprises:

determining that the input device is gripped with being rotated; and

obtaining accurate said relative coordinates by correcting the rotation angle that the input device is rotated.

14. A method of recognizing the coordinates using a hybrid coordinate recognition input device having a relative coordinate sensing unit and an absolute coordinate sensing unit, wherein if the absolute coordinate sensing unit does not work, the track of the input device is obtained by using only relative coordinates recognized by the relative coordinate sensing unit, said method comprising converting of the relative coordinates into converted absolute coordinates by using the following equation:

15. A method or recognizing coordinates using a hybrid coordinate recognition input device which is connected to an information terminal to input a variety of commands and handwritten characters, or diagrams by using a cursor displayed on a monitor, the input device including:

a hybrid coordinate sensing unit for obtaining absolute coordinates by using an image of a microcode printed on pattern paper, and obtaining relative coordinates by sensing an amount of relative movement with respect to a moving track of the input device;

a storage unit storing the absolute coordinates and/or the relative coordinates obtained in the hybrid coordinate sensing unit, and a coordinate sensing time;

a function key wherein a command is input at a predetermined time;

a communication unit transmitting the absolute coordinates and the relative coordinates obtained in the hybrid coordinate sensing unit, and the command input through the function key to the information terminal;

a CPU controlling functions of an absolute coordinate sensing unit, a relative coordinate sensing unit, the storage unit, the function key and the communication unit;

wherein the converted absolute coordinate are calculated by a coordinate calculation unit embedded in the information terminal from the absolute coordinates transmitted by the communication unit, the relative coordinates are converted in the converted absolute coordinates by using the absolute coordinates, and by using the converted absolute coordinates, a cursor on the monitor is controlled;

the method comprising;

recognizing the relative coordinates the instant the input device is turned on;

if an absolute coordinate sensing switch means operates in the process of recognizing the relative coordinates, obtaining the absolute coordinates at predetermined time intervals and if the absolute coordinate sensing switch means does not operate, obtaining only the relative coordinates; and

calculating the converted absolute coordinates by using the obtained said absolute coordinates, converting the relative coordinate information into the converted absolute coordinates;

wherein the relative coordinates are at least one selected among relative coordinates recognized before obtaining absolute coordinates, relative coordinates recognized at the instant the absolute coordinates are obtained, and relative coordinates recognized after obtaining the absolute coordinates; and

wherein in the converting of the relative coordinates, the relative coordinates are converted into the converted absolute coordinates by using the following equation;

16. The method of claim 15, wherein in the converting of the relative coordinates into the converted absolute coordinates by using the absolute coordinates, if recognition of the relative coordinates is not performed while the recognition of the absolute coordinates is performed, converting of the relative coordinates that are not recognized into the converted absolute coordinates is further performed by using an extrapolation or spline method.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the method of converting into the converted absolute coordinates by the spline method comprises:

converting the relative coordinates of a point that is not recognized into the converted absolute coordinates by adding the amount of virtual relative movement to a reference absolute coordinate is recognized as the converted absolute coordinate;

converting the relative coordinates of points that are not recognized into the converted absolute coordinates by adding the amount of virtual movement with respect to K points and the amount of movement recognized by a relative coordinate recognition method to the reference absolute coordinate recognized by an absolute coordinate recognition method; and

by determining the amounts of virtual movement with respect to the converted absolute coordinates of each point through an interpolation method, finally obtaining the converted absolute coordinates.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the method of converting into the absolute coordinates by the extrapolation method comprises:

determining the amounts of relative movement with respect to a finite number of points whose said relative coordinates are not recognized by an extrapolation or interpolation method of numerical analysis;

completing the track of the relative coordinates by adding the amounts of relative movement of the finite number of points whose said relative coordinates are not recognized, to the determined track of the relative coordinates; and

converting the completed track of the relative coordinates into the converted absolute coordinates through a simple proportional relationship.