Control apparatus and method for controlling an image display

• US 8,345,002 B2
• Filed: 02/15/2007
• Issued: 01/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PixArt Imaging Incorporated
• Original Assignee: PixArt Imaging Incorporated
• Inventors: Lin, Cho Yi, Kuo, Ming Hui
• Primary Examiner(s): Lao, Lun-Yi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hegarty, Kelly B
• Application Number:
  US11/675,538
• Publication Number:
  US 20080180396A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,147 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-158, 345/163, 345/166, 345/179, 348/734, 178/19.05
• US Class Current: 345/157
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03542 Light pens for emitting or receiving light

Abstract

A control apparatus for controlling an image display includes at least one reference object for generating a predetermined spectrum signal; a modulation unit for modulating the predetermined spectrum signal with a predetermined method; and a remote controller. The remote controller includes an image sensor for receiving the modulated predetermined spectrum signal and generating a digital signal; and a processing unit for receiving the digital signal, demodulating the digital signal so as to generate a digital image which only contains the image of the reference object, and calculating an image variation of the image of the reference object formed on the digital image, wherein the remote controller controls the image display according to the image variation thereby eliminating the interference from a light source which generates a light band overlapping the band of the predetermined spectrum signal. The present invention also provides a control method for controlling an image display.

Claims

1. A control apparatus for controlling an image display, comprising:

a first light source having a plurality of first point lights arranged to form a first shape for generating a predetermined spectrum signal;

a second light source having a plurality of second point lights arranged to form a second shape for generating a predetermined spectrum signal;

a modulation unit for simultaneously modulating the first point lights of the first light source with a first predetermined modulation frequency and for simultaneously modulating the second point lights of the second light source with a second predetermined modulation frequency to generate a modulated predetermined spectrum signal; and

a remote controller, comprising;

an image sensor for receiving the modulated predetermined spectrum signal at an image sampling frequency, which is an integer times of the first predetermined modulation frequency and the second predetermined modulation frequency, and generating a digital signal; and

means for receiving the digital signal, identifying the first light source based on the first shape arranged by the first point lights and the second light source based on the second shape arranged by the second point lights, determining a rotation of the remote controller according to the first and second light sources identified, and identifying whether sampled images of the first and second light sources in the digital signal match the first predetermined modulation frequency and the second predetermined modulation frequency so as to eliminate interference from a light source which generates a light band overlapping at least a part of the band of the predetermined spectrum signal.

2. The control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image display is selected from the group consisting of a television, the screen of a game machine, a monitor and a projection screen.

3. The control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the first and the second predetermined modulation frequencies have a multiple relationship.

4. The control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first and the second predetermined modulation frequencies are both lower than the image sampling frequency of the image sensor and the first and the second predetermined modulation frequencies respectively have a multiple relationship with the image sampling frequency.

5. The control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an optical filter disposed in front of the image sensor for blocking spectrum signals outside the band of the predetermined spectrum signal.

6. The control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the band of the predetermined spectrum signal is in the IR spectrum and the optical filter is an IR filter.

7. The control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the remote controller further comprises a wireless communication unit for sending a control signal to the image display thereby correspondingly controlling the image display.

8. The control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the remote controller is electrically connected to the image display and correspondingly controls the image display.

9. The control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image sensor is a CMOS image sensor or a CCD image sensor.

10. The control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first and second light sources and the modulation unit are integrated on the image display or manufactured as a discrete component.

11. The control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means is further for calculating a position variation or a rotating angle variation of the sampled images of the first and second light sources.

12. The control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first and second light sources have a line shape and a star shape, respectively.

13. A control method for controlling an image display, comprising the steps of:

generating a predetermined spectrum signal with a first light source having a plurality of first point lights arranged to form a first shape and a second light source having a plurality of second point lights arranged to form a second shape;

simultaneously modulating the first point lights of the first light source with a first predetermined modulation frequency and simultaneously modulating the second point lights of the second light source with a second predetermined modulation frequency to generate a modulated predetermined spectrum signal;

receiving, using an image sensor of a remote controller, the modulated predetermined spectrum signal at an image sampling frequency, which is an integer times of the first predetermined modulation frequency and the second predetermined modulation frequency, and generating a digital signal;

identifying the first light source based on the first shape arranged by the first point lights and the second light source based on the second shape arranged by the second point lights and determining a rotation of the remote controller according to the first and second light sources identified; and

identifying whether sampled images of the first and second light sources in the digital signal match the first predetermined modulation frequency and the second predetermined modulation frequency so as to eliminate interference from a light source which generates a light band overlapping at least a part of the band of the predetermined spectrum signal.

14. The control method according to claim 13, further comprising the step of:

disposing an optical filter in front of the image sensor for blocking spectrum signals outside the band of the predetermined spectrum signal.

15. The control method according to claim 14, wherein the band of the predetermined spectrum signal is in the IR spectrum and the optical filter is an IR filter.

16. The control method according to claim 14, wherein the image sensor is a CMOS image sensor or a CCD image sensor.

17. The control method according to claim 13, further comprising:

calculating a position variation or a rotating angle variation of the sampled images of the first and second light sources.