Method for producing indicators and processing apparatus and system utilizing the indicators

• US 8,851,391 B2
• Filed: 11/20/2009
• Issued: 10/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sonix Technology Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Sonix Technology Company Limited
• Inventors: Tsai, Yao-Hung
• Primary Examiner(s): HESS, DANIEL A
• Application Number:
  US12/591,479
• Publication Number:
  US 20100072281A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,782 Days
• Field of Search: 235/454, 235/494
• US Class Current: 235/494
• 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: G06K 19/06 characterised by the kind of the digital marking, e.g. shape, nature, code
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06009 with optically detectable marking G06K19/063, G06K19/08 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06037 multi-dimensional coding
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06178 the marking having a feature size being smaller than can be seen by the unaided human eye
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2019/06234 miniature-code
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2019/06262 with target- or other orientation-indicating feature
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/12 using a selected wavelength, e.g. to sense red marks and ignore blue marks
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1408 the method being specifically adapted for the type of code
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1417 2D bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1447 extracting optical codes from image or text carrying said optical code
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1456 determining the orientation of the optical code with respect to the reader and correcting therefore
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42206 characterized by hardware details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42221 Transmission circuitry, e.g. infrared [IR] or radio frequency [RF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42222 Additional components integrated in the remote control device, e.g. timer, speaker, sensors for detecting position, direction or movement of the remote control, microphone or battery charging device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72

Abstract

The present invention discloses a method for producing graphical indicators and interactive systems for utilizing the graphical indicators. On the surface of an object, visually negligible graphical indicators are provided. The graphical indicators and main information, i.e. text or pictures, co-exist on the surface of object. The graphical indicators do not interfere with the main information when the perception of human eyes are concerned. With the graphical indicators, further information other than the main information on the surface of object are carried. In addition to the main information on the surface of object, one is able to obtain additional information through an auxiliary electronic device or trigger an interactive operation.

Claims

1. A graphical indicator combination, comprising:

a plurality of graphical indicators located adjacent to each other on a surface of an object, each in an area on the surface, each area being divided into a plurality of state zones arranged in a form of an m by n matrix, m>

2, n>

2, m and n being integers, each of the graphical indicators comprising;

at least one header portion capable of distinguishing the corresponding graphical indicator from adjacent graphical indicators and indicating the orientation of the corresponding graphical indicator, each header portion comprising a plurality of first graphical micro-units disposed in parts of the state zones, each of the first graphical micro-units being disposed in one of the state zones respectively, and

a content portion comprising a plurality of second graphical micro-units disposed in other parts of the state zones, each of the second graphical micro-units being disposed in one of the state zones respectively;

wherein the surface of the object comprises a main information that overlaps and co-exists with the graphical micro-units, and the graphical micro-units are visually negligible when the user observes the main information, and

wherein each of the graphical micro units is printed in a Black (K) primitive color ink, and the main information is printed in a Cyan (C), a Magenta (M), or a Yellow (Y) primitive color ink, or a combination thereof.

2. The graphical indicator combination of claim 1, wherein the state zones arranged in the form of an m by n matrix comprise a plurality of first state zones and a plurality of second state zones, each of the first graphical micro-units is disposed in one of the first state zones respectively, each of the second graphical micro-units is disposed in one of the second state zones respectively.

3. The graphical indicator combination of claim 1, wherein parts of the first state zones are unoccupied by the first graphical micro-units and parts of the second state zones are unoccupied by the second graphical micro-units.

4. The graphical indicator combination of claim 1, wherein the Black (K) primitive color ink of the graphical micro-units substantially absorbs infrared ray, and the Cyan (C), the Magenta (M), or the Yellow (Y) primitive color ink of the main information hardly absorbs infrared rays.

5. The graphical indicator combination of claim 4, wherein the Black (K) primitive color ink is a black oil ink, while the main information is printed in a Near-K ink that hardly absorbs infrared ray.

6. The graphical indicator combination of claim 5, wherein the candidate states comprise a first state and a second state, as in the first state, one of the graphical micro-units is disposed in the state zone includes, and as in the second state, no graphical micro-unit is disposed in the state zone.

7. The graphical indicator combination of claim 1, wherein each of the graphical micro-units is printed in a fluorescent ink, and the main information is printed in a typical oil ink.

8. The graphical indicator combination of claim 1, wherein each of the graphic indicators has a visually negligible size.

9. The graphical indicator combination of claim 1, wherein each of the state zones selectively stores the one of the graphical micro-units respectively, each of the state zones displays a state from at least two candidate states.

10. The graphical indicator combination of claim 1, wherein the graphical indicators comprise a plurality of first graphical indicators and a plurality of second graphical indicators, the first graphical indicators and the second graphical indicators have identical header portions, and the content portions of the first graphical indicators are different from the content portions of the second graphical indicators.

11. The graphical indicator combination of claim 1, wherein each of the graphical indicators has more than one header portions.

12. The graphical indicator combination of claim 1, wherein the header portion in each of the graphical indicators corresponds an indicator information.

13. The graphical indicator combination of claim 1, wherein the header portion and the content portion in each of the graphical indicators corresponds two different indicator informations.

14. An electronic system for retrieving a plurality of graphical indicators located adjacent to each other on a surface of an information medium, the surface of the information medium comprising a main information that overlaps and co-exists with the graphical indicators and the graphical indicators are visually negligible when the user observes the main information, each of the graphical indicators including a header information and a content information, each header information being capable of indicating the orientation of the corresponding graphical indicator and the orientation of the corresponding graphical indicator, and the electronic system comprising:

an optical-reading device comprising an invisible light source for irradiating an invisible light beam onto a selected zone on the surface of the information medium and a sensor unit for exclusively capturing the graphic indicators within the selected zone;

a processing device coupled to the optical-reading device for receiving the graphical indicators within the selected zone by processing and/or transforming the graphical indicators within the selected zone; and

an output device outputting an audio information or a visual information,

wherein the graphical indicator comprises;

a plurality of graphical micro-units arranged in a layout, the layout corresponds to an indicator information, the processing device analyses the layout of the graphical micro-units to retrieve the indicator information by processing and/or transforming the graphical indicators,

wherein the surface of the information medium comprises a main information that overlaps and co-exists with the graphical micro-units, and the graphical micro-units are exclusively sensed by the sensor unit, and

wherein each graphical micro-unit is printed in a Black (K) primitive color ink, and the main information is printed in a C an (C), a Magenta (M), or a Yellow (Y) primitive color ink, or a combination thereof.

15. The electronic system of claim 14, wherein the graphical indicator comprises a plurality of state zones for selectively respectively storing the graphical micro-units, wherein each of the state zones displays a state from at least two candidate states.

16. The electronic system of claim 15, wherein the candidate states comprise a first state and a second state, as in the first state, the state zone includes one graphical microunit, and as in the second state, the state zone does not include the graphical micro-unit.

17. The electronic system of claim 16, wherein each square centimeter of the selected zone includes more than 3000 state zones of which less than seventy percent are in the first state, and percentage of area occupied by the graphical micro-unit in the state zone is less than 80.

18. The electronic system of claim 16, wherein each square centimeter of the selected zone includes more than 6000 state zones of which less than seventy percent are in the first state, and percentage of area occupied by the graphical micro-unit in the state zone is less than 80.

19. The electronic system of claim 14, wherein the Black (K) primitive color ink of each graphical micro-unit substantially absorbs infrared ray, and the Cyan (C), the Magenta (M), or the Yellow (Y) primitive color ink of the main information hardly absorbs infrared ray, and the optical-reading device emits infrared ray onto the surface of an information medium and then receives a response image from the surface of an information medium.

20. The electronic system of claim 19, wherein the Black (K) primitive color ink is a black oil ink, while the main information is printed in a Near-K ink that hardly absorbs infrared ray.

21. The electronic system of claim 14, wherein each graphical micro-unit is printed in a fluorescent ink, and the main information is printed in a typical oil ink, the optical reading device emitting ultraviolet ray or blue ray onto the surface of an information medium and then receiving a response image from the surface of an information medium.

22. The electronic system of claim 14, wherein the surface of an information medium comprises multiple index zones, each index zone corresponds to one index value, and multiple identical graphical indicators are arranged in each index zone.

23. The electronic system of claim 14, wherein the main information is imperceptible to the optical-reading device.