Optical finger mouse, mouse control module and physiology detection method thereof

• US 8,902,164 B2
• Filed: 09/13/2012
• Issued: 12/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PixArt Imaging Incorporated
• Original Assignee: PixArt Imaging Incorporated
• Inventors: Gu, Ren Hau, Kao, Ming Tsan, Huang, Sen Huang
• Primary Examiner(s): PATEL, PREMAL R
• Application Number:
  US13/615,064
• Publication Number:
  US 20130127721A1
• Time in Patent Office: 810 Days
• Field of Search: 345166-172, 600/322, 600/323, 600/300, 600/309, 600/310
• US Class Current: 345/166
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02427 Details of sensor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14552 Details of sensors specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7207 of noise induced by motion artifacts
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/033 Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user , e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor digitisers characterised by the transducing means G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/042 by opto-electronic means

Abstract

There is provided a mouse control module including two light sources, an image sensor, a processing unit and a communication unit. The two light sources emit light of different wavelengths to illuminate a finger surface. The image sensor receives reflected light from the finger surface to generate a plurality of image frames. The processing unit detects a displacement of the finger surface and a physiological characteristic of a user according to the plurality of image frames. The communication unit encodes and/or sequences the displacement and the physiological characteristic so as to generate finger and physiology information. There is further provided an optical finger mouse.

Claims

1. A mouse control module configured to output finger information and physiology information of a finger, the mouse control module comprising:

a first light source configured to emit light of a first wavelength to the finger;

a second light source configured to emit light of a second wavelength to the finger;

a light control unit configured to control an on-state and an off-state of the first light source and the second light source;

an image sensor configured to capture reflected light from the finger at a sampling frequency to generate a plurality of first image frames corresponding to the on-state of the first light source and a plurality of second image frames corresponding to the on-state of the second light source;

a processing unit configured to

calculate a displacement according to the first image frames and the second image frames,

divide each of the first image frames into at least two parts and calculate an average brightness of each part,

analyze the average brightness of the each part of the first image frames to obtain a first intensity variation,

divide each of the second image frames into at least two parts and calculate an average brightness of each part,

analyze the average brightness of the each part of the second image frames to obtain a second intensity variation, and

calculate a physiological characteristic according to the first intensity variation and the second intensity variation; and

a communication unit configured to perform at least one of an encoding process and a sequential process on the displacement and the physiological characteristic to generate the finger information and the physiology information.

2. The mouse control module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mouse control module is a mouse chip or a package.

3. The mouse control module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing unit is further configured to calculate a heart rate according to a comparison result of comparing at least one pulse threshold with at least one of the first intensity variation and the second intensity variation.

4. The mouse control module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the physiological characteristic comprises a blood oxygenation and a heart rate.

5. The mouse control module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing unit further calculates a sum of M image frames, and normalizes the sum or an average of the M image frames with a sampling parameter, wherein M is a positive integer.

6. The mouse control module as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the light control unit is configured to enable the off-state of the first light source and the second light source for predetermined time intervals such that the image sensor captures a plurality of bright first image frames, a plurality of bright second image frames and a plurality of dark image frames;

and

the processing unit is configured to calculate the displacement and the physiological characteristic according to a difference between the bright first image frames and the dark image frames and according to a difference between the bright second image frames and the dark image frames.

7. The mouse control module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mouse control module is configured to enter a sleep mode after idling for a predetermined time period.

8. The mouse control module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing unit is configured to not calculate the physiological characteristic or abandon the physiological characteristic when the displacement is larger than a predetermined value.

9. The mouse control module as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a memory unit configured to store a system frequency calibration parameter, the displacement and the physiological characteristic.

10. The mouse control module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing unit is further configured to compare a brightness value of the first image frames and the second image frames with a brightness threshold to identify a contact status.

11. The mouse control module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing unit is configured to calculate the displacement according to two of the first image frames, one of the first image frames and one of the second image frames, and two of the second image frames.

12. The mouse control module as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the light control unit is configured to alternatively enable the on-state of the first light source and the second light source such that the image sensor receives the reflected light associated with the first light source and the second light source alternatively;

or

the light control unit is configured to simultaneously enable the on-state of the first light source and the second light source such that the image sensor receives the reflected light associated with the first light source and the second light source simultaneously, and the image sensor comprises an optical filter covering at least a part of a sensing surface thereof.

13. The mouse control module as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an output unit configured to output the displacement and the physiological characteristic or output compressed displacement and compressed physiological characteristic.

14. An optical finger mouse, comprising:

a housing comprising a touch member touch-controlled by a finger; and

a mouse chip disposed inside the housing and configured to

simultaneously or alternatively provide light of different wavelengths to the finger,

capture reflected light from the finger at a sampling frequency to generate a plurality of first image frames and second image frames respectively corresponding to on-states of the two different light sources,

calculate a displacement according to the first image frames and the second image frames,

divide each of the first image frames into at least two parts and calculate an average brightness of each part,

analyze the average brightness of the each part of the first image frames to obtain a first intensity variation,

divide each of the second image frames into at least two parts and calculate an average brightness of each part,

analyze the average brightness of the each part of the second image frames to obtain a second intensity variation,

calculate a physiological characteristic according to the first intensity variation and the second intensity variation, and

perform at least one of an encoding process and a sequential process on the displacement and the physiological characteristic to generate finger information and physiology information.

15. The optical finger mouse as claimed in claim 14, wherein the physiological characteristic comprises a blood oxygenation and a heart rate.

16. The optical finger mouse as claimed in claim 14, wherein the mouse chip is further configured to calculate a heart rate according to a comparison result of comparing at least one pulse threshold with at least one of the first intensity variation and the second intensity variation.

17. The optical finger mouse as claimed in claim 14, wherein the mouse chip is further configured to compare a brightness value of the first image frames and the second image frames with a brightness threshold to identify a contact status.

18. A physiology detection method of a mouse control module configured to output finger information and physiology information associated with a finger, the physiology detection method comprising:

providing light of a first wavelength and a second wavelength to the finger;

capturing reflected light of the first wavelength to generate a plurality of first image frames and capturing reflected light of the second wavelength to generate a plurality of second image frames;

dividing each of the first image frames and the second image frames into at least two parts and calculating an average brightness of each part;

analyzing the average brightness of the each part of the first image frames to obtain a first intensity variation and analyzing the average brightness of the each part of the second image frames to obtain a second intensity variation;

calculating a physiological characteristic according to the first intensity variation and the second intensity variation and calculating a displacement according to the first image frames and the second image frames; and

performing at least one of an encoding process and a sequential process on the physiological characteristic and the displacement so as to output the finger information and the physiology information.