Interactive input system and pen tool therefor
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A pen tool for use with a machine vision interactive input system comprising:
- an elongate body;
a tip adjacent one end of the body;
a variable reflector disposed on the body, the variable reflector comprising a reflecting portion and an attenuating portion, the attenuating portion being fixedly disposed on the reflecting portion and being configured to controllably scatter light to control the amount of illumination impinging on the reflecting portion;
a switch adjacent said tip and configured to actuate when said tip is brought into contact with a surface, wherein said switch comprises an actuator protruding from the tip; and
a controller accommodated by the body, said controller being configured;
to condition electrically the attenuating portion between differing levels of transparency while said switch is actuated; and
to switch the attenuating portion between two or more differing levels of transparency in response to said actuator being pushed into said tip as a result of contact between said tip and said surface.
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Abstract
A pen tool for use with a machine vision interactive input system comprises an elongate body, a tip on the body and a variable reflector disposed on the body. The variable reflector comprises a reflecting portion and an attenuating portion configured to control the amount of illumination reflected by the reflecting portion.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A pen tool for use with a machine vision interactive input system comprising:
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an elongate body; a tip adjacent one end of the body; a variable reflector disposed on the body, the variable reflector comprising a reflecting portion and an attenuating portion, the attenuating portion being fixedly disposed on the reflecting portion and being configured to controllably scatter light to control the amount of illumination impinging on the reflecting portion; a switch adjacent said tip and configured to actuate when said tip is brought into contact with a surface, wherein said switch comprises an actuator protruding from the tip; and a controller accommodated by the body, said controller being configured;
to condition electrically the attenuating portion between differing levels of transparency while said switch is actuated; and
to switch the attenuating portion between two or more differing levels of transparency in response to said actuator being pushed into said tip as a result of contact between said tip and said surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An interactive input system comprising:
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at least one imaging assembly having a field of view aimed into a region of interest and configured to capture image frames; at least one illumination source configured to emit illumination into said region of interest; at least one pointer, the pointer comprising; an actuatable tip comprising a reflecting portion and an attenuating portion, the attenuating portion being fixedly disposed on the reflecting portion, the attenuating portion of the tip being modulated between differing levels of transparency when the pointer is in contact with a surface within the region of interest with sufficient force to actuate the tip; a switch adjacent said tip and configured to actuate when said tip is brought into contact with a surface in said region of interest, wherein said switch comprises an actuator protruding from the tip; and a controller accommodated by a body of the pointer, said controller configured;
to condition electrically the attenuating portion between differing levels of transparency while said switch is actuated; and
to switch the attenuating portion between two or more differing levels of transparency in response to said actuator being pushed into said tip as a result of contact between said tip and said surface; andprocessing structure in communication with the at least one imaging assembly, when the pointer exists in captured image frames, said processing structure configured to demodulate the captured image frames to determine frequency components thereof and examine the frequency components to determine at least one attribute of said pointer, the frequency components being representative of illumination reflected by said pointer. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method of inputting information into an interactive input system comprising:
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emitting illumination into a region of interest from at least one illumination source; modulating the reflectivity of an actuatable tip of a pointer within the region of interest between differing levels of reflectivity while the pointer is in contact with a surface within the region of interest with sufficient force to actuate the tip, the tip comprising; a reflecting portion; an attenuating portion, the attenuating portion being fixedly disposed on the reflecting portion; a switch adjacent said tip and configured to actuate when said tip is brought into contact with a surface in the region of interest, wherein said switch comprises an actuator protruding from the tip; and a controller accommodated by the body, said controller being configured;
to condition electrically the attenuating portion between differing levels of transparency while said switch is actuated; and
to switch the attenuating portion between two or more differing levels of transparency in response to said actuator being pushed into said tip as a result of contact between said tip and said surface;capturing image frames of the region of interest; and when the pointer exists in captured image frames, demodulating the captured image frames to determine frequency components thereof and examining the frequency components to determine at least one attribute of the pointer, the frequency components being representative of illumination reflected by said pointer. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification