Gesture detection device for detecting hovering and click

• US 9,524,037 B2
• Filed: 01/07/2014
• Issued: 12/20/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PixArt Imaging Incorporated
• Original Assignee: PixArt Imaging Incorporated
• Inventors: Yang, Shu-Sian, Cheng, Han-Ping, Kao, Ming-Tsan
• Primary Examiner(s): Rosario, Nelson
• Application Number:
  US14/149,128
• Publication Number:
  US 20140210716A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,078 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-184
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04101 2.5D-digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04108 Touchless 2D- digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface without distance measurement in the Z direction
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0304 Detection arrangements using opto-electronic means constructional details of pointing devices not related to the detection arrangement using opto-electronic means G06F3/033; optical digitisers G06F3/042
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

There is provided a gesture detection device including two linear image sensor arrays and a processing unit. The processing unit is configured to compare sizes of pointer images in the image frames captured by the two linear image sensor arrays in the same period or different periods so as to identify a click event.

Claims

1. A gesture detection device, comprising:

a detection surface having a normal direction;

an infrared light source configured to emit light alternatively in a first brightness value and a second brightness value, wherein the second brightness value is zero or nonzero brightness;

a first image sensor disposed on the detection surface and configured to capture a first image corresponding to light emission of the infrared light source and along the normal direction;

a second image sensor disposed on the detection surface offsetting a predetermined distance from the first image sensor along a Z-axis and configured to capture a second image corresponding to the light emission of the infrared light source and along the normal direction; and

a processing unit configured to

calculate an X-axis coordinate according to a position of a pointer image in the first image or a pointer image in the second image,

calculate a Y-axis coordinate according to a disparity of the pointer images in the first image and the second image, and

identify a click event of the Z-axis when a size difference of the pointer images between the first image and the second image is larger than or equal to a difference threshold.

2. The gesture detection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein when sizes of the pointer images in the first image and the second image are larger than or equal to a predetermined size, the processing unit is configured to stop calculating the X-axis coordinate and the Y-axis coordinate and stop identifying the click event.

3. The gesture detection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first image sensor and the second image sensor are configured to respectively capture a bright image corresponding to the first brightness value and respectively capture a dark image corresponding to the second brightness value, and the processing unit is further configured to calculate a differential image between the bright image and the dark image configured as the first image and the second image.

4. The gesture detection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first image sensor and the second image sensor comprise a linear image sensor array.

5. A gesture detection device, comprising:

a detection surface having a normal direction;

an infrared light source configured to emit light alternatively in a first brightness value and a second brightness value, wherein the second brightness value is zero or nonzero brightness;

a first image sensor disposed on the detection surface and configured to capture first images corresponding to light emission of the infrared light source and along the normal direction;

a second image sensor disposed on the detection surface parallel to the first image sensor and configured to capture second images corresponding to the light emission of the infrared light source and along the normal direction; and

a processing unit configured to

calculate an X-axis coordinate according to a position of a pointer image in the first images or a pointer image in the second images,

calculate a Y-axis coordinate according to a disparity of the pointer images in the first images and the second images, and

identify a click event when a size variation of the pointer images between the first images captured at different times and/or between the second images captured at different times is larger than or equal to a variation threshold.

6. The gesture detection device as claimed in claim 5, wherein when sizes of the pointer images in the first images and the second images are larger than or equal to a predetermined size, the processing unit is configured to stop calculating the X-axis coordinate and the Y-axis coordinate and stop identifying the click event.

7. The gesture detection device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the first image sensor and the second image sensor are configured to respectively capture a bright image corresponding to the first brightness value and respectively capture a dark image corresponding to the second brightness value, and the processing unit is further configured to calculate a differential image between the bright image and the dark image configured as the first images and the second images.

8. The gesture detection device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the first image sensor and the second image sensor comprise a linear image sensor array.

9. A gesture detection device, comprising:

a detection surface having a normal direction;

an infrared light source configured to emit light alternatively in a first brightness value and a second brightness value, wherein the second brightness value is zero or nonzero brightness;

a first image sensor disposed on the detection surface and configured to capture a first image corresponding to light emission and along the normal direction;

a second image sensor disposed on the detection surface parallel to the first image sensor and configured to capture a second image corresponding to the light emission of the infrared light source and along the normal direction;

a third image sensor disposed on the detection surface offsetting a predetermined distance from the first image sensor and the second image sensor along a Z-axis and configured to capture a third image corresponding to the light emission of the infrared light source and along the normal direction; and

a processing unit configured to

calculate a two-dimensional coordinate according to the first image and the second image, and

identify a click event of the Z-axis when a size difference between a pointer image in the first image and a pointer image in the third image or between a pointer image in the second image and the pointer image in the third image is larger than or equal to a difference threshold.

10. The gesture detection device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the two-dimensional coordinate comprises an X-axis coordinate and a Y-axis coordinate, and the processing unit is configured to calculate an X-axis coordinate according to a position of the pointer image in the first image or the pointer image in the second image, and calculate a Y-axis coordinate according to a disparity of the pointer images in the first image and the second image.

11. The gesture detection device as claimed in claim 9, wherein when sizes of the pointer images in the first image and the second image are larger than or equal to a predetermined size, the processing unit is configured to stop calculating the two-dimensional coordinate and stop identifying the click event.

12. The gesture detection device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the first image sensor, the second image sensor and the third image sensor are configured to respectively capture a bright image corresponding to the first brightness value and respectively capture a dark image corresponding to the second brightness value, and the processing unit is further configured to calculate a differential image between the bright image and the dark image configured as the first image, the second image and the third image.

13. The gesture detection device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the first image sensor, the second image sensor and the third image sensor comprise a linear image sensor array.