JP2003216321A - Optical input device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an input device for giving a sense of operation close to that of a track ball whose operability is excellent without generating any failure specific to a mechanical type. <P>SOLUTION: At the time of operating the surface (operation face) of a dome- shaped cover 5 with the finger or the like, an image on the surface of the cover 5 is captured through an optical element 6 by an inside image pickup element 4. A video signal captured by the image pickup element 4 is converted into coordinate information by an image processing means 10, and outputted to an external device main body, and a cursor on a display is moved. This optical input device is configured as an optical type so that any failure specific to a mechanical type can be prevented from being generated. Also, the operation face is shaped like a dome so that the optical input device can be operated with a sense of operation close to that of a track ball, and that the operability can be improved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical input device for inputting coordinate data and the like into a computer, and more particularly to an optical input device excellent in operability.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As means for inputting XY plane coordinates and the like to a computer, there have been conventionally known mechanical mice, optical mice, trackballs and the like.

In the mechanical mouse, a ball is incorporated inside the mouse body, and two rollers are brought into contact with the ball to detect the amount of movement in the left-right direction and the front-back direction, respectively. When the rollers rotate, a rotary encoder (rotation detector) incorporated in each roller sends a pulse corresponding to the number of rotations to the computer. The computer detects the amount of movement of the mouse from the pulse information and moves the cursor on the display accordingly.

In the optical mouse, light from an LED is emitted from a lower portion of the mouse toward a moving plane, and a photodetector (light detection mechanism) receives reflected light to detect the amount of movement of the mouse.

The trackball has a structure in which a mechanical mouse is just turned upside down. The ball is exposed on the operation surface side, and the cursor is moved by rotating the ball by hand.

[0006]

However, since both the mouse type input devices convert the actual movement amount into coordinate data, it is necessary to secure a space for moving the mouse on the desk. . Therefore, there is a problem that the mouse type input device is difficult to operate on a narrow desk.

On the other hand, the trackball has a feature that it can be operated at a fixed position without moving it like a mouse.

However, the trackball is easily worn because the ball physically rotates. In addition, there is a drawback that dust is easily clogged between the ball and the main body of the device that supports the ball, and failure is likely to occur unless cleaning is performed regularly. Note that this point is the same for the mechanical mouse.

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an optical input device which is excellent in operability and which is less likely to cause mechanical failure.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An optical input device of the present invention comprises an image pickup device provided in a device body, a dome-shaped transparent cover which covers the image pickup device and whose surface serves as an operation surface, and the image pickup device. An optical element provided between the element and the cover to form an image of the operating body in contact with the transparent cover on the imaging element, and when the operating body moves on the surface of the dome-shaped transparent cover. An image processing means for generating coordinate information based on a moving direction and a moving position of the image of the operating body captured by the image pickup device is provided.

In this optical input device, when an operating body such as a finger is moved on the surface of the dome-shaped transparent cover,
The image of the operating body is formed on the image pickup element, and the image moves in accordance with the movement of the operating body. Coordinate data can be obtained by detecting the moving direction and moving position of this image.

It is preferable that an illumination means for illuminating the transparent cover is provided inside the transparent cover. When this illumination means is provided, the image of the operating body moving on the surface of the transparent cover can be clearly detected by the image pickup device.

The transparent cover preferably forms a part of a spherical surface. If the transparent cover has a dome shape, and preferably has a spherical shape, the operating body can be moved along the surface of the transparent cover for a long distance within a limited plane. Therefore, even if the transparent cover is small and the image acquisition area of the image sensor is small, the detectable amount of movement of the operating body such as a finger can be lengthened and accurate coordinate input can be performed.

Further, the optical element is a finite system having a focal point on the image pickup element and the transparent cover surface or in the vicinity thereof, and an image of an object at a position away from the transparent cover is not formed on the image pickup element. preferable.

According to this structure, it is possible to prevent the image processing means from operating due to the movement of the object at a position away from the transparent cover, and to prevent the operation noise from being generated.

[0016]

1 is a sectional view of an optical input device showing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the optical input device according to the second embodiment. It should be noted that only the optical element 6 is different between the first embodiment and the second embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the focal length of the optical element and the radius to the surface of the cover.

An optical input device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.
Is used integrally with a device such as a computer or used as a peripheral device in the vicinity of the computer, and is mainly for moving a cursor on a display along XY plane coordinates. .

In FIGS. 1 and 3, the Z1 direction in the drawings is the upper side where the operating body such as a finger is located, and the Z2 direction is the lower side where the desk is located. Also, as shown in FIG.
The direction and the Y direction intersecting with it are the XY plane.

In the input device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the input device 1 is provided in an empty space on a keyboard (not shown) on the computer side which is the device body 2. A recess 2a is formed in the space, and a printed board 3 is provided on the bottom surface 2b. An image pickup device 4 is provided on the printed circuit board 3, and the image pickup device 4 is fixed to the apparatus main body 2 so as to be located at the center of the recess 2a.

The image pickup device 4 includes a plurality of light receiving elements (pixels) for converting light into electricity, and a CCD (Charge Coupled) for independently converting a change of an optical signal into an electric signal for each pixel.
Device) etc. The size of the image sensor 4 in this embodiment is, for example, 2 × 2 mm, and the number of pixels thereof is about 16 pix × 16 pix, but the size is not limited to this.

A cover 5 is provided above the recess 2a to cover the entire recess 2a. The cover 5 is a transparent dome-shaped lid body formed of a spherical surface or a curved surface having a predetermined curvature, and is fixed to a support member 7 provided on the surface of the apparatus body 2.

An optical element 6 is provided in the recess 2a between the image pickup element 4 and the cover 5 while being supported by the support member 7. The optical element 6 is a finite system lens or a combination of lenses that can form a focus near the surface (operation surface) of the cover 5 and can also form an image on the imaging element 4. However, as long as an operating body such as a finger is brought into contact with at least the vicinity of the surface of the cover 5, the contrast (brightness / darkness) of the operating body can be determined, and for example, a ball lens as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 6A, a compound lens 6B in which a plurality of meniscus lenses are combined as shown in FIG. 3, and the like. The ball lens 6A shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has four sides cut so as to have a quadrangular shape in plan view, and the cut faces are supported by the support member 7.

Further, inside the apparatus main body 2, there is provided an image processing means 10 for converting a video signal acquired by the image pickup device 4 into coordinate information on an XY plane and outputting the coordinate information.

The operation of the optical input device will be described. When there is no operation body near the surface of the cover 5, natural light from the outside or reflected light from an object at a position away from the cover 5 enters the cover 5, but an object at a position away from the cover is an image sensor. Since the image is not formed on the image pickup device 4, the contrast of the light given to the image pickup device 4 does not change depending on external natural light or an object located away from the cover 5.

Therefore, when the operating body is not in contact with the surface of the cover 5, the detection output of the image pickup device 4 does not change, and the coordinate information output from the image processing means 10 does not change either. The cursor on the top remains stopped.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, when the operator touches an operation body such as a finger on the surface (operation surface) of the cover 5 and moves the finger from this position along the surface of the cover 5. Will be described.

First, when the operator touches the surface of the cover 5 with a finger (operating body), the image of the finger is projected on the image pickup device 4 via the optical element 6, and the image signal thereof is image processing means 10.
Is output to. The image processing means 10 converts the video signal into coordinate information and outputs it to the apparatus main body side. The coordinate information here is an initial value, and is the position on the XY coordinate plane where the cursor was located before touching the cover 5 with a finger.

Next, when the finger is moved along the surface of the cover 5, an image of the moving operating body (finger) is projected onto the image pickup device 4 via the optical element 6 and detected by the image pickup device 4. The moving image moves in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the operating body. The image processing means 10 acquires the movement change of the contrast of the image detected by the image pickup device 4 at a predetermined sampling cycle, and based on this, the coordinate data regarding the movement direction and the movement distance is generated. This coordinate data is output to the computer main body.

Driver software for the input device 1 is installed on the device body side. The driver software causes the cursor on the display to move in the direction of the operation amount of the operator's finger on the basis of a change in the coordinate data sent from the image processing means 10 first and the coordinate data sent thereafter. Also, it is displayed so as to move according to the operation amount.

As shown in FIG. 1, when an operating body such as a finger moves from a point A on the surface of the cover 5 along the surface of the cover 5 in the direction of an arrow α shown in the figure, the image pickup device 4 displays the point A The image A ′ moves in the direction opposite to α in the plane of the image sensor 4. At this time, the moving distance of the point A on the surface of the cover 5 can be made longer with respect to the moving amount of the image A ′ in the image pickup device 4 to the left. That is, even if the area of the image sensor 4 is limited as shown in FIG. 2 and the area of the cover 5 when seen in a plane is limited, the movement of a finger or the like within the area is limited as shown in FIG. A long distance can be secured. Therefore, the operation distance of the finger or the like can be increased, and a wide feeling of inputting the coordinate data by the finger can be secured.

In an actual input operation, when an operating body such as a finger is moved in a predetermined direction along the surface of the cover 5 and the cursor displayed on the screen is moved for a predetermined distance, the hand is released from the cover 5. , The cursor stops at the position after the movement. After that, if the finger is moved again in the same direction as the direction where the finger is placed on the cover 5, the cursor can be operated so as to move further from the stop position.

Further, when the transfer speed for moving the finger on the surface of the cover 5 is set higher than a predetermined threshold value, it is possible to shift to processing such as scrolling of the display screen.

In the input device 1, since the finger can be operated along the surface of the dome-shaped cover 5, the operation can be performed with a feeling similar to that of a trackball.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, since the actual cover 5 has a thickness t, the focal length r of the optical element 6 with the cover 5 removed is the radius R to the surface 5a of the cover 5.
When the light is refracted on the inner surface 5b of the cover 5, the light may be refracted at the inner surface 5b of the cover 5 and may have the focal point B inside the thick wall of the cover 5.

In such a case, the optical element 6 is covered with the cover 5 by setting the focal length r of the optical element 6 to be longer than the radius R of the surface 5a of the cover 5. Sometimes, the focal point of the optical element 6 can be formed on the surface 5a of the cover 5. Therefore, the image pickup device 4 can clearly capture an image (image of an operating body such as a finger) near the surface 5a of the cover 5.

On the other hand, when the focus of the optical element 6 is made to coincide with the surface of the cover 5, for example, the flicker of a fluorescent lamp or the cover 5 is caused.
The cursor on the display may be moved by disturbance (operation noise) such as a change in contrast due to the surface of the image being hidden by the operator. In such a case, it is preferable that the focal point of the optical element 6 is set in the vicinity of the cover 5 and slightly inward of the surface, and the focal point is extremely blurred outside the cover 5. In this case, it is possible to prevent the problem that the cursor is moved only by the change in the contrast of the degree of the disturbance, and further improve the operability of the input device 1.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the structure may be such that the illuminating means 8, 8, 8, 8 is provided inside the cover 5 and on the surface of the supporting member 7. In this way, the illumination means 8, 8,
By arranging 8 and 8 evenly, it is possible to uniformly irradiate the finger (operating body) in contact with the surface of the cover 5 from any position. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the influence on the change in contrast due to the disturbance (operation noise) due to the change in the external light such as the fluorescent light, and it is possible to obtain the coordinate information with higher accuracy.

When light of a specific wavelength contained in natural light or the like acts as disturbance noise, the surface of the cover may be covered with a filter that cuts in the light of the wavelength.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an operation feeling close to that of a trackball without causing a mechanical failure, and to improve the operability of the input device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an optical input device according to a first embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an optical input device showing a second embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a relationship between a focal length of an optical element and a radius of a surface of a cover,

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Optical input device 2 device body 4 Image sensor (CCD) 5 cover 6 Optical element 7 Support member 8 Illumination member 10 Image processing means

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image sensor provided in a main body of the apparatus, a dome-shaped transparent cover which covers the image sensor and whose surface serves as an operation surface, and the transparent cover which is provided between the image sensor and the cover. And an optical element for forming an image of the operating body in contact with the imaging element on the imaging element, and when the operating body moves on the surface of the dome-shaped transparent cover, the image of the operating body captured by the imaging element An optical input device comprising image processing means for generating coordinate information based on a moving direction and a moving position. 2. The optical input device according to claim 1, wherein an illuminating means for illuminating the transparent cover is provided inside the transparent cover. 3. The optical input device according to claim 1, wherein the transparent cover forms a part of a spherical surface. 4. The optical element is a finite system having a focal point on or near the image pickup element and a transparent cover surface,
The optical input device according to claim 1, wherein an image of an object at a position away from the transparent cover is not formed on the image sensor.