This application claims priority of Taiwanese application no. 094110716, filed on Apr. 4, 2005.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an optical pointing device, more particularly to an optical pointing device that employs laser technology.
2. Description of the Related Art
Speckles arise when a coherent light 2, such as a laser beam, is scattered from a surface 1′, as illustrated in
Referring to
The aforementioned conventional optical mouse 3 is disadvantageous in that when the casing 31 is moved a distance (d) away from the working surface 1, as illustrated in
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide an optical pointing device that can overcome the aforesaid drawback of the prior art.
According to the present invention, an optical pointing device, which is to be disposed on a working surface, comprises a casing, a light source, a light sensor, a processing unit, and an obstructing member. The casing has a side, and a light transmissible portion that is provided on the side of the casing and that faces the working surface. The light source is mounted in the casing, and emits light that is directed through the light transmissible portion of the casing and that is subsequently reflected by the working surface back into the casing through the light transmissible portion. The light sensor is mounted in the casing, and detects the light reflected by the working surface. The processing unit is coupled to the light sensor, and is operable so as to determine displacement of the casing relative to the working surface based on the reflected light detected by the light sensor when the casing is moved along the working surface. The obstructing member is disposed in the casing, and is capable of preventing the light sensor from detecting the light reflected by the working surface when the casing is moved beyond a predetermined distance away from the working surface.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Before the present invention is described in greater detail, it should be noted that like elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the disclosure.
Referring to
In this embodiment, the optical pointing device 4, such as an optical mouse that employs laser technology, is operable so as to generate a control signal that is transmitted to an operating system of a computing device (not shown) and that controls movement of a cursor on a computer screen (not shown) of the computing device, in a manner well known in art.
The optical pointing device 4 is suitable for use on a working surface 1, such as a table or a mouse pad.
The casing 6 includes a bottom side 61 that is provided with a light transmissible portion 611. In this embodiment, the light transmissible portion 611 is formed with an opening.
The light source 71 is mounted in the casing 6, and emits light 712 which is directed through the opening 611 in the bottom side 61 of the casing 6, which is incident on the working surface 1, and which is subsequently reflected by the working surface 1 back into the casing 6 through the opening 611. In this embodiment, the light source 71 is a semiconductor laser source. It is noted that the light reflected by the working surface 1 produces a speckle pattern corresponding to the profile of the reflecting part of the working surface 1.
The light sensor 72 is mounted in the casing 6, detects the light that is reflected by the working surface 1, and defines a geometric center. The light sensor 72 is disposed in the casing 6 such that an imaginary line (G) passing through the geometric center thereof is perpendicular to the working surface 1.
The processing unit 8 is mounted in the casing 6, is coupled to the light sensor 72, and is operable so as to determine displacement of the casing 6 relative to the working surface 1 based on the reflected light detected by the light sensor 72 when the casing 6 is moved along the working surface 1. That is, as the casing 6 is moved along the working surface 1, the reflected light produces different speckle patterns. The processing unit 8 determines the relative displacement of the casing 6 by performing calculations on the speckle patterns. It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the calculations may be performed in various ways. Moreover, it is noted that the control signal generated by the optical pointing device 4 corresponds to the relative displacement of the casing 6 as determined by the processing unit 8.
The obstructing member 73 is disposed in the casing 6, and is capable of preventing the light sensor 72 from detecting the light reflected by the working surface 1 when the casing 6 is moved beyond a predetermined distance away from the working surface 1, in a manner to be described hereinafter.
The light sensor 72 and the light source 71 are spaced apart from each other along a horizontal direction transverse to the imaginary line (G) that extends from the geometric center of the light sensor 72 to the working surface 1.
The light source 71 is disposed in the casing 6 such that the light 712 emitted thereby forms an incident angle (θ) with a line (N) normal to the working surface 1.
In this embodiment, the obstructing member 73 includes a base wall 732, and a surrounding wall 731 that extends from a periphery of the base wall 732 and that surrounds the light sensor 72. The base wall 732 of the obstructing member 73 is formed with a hole 730 therethrough. The hole 730 is defined by a hole-defining periphery that has proximate and distal portions 734, 733 respectively proximate and distal relative to the light source 71 along the horizontal direction. In this embodiment, the obstructing member 73 is disposed in the casing 6 such that the distal portion 733 of the hole-defining periphery of the hole 730 in the base wall 732 is aligned with the geometric center of the light sensor 72. It is noted that the area 74 of the working surfaces that is within the coverage of the light sensor 72 is restricted by the size of the hole 730 in the base wall 732 of the obstructing member 73, as well as the opening 611 in the bottom side 61 of the casing 6.
In operation, at an initial position, as illustrated in
The displacement (k) of the incident light 711 relative to its initial position when the bottom side 61 of the casing 6 is at the predetermined distance (L) above the working surface 1 may be calculated from the formula,
k=L(tan θ)
However, it is worth noting that, as illustrated in
m=T(tan α)
where T is the thickness of the material 9, and α is the angle of refraction.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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94110716 A | Apr 2005 | TW | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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4857903 | Zalenski | Aug 1989 | A |
6501460 | Paik et al. | Dec 2002 | B1 |
7050043 | Huang et al. | May 2006 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20060221352 A1 | Oct 2006 | US |