Patent Application
20100020017
This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 97127860, filed on Jul. 22, 2008. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of specification.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an input module and, more particularly, to an input module used for operating an electronic book.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nowadays, information is digitized, and more and more electronic products replace traditional information interfaces. For example, a digital frame and a digital camera replace traditional photographic paper and negatives. The electronic product such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a pocket computer (pocket PC), or an intelligent mobile phone becomes a new-generation document processing platform. Nowadays, a user can write an electronic mail (E-mail), and read or watch an electronic document such as an electronic book or a digital photo via the electronic product such as the PDA, the Pocket PC, or the mobile phone.
It is well known that the volume of the electronic product such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a pocket computer (pocket PC), or an intelligent mobile phone is not large to allow a user to carry about it. Consequently, the size of a display screen of the electronic product is rather limited. To allow the user to smoothly watch the electronic document on the screen with the limited size, manufacturers develops different operation methods allowing the user to operate the electronic document more intuitively when he or she reads the electronic document.
Since a touch panel has been greatly developed, it provides a better choice about an operating interface for a digital electronic product pursuing the characteristics of being small, light, short and thin. Since the touch panel has both display and operation characteristics, when the touch panel is disposed at the electronic product, the user may operate the electronic product more intuitively. Furthermore, the number of keys on the electronic product may be decreased to reduce the size of the electronic product. In today's market, some manufacturers utilize the function of the touch panel capable of sensing a trace of a moving human figure on the touch panel to allow the user to directly zoom in on, zoom out on, or translate the picture displayed on the screen by moving the figure on the screen. The user does not need to click other instructions, and thus he or she may operate and control the electronic device more intuitively and conveniently.
Although the operation method as stated above is very convenient and intuitive, when a display picture of an image is zoomed in or zoomed out, it cannot be translated at the same time. As a result, it is inconvenient for the user. For example, the user utilizes the electronic product such as the PDA to watch a comic strip or a file having a figure. Since the layouts of the files are usually unorderly due to the beauty of the layout, when the user wants to watch the image at a zone more clearly, he or she may zoom in on the image at the zone to the whole picture. However, if the user wants to watch the image at another zone, he or she needs to first zoom out on the display picture, and then translate the picture. When the user finds the image at the zone to be watched, he or she zooms in on the image to the whole picture. It is rather inconvenient for the user to operate the electronic product utilizing the stated operation method, and the user may be unwilling to read the electronic book. As a result, the electronic book is not easily to be popularized.
The invention provides a reading device for an electronic document including an input module and a main body. When a user operates the input module to move in a three dimensional (3D) space, the input module can detect a motion state of the input module in the 3D space and generate motion data. Additionally, the main body includes a screen for displaying a picture of an electronic document, and the main body may be connected with the input module via a wireless transmission path. As a result, the main body can receive the motion data generated by the input module and compute the motion data to generate an operation instruction. Thus, the main body can adjust the picture of the electronic document according to the operation instruction.
The invention further provides an operation method of reading an electronic document adapted for a mobile device. Furthermore, the mobile device can display a picture of an electronic document. The operation method according to the invention includes the following steps. First, a motion state of an input module in the 3D space is detected from an input end, and motion data is generated. Second, the motion data may be transmitted from the input end to the mobile device via a wireless transmission path. At the time, the motion data may be decoded, and an operation instruction is generated to the mobile device. Then, the picture of the electronic document may be adjusted according to the operation instruction.
The invention further provides an input module which can be adapted for the reading device as stated above. The input module according to the invention includes an operation unit, a first acceleration sensor, a control unit, and a wireless transmission unit. The control unit is coupled with the operation unit and the first acceleration sensor to receive a state signal generated by the operation unit and a first acceleration value generated by the first acceleration sensor and generate motion data. The first acceleration value is generated by the first acceleration sensor when the first acceleration sensor senses the acceleration of the input module in a first direction axis in the space. Additionally, the wireless transmission unit may be coupled with the control unit to transmit the motion data to an electronic device such as the reading device to operate a read of the electronic document.
To sum up, since the input module according to the invention includes a plurality of acceleration sensors, it can detect the motion state of the user in the 3D space. As a result, the user can operate the read of the electronic document more intuitively and more conveniently by operating the input module.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings.
The main body 102 may be connected with the input module 104 via a wireless or a wire transmission path 112. In this embodiment, the wireless transmission path 112 may be a Bluetooth transmission path or an infrared transmission path. Additionally, the main body 102 may be an electronic device such as a PDA, a palm computer, an intelligent mobile phone or even a desktop computer which may be used for reading the electronic document. Many function keys such as function keys 122 and 124 may be disposed on the main body 102. In some embodiments, a holding recess 126 may be formed at the main body 102. As a result, when the input module 104 is not used, it can be put in the holding recess 126.
The input module 104 is used for operating a picture of an electronic document displayed on the main body 102 as shown in
Although some functions of the function keys are illustrated in the above embodiments, but they are not limited herein. Persons having ordinary skill in the art may modify and change the functions of the function keys according to practical demands. Additionally, the number and the position of the function key may also be adjusted.
Moreover, although the user may control the picture of the electronic document displayed by the main body 102 to be zoomed in, zoomed out, and translated at the same time by operating the input module 104, he or she may also control the picture of the electronic document displayed by the main body 102 to be zoomed in, zoomed out, and translated at different time as traditional technology.
Additionally, when the operation unit of the input module 104 is realized by the function key, the operation unit 304 may include switches 322, 324, 326, and 328, and resistors 332, 334, 336, and 338. One end of each of the switches 322, 324, 326, and 328 is coupled with ground. The other end of each of the switches 322, 324, 326, and 328 is coupled with voltage VDD via the resistors 332, 334, 336, and 338, respectively, and coupled with one of signal input ends I1, I2, I3, and I4 of the control unit 302, respectively. In this embodiment, it is determined that whether the switches 322, 324, 326, and 328 are conducted or not according to that whether the function keys 202, 204, 206, and 208 as shown in
For example, when all the function keys 202, 204, 206, and 208 on the input module 104 are not pressed by the user, the switches 322, 324, 326, and 328 are in a floating state. At the time, all the potential of the signal input ends I1, I2, I3, and I4 of the control unit 302 is VDD. Correspondingly, when one of the function keys on the input module 104 is pressed, a corresponding switch is conducted, and thus the potential of a corresponding signal input end is pulled down to be ground voltage. Consequently, the control unit 302 can detect the state of each operation unit according to the potential of each of the signal input ends I1, I2, I3, and I4.
After the control unit 302 receives the acceleration values A1, A2, and A3 and detects the state of the each operation unit, it may generate motion data D1. In this embodiment, to make the input module 104 save power, the control unit 302 may not compute the motion data D1, and it directly transmit the motion data D1 to the wireless transmission unit 312. After the wireless transmission unit 312 receives the motion data D1, the motion data D1 may be transmitted to the main body 102 via the wireless transmission path 112.
After the wireless receiving unit 404 receives the motion data D1 transmitted by the input module 104 via the wireless transmission path 112, it can transmit the motion data D1 to the processing unit 402. At the time, the processing unit 402 may decode and compute the motion data D1. For example, the processing unit 402 performs twice differential operations and a low-pass filtering operation. As a result, the processing unit 402 can obtain an operation instruction, and then the processing unit 402 may adjust the picture of the electronic document displayed on the screen 106 according to the operation instruction.
On the other hand, in an embodiment of the invention, the motion state of the input module 104 as shown in
To sum up, in the invention, the input module has a plurality of acceleration sensors used for sensing the acceleration of the input module at different direction axes of the 3D space. As a result, the user can operate the read of the electronic document more intuitively and conveniently by operating the input module.
Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, the disclosure is not for limiting the scope of the invention. Persons having ordinary skill in the art may make various modifications and changes without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments described above.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 97127860 | Jul 2008 | TW | national |
