TWI396113B - Optical control device and method thereof - Google Patents

Description

Optical control device and method

The present invention relates to an optical control device and method therefor.

Common electronic devices on the market, such as desktop computers, notebook computers, mobile phones, personal digital assistants, etc., have input devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, a joystick, a touchpad, a touch screen, and the like. For the user to operate the electronic device and perform character input. The pointing device such as a mouse, a joystick, a touchpad, and a touch screen can be used for the user to dynamically control the cursor on the screen, and use the cursor to select and move the data, or use the cursor to select a program or action to be executed. Illustration.

Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a notebook computer of the prior art. As shown in FIG. 1 , the prior art notebook computer 9 mainly includes a body 90 and a touch screen 92 . A keyboard 900, a touchpad 902, and a control lever 904 are also disposed on the body 90. In addition, the mouse 94 can be connected to the notebook computer 9 via a port 906 on the body 90.

The touch screen 92 displays related images and characters of the program executed by the notebook computer 9 and the cursor 920. In addition, the touch screen 92 itself allows the user to input text, draw, and control the motion of the cursor 920. The keyboard 900 allows the user to input text or issue an operation command. In addition, the touchpad 902, the control lever 904, and the mouse 94 are all available for the user to control the motion of the cursor 920.

In order to allow the user to more conveniently control the data processing system such as a computer, the user directly touches the user's hand and uses the infrared light emitting and reflecting mechanism to sense the user's gesture, and the control device for controlling the cursor has been proposed. However, the infrared sensor of such a control device is easily disturbed by an environmental heat source such as a lighter or a flashlight or other infrared light reflecting material.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an optical control apparatus that provides a user with convenient control of a data processing apparatus and that solves the aforementioned malfunctions and the like.

According to a specific embodiment, the optical control device is disposed in the data processing system for controlling the data processing system to execute an instruction in conjunction with the at least one first reflecting unit and the second reflecting unit.

The optical control device comprises a light emitting unit, an image sensing module and a processing module. The light-emitting unit can emit a light, and the image sensing module receives a plurality of reflected rays formed by the plurality of objects reflecting the light, and respectively forms a plurality of image blocks.

In addition, the processing module is connected to the image sensing module for identifying the image block in the image block representing one of the second reflecting units, and identifying the image according to the distance between the other image block and the positioning image block. At least one first image block of at least one first reflective unit. Processing the module and controlling the data processing system to execute the instruction according to a displacement characteristic of the at least one first image block.

One aspect of the present invention is to provide an optical control method to solve the problems of the prior art.

According to a specific embodiment, the optical control method cooperates with at least a first reflecting unit and a second reflecting unit to control a data processing system to execute an instruction.

Further, the optical control method includes the following steps: First, a light is emitted. Then, receiving a plurality of reflected rays formed by the plurality of objects reflecting the light, and respectively forming a plurality of image blocks.

Then, the image blocks representing one of the second reflection units are identified in the image blocks. And identifying at least one first image block representing the at least one first reflection unit according to the distance between the other image block and the positioning image block. Finally, the data processing system is controlled to execute the instruction according to a displacement characteristic of the at least one first image block.

The advantages and spirit of the present invention will be further understood from the following detailed description of the invention.

The present invention provides an optical control device and method thereof. Several specific embodiments of the invention are disclosed below.

2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of an optical control device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the optical control device of FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of an optical control device according to an embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing an optical control device according to the present invention disposed on a notebook computer.

As shown, the optical control device 1 of the present invention includes a light unit 10, an image sensing module 12, a filter unit 14, a processing module 16, and a support member 18.

In the embodiment, the optical control device 1 of the present invention is matched with three first reflecting units 20a, 20b, and 20c (all disposed on the thumb, the index finger, the middle finger) disposed on the user's hand, and disposed on the optical control device 1 of the present invention. A second reflecting unit 22 (provided at the ring finger and the palm joint) adjacent to the first reflecting unit 20a, 20b, 20c controls the notebook computer 3 to execute an instruction.

As shown, the first reflecting units 20a, 20b, 20c in this embodiment have a generally circular appearance, while the second reflecting unit 22 has a generally square appearance for distinction. In addition, in practical applications, the first reflective unit and the second reflective unit may be made of different reflective materials such that they have different reflection intensities.

In practical applications, the number of the first reflecting unit and the second reflecting unit to which the optical control device 1 of the present invention is matched may be one or more. In addition, the reflecting units may be disposed at appropriate positions on the user's hand (eg, fingertips, knuckles, etc.), and may even be disposed on the hand-held pointing device without necessarily being placed on the hand. In addition, the reflecting units may be separately provided as shown in FIG. 2 or integrated on the glove.

The light 100 emitted by the light emitting unit 10 is preferably invisible light (for example, but not limited to, infrared light, near-infrared light) to avoid affecting the user's vision under long-time illumination. Therefore, the light emitting unit 10 may be selected from Infrared Light Emitting Diodes (IRLEDs) or other suitable light emitting elements. In addition, in the present embodiment, the optical control device 1 of the present invention includes two light emitting units 10, and in practical applications, the optical control device 1 of the present invention includes one or more light emitting units 10, and is not limited to two. One.

The first reflecting units 20a, 20b, and 20c respectively reflect the light 100 emitted by the light emitting unit 10 into the first reflected light 200a, 200b, and 200c, and the second reflecting unit 22 reflects the light 100 into the second reflected light 220.

The image sensing module 12 is composed of a lens unit 120 and a sensing unit 122. The lens unit 120 can focus the first reflected light 200a, 200b, 200c and the second reflected light 220 to the sensing unit 122. The sensing unit 122 includes a two-dimensional array of a plurality of photosensitive pixels. The photosensitive pixels sense external light to form an image, and the image blocks formed by the first reflected light 200a, 200b, 200c and the second reflected light 220 are included.

In this embodiment, the image sensing module 12 controls the sensing unit 122 to form an image continuously at a plurality of time points. Referring to FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B together, FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are schematic diagrams respectively showing images generated by the sensing unit 122 of the specific embodiment at two consecutive time points.

As described above, the two-dimensional array 124 included in the sensing unit 122 is composed of a plurality of (18 × 24) photosensitive pixels 1240. The first time point image shown in FIG. 5A and the second time point image shown in FIG. 5B each include first image blocks 202a, 202b, and 202c corresponding to the first reflected light rays 200a, 200b, and 200c, respectively, and corresponding to the second image. The image block 222 of the reflected light 220 is positioned. In addition, the image also includes noise image blocks 40a, 40b, 40c generated by an ambient heat source or a light source. In addition, the image blocks 202a, 202b, 202c, 222, 40a, and 40b have similar photosensitivity, and the photographic intensity thereof is greater than a predetermined threshold, and the photographic image block 40c has a photographic intensity smaller than the preset valve. value.

The filtering unit 14 is respectively connected to the image sensing module 12 and the processing module 16 for using the image block with the photosensitive intensity less than the preset threshold on the image shown in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B (ie, the noise image block 40c) ) Filter out. In practice, the noise image block 40c may be a heat source or a light source that is far away from the image sensing module 12, such as a heat source such as illumination light, a cigarette but a flashlight behind the user. The noise generated by these ambient light sources and heat sources can be filtered by the filter unit 14 to increase the accuracy of the optical control device 1 of the present invention.

In the specific embodiment, the processing module 16 includes an identification unit 160, a calculation unit 162, a determination unit 164, and a control unit 166. The identification unit 160 is connected to the filtering unit 14 for receiving successive images as shown in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, and identifying the positioning image block 222 representing the second reflecting unit 22 according to the images. In practice, the identification unit 160 can identify the positioning image block 222 according to the appearance, reflection intensity or other features of the image block.

Further, the calculating unit 162 is connected to the identification unit 160 for generating coordinate values of the center points of the image blocks 202a, 202b, 202c, 222, 40a, and 40b (since the noise image block 40c has been filtered by the filtering unit 14, The unit 160 does not generate its center point coordinate value), and calculates the first image block 202a, 202b, 202c and the noise according to the coordinate values of the center points of the image blocks 202a, 202b, 202c, 222, 40a and 40b, respectively. The distance between the image blocks 40a, 40b and the positioning image block 222.

The determining unit 164 is connected to the calculating unit 162 for respectively comparing the distance between the first image blocks 202a, 202b, 202c and the noise image blocks 40a, 40b and the positioning image block 222 with a preset range. And when the distance is in the preset range, it is determined that the image block is valid. Since the first reflection units 20a, 20b, 20c and the second reflection unit 22 corresponding to the first image blocks 202a, 202b, and 202c are all disposed on the user's hand, the distance must be within a preset range. Thereby, the judging unit 164 can remove the noise image block 40a that is too far from the second reflecting unit 22. In practice, the noise image block 40a may be formed by a cigarette in the user's mouth or a user's glasses or other environmental reflector that is further away from the user's hand.

Moreover, the determining unit 164 compares FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B to obtain displacement characteristics of the first image blocks 202a, 202b, 202c, the noise image block 40b, and the positioning image block 40b at two time points (for example, but not Limited to displacement trajectory, displacement distance, and displacement direction).

Further, in practice, the determining unit 164 can also compare whether the displacement features of the first image block 202a, 202b, 202c and the noise image block 40b and the positioning image block 222 match to filter out the effective first image area. Piece. For example, in the specific embodiment, the determining unit 164 can find that the displacement distance of the first image block 202a and the noise image block 40b is significantly smaller than the displacement distance of the positioning image block 222, so the first image block 202a can be And the noise image block 40b is removed, and it is determined that the first image blocks 202b, 202c are valid (ie, the first reflection units 20b, 20c are valid). In practice, the determining unit 164 may also filter out the valid first image block according to other displacement features as described above. Moreover, in practice, the noise image block 40b may be formed by buttons or other fixed environmental reflectors on the user's clothing.

Finally, the control unit 166 is connected to the determining unit 164 for controlling the notebook computer 3 to execute the corresponding command according to the displacement characteristics of the effective first reflecting units 20b, 20c. For example, in the present embodiment, the first reflecting units 20b, 20c simultaneously move the distance of about five photosensitive pixels 1240 to the right, so the control unit 166 controls the cursor 300 displayed on the screen 30 of the notebook computer 3 to move to the right. Relative distance. In practical applications, the user gesture and the corresponding instruction of the notebook computer 3 can be preset in the notebook computer 3, and can be defined by the user.

The support member 18 is coupled to the processing module 16 via the notebook computer 3, and the support member 18 defines the operating surface 180. In the present embodiment, when the user touches the operation surface 180, the support member 180 generates and transmits an activation signal to the processing module 16, so that the processing module 16 receives the image from the filtering unit 14 according to the activation signal. In practice, a pressure sensing unit can be placed below the operating surface 180 of the support member 18 to achieve the foregoing objectives. By the arrangement of the support member 18, the optical control device of the present invention can malfunction by avoiding the user's hand scratching, pushing the glasses, or performing other non-operational actions.

As shown in FIG. 4, the optical control device 1 of the present invention can be disposed on the notebook computer 3, wherein the light-emitting unit 10 and the image sensing module 12 can be disposed on the upper edge of the screen 30 of the notebook computer 3, and processed. The module can be disposed inside the notebook computer 3, and the support member 18 can be connected to the notebook computer 3 through the connection port. In addition, in the practice, the filtering unit 14 and the processing module 16 may be integrated into a single integrated circuit component and disposed in the notebook computer 3 , or the filtering unit 14 may be integrated into the image sensing module 12 . The processing module 16 can be integrated into the central processing unit of the notebook. In addition, in practical applications, the optical control device of the present invention can be applied to other suitable data processing systems, and is not limited to the notebook computer 3 exemplified above.

The present invention also provides an optical control method in conjunction with at least a first reflective unit and a second reflective unit to control the data processing system to execute instructions.

Please refer to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an optical control method according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the optical control method according to the present invention comprises the following steps: Step S50, emitting light.

Step S52: Receive a plurality of reflected rays formed by reflecting a plurality of objects (including the first reflective unit and the second reflective unit), and respectively form a plurality of image blocks.

In step S54, the block whose photosensitive intensity is less than the preset intensity is filtered out.

Step S56, identifying the image block in the image block representing one of the second reflection units.

Step S58: Identify at least one first image block representing the at least one first reflection unit according to the distance between the other image block and the positioning image block.

Step S60, controlling the data processing system to execute the instruction according to the displacement feature of the at least one first image block.

Detailed embodiments of the optical control method of the present invention have been described above and will not be described herein.

In summary, the optical control apparatus and method according to the present invention provide a user with convenient operation and control of the data processing apparatus to execute instructions. In particular, the optical control device and method according to the present invention can effectively avoid interference of a light source or a heat source in the environment, reduce the probability of malfunction, and improve the practicability of itself.

The features and spirit of the present invention will be more apparent from the detailed description of the preferred embodiments. On the contrary, the intention is to cover various modifications and equivalents within the scope of the invention as claimed. Therefore, the scope of the patented scope of the invention should be construed as broadly construed in the

1. . . Optical control unit

10. . . Light unit

100. . . Light

12. . . Image sensing module

120. . . Lens unit

122. . . Sensing unit

124. . . Two-dimensional array

1240. . . Sensing pixel

14. . . Filter unit

16. . . Processing module

160. . . Identification unit

162. . . Computing unit

164. . . Judging unit

166. . . control unit

18‧‧‧Support components

180‧‧‧Operating surface

20a, 20b, 20c‧‧‧ first reflection unit

200a, 200b, 200c‧‧‧ first reflected light

202a, 202b, 202c‧‧‧ first image block

22‧‧‧second reflection unit

220‧‧‧second reflected light

222‧‧‧ Positioning image block

3, 9‧‧‧Note Computer

30, 92‧‧‧ screen

300, 920‧‧ cursors

90‧‧‧Ontology

900‧‧‧ keyboard

902‧‧‧ Trackpad

904‧‧‧Control lever

906‧‧‧Connector

94‧‧‧ Mouse

40a, 40b, 40c‧‧‧ noise image area

S50~S58‧‧‧ Process steps

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a notebook computer of the prior art.

2A is a schematic diagram of an optical control device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

2B is a schematic view showing another angle of the optical control device of FIG. 2A.

3 is a functional block diagram of an optical control device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement of an optical control device according to the present invention in a notebook computer.

FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are schematic diagrams respectively showing images generated by the sensing unit of the embodiment in two consecutive time points.

6 is a flow chart of an optical control method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

1. . . Optical control unit

10. . . Light unit

100. . . Light

12. . . Image sensing module

120. . . Lens unit

122. . . Sensing unit

14. . . Filter unit

18. . . Support component

180. . . Operating surface

20a, 20b, 20c. . . First reflection unit

200a, 200b, 200c. . . First reflected light

twenty two. . . Second reflection unit

220. . . Second reflected light

Claims (14)

An optical control device is provided in a data processing system for controlling at least one first reflecting unit and a second reflecting unit to control the data processing system to execute an instruction, the optical control device comprising: an illumination unit for transmitting An image sensing module receives a plurality of reflected rays formed by a plurality of objects reflecting the light, and respectively forms a plurality of image blocks; and a processing module coupled to the image sensing module for Identifying the image blocks in the image block representing one of the second reflection units, and identifying at least one first image block representing the at least one first reflection unit according to the distance between the other image blocks and the positioning image block And controlling, according to the displacement characteristic of the at least one first image block, the data processing system to execute the instruction; wherein, the reflection intensity of the at least one first reflection unit is different from the reflection intensity of the second reflection unit. The optical control device of claim 1, wherein the light is an infrared light or a near infrared light. The optical control device of claim 1, wherein the appearance of the at least one first reflecting unit is different from the appearance of the second reflecting unit. The optical control device of claim 1, wherein the image sensing module further comprises: a sensing unit, comprising: a two-dimensional array of a plurality of photosensitive pixels for forming the image blocks; as well as a lens unit for focusing the plurality of reflected rays on the two-dimensional array. The optical control device of claim 1, further comprising: a filtering unit respectively connected to the image sensing module and the processing module for filtering out the photosensitive intensity in the image blocks is less than a pre- Set one of the intensity image blocks. The optical control device of claim 1, wherein the displacement characteristic is selected from at least one of the group consisting of a displacement trajectory, a displacement distance, and a displacement direction. The optical control device of claim 1, wherein the instruction comprises an action of one of the cursors displayed on one of the data processing systems. The optical control device of claim 1, further comprising: a supporting member coupled to the processing module, the supporting member defining an operating surface, wherein the supporting member is generated when a user contacts the operating surface And transmitting an activation signal to the processing module, so that the processing module receives the image blocks from the image sensing module according to the activation signal. An optical control method for controlling a data processing system to execute an instruction in conjunction with at least a first reflecting unit and a second reflecting unit, the optical control method comprising the steps of: (a) transmitting a light; (b) receiving a plurality of a plurality of reflected rays formed by the object reflecting the light, And forming a plurality of image blocks respectively; (c) identifying the image blocks in the image blocks representing one of the second reflection units; (d) identifying the distance according to the distance between the other image blocks and the positioning image block At least one first image block of the at least one first reflective unit; and (e) controlling the data processing system to execute the command according to a displacement characteristic of the at least one first image block; wherein the at least one first reflection The reflection intensity of the unit is different from the reflection intensity of the second reflection unit. The optical control method of claim 9, wherein the light is an infrared light or a near infrared light. The optical control method of claim 9, wherein the appearance of the at least one first reflecting unit is different from the appearance of the second reflecting unit. The optical control method of claim 9, further comprising the step of filtering out image blocks having a photosensitive intensity less than a predetermined intensity in the image blocks. The optical control method of claim 9, wherein the displacement characteristic is selected from at least one of the group consisting of a displacement trajectory, a displacement distance, and a displacement direction. The optical control method of claim 9, wherein the instruction comprises an action of one of the cursors displayed on one of the data processing systems.