KR100892886B1 - Pointing module and method for calibrating zero point the same and electronic device having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A pointing module, a reference coordinate control method thereof and an electronic device including the pointing module are provided to automatically adjust the reference coordinate of the pointing module when booting the electronic device. A sensor(3510) detects the movement of an operation member and then outputs a sensing signal. A reference coordinate generating unit(3520) produces the reference coordinate information by using the sensing signal. A storage unit(3530) stores the reference coordinate information. A controller(3540) controls operations of the sensor, reference coordinate generating unit and storage unit. In case the location of the operation member is not changed for a preset location change sensing time, the reference coordinate generating unit generates new reference coordinate information according to a control signal of the controller.

Description

POINTING MODULE AND METHOD FOR CALIBRATING ZERO POINT THE SAME and ELECTRONIC DEVICE HAVING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a pointing module, a zero point adjusting method thereof, and an electronic device having the same. The present invention relates to an auto calibration of a pointing module mounted on the electronic device and controlling the movement of a pointer in a display. will be.

In recent years, electronic devices have become smaller and smaller, and the operation of the electronic devices is made easier by using a Graphic User Interface (GUI) method. Various pointing devices, such as a mouse or touch pad, are used to control the movement of the pointer of the graphical user interface.

As one of the pointing devices, a hole mouse has been developed to control the movement of a pointer on the screen by detecting a two-dimensional movement of the magnet by using a sensor that detects the direction and strength of the magnet. However, in order to apply the hall mouse to an electronic device, it is important to set an initial reference coordinate value (ie, zero point) of the hall mouse. That is, when the electronic device is turned on, the initial reference coordinate value of the hall mouse should be set. However, if the magnet part of the hole mouse is moved by a user or an external force, the correct reference coordinate value may not be set.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a pointing module capable of automatically adjusting reference coordinates (ie, zero) of a pointing module by storing the initial reference coordinate setting information of a pointing module in the controller and using the stored information when the electronic device is booted. It is to provide a zero adjustment method and an electronic device having the same.

The present invention includes determining whether to apply a reference coordinate setting command from the outside, setting a sensing signal output from the sensor unit as reference coordinates (that is, zero point), and storing the set reference coordinates in a storage unit. Provides a method for zeroing the pointing module.

In addition, determining whether or not the position of the operating member according to the present invention, and if the position of the operating member does not change, setting a new reference coordinates by receiving the sensing signal of the sensor unit and the initial reference of the storage unit A method of adjusting the zero point of a pointing module, the method comprising updating a coordinate with the new reference coordinate.

The determination of the position change of the operating member is determined by using the change of the sensing signal, but if the sensing signal has the same signal value during the position change detection time, it is determined that the position of the operating member does not change. When the sensing signal has a variable signal value during the position change detection time, it is preferable to determine that the position of the operating member is changed.

In addition, assembling a pointing module according to the present invention, booting the pointing module, setting a sensing signal output of the sensor module of the pointing module to a reference coordinate (that is, zero), and the set reference Provided is a method for adjusting the zero point of a pointing module, the method comprising storing coordinates in a storage unit.

The setting of the reference coordinates may include generating a plurality of reference coordinates by receiving a plurality of sensing signals during a sensing time, calculating an average of the plurality of reference coordinates, and setting the result as the reference coordinates. It is preferable to include.

In addition, the sensor unit for detecting the movement of the operation member according to the present invention and outputs a sensing signal, a reference coordinate generating unit for generating reference coordinate information using the sensing signal, a storage unit storing the reference coordinate information and the It provides a pointing module including a control unit for controlling the operation of the sensor unit, the reference coordinate generation unit and the storage unit, and outputs the sensing signal and the reference coordinate signal.

The reference coordinate generating unit preferably generates the new reference coordinate information when the position of the operating member does not change during the set position change detection time.

 The reference coordinate generator is effective to generate the new reference coordinate information according to the control signal of the controller.

The storage unit may include any one of epipyrom, ypyrom and flash memory.

In addition, a screen display for displaying an image and a cursor according to the present invention; A pointing module that detects movement of the operation member and outputs it as a sensing signal, generates reference coordinate information using the sensing signal, and stores the reference coordinate information; An image signal generation module that controls the image according to external image information, a cursor coordinate generation module that calculates movement coordinates of the cursor by using the sensing signal and the reference coordinate information, and moves the cursor by the movement coordinates; An information processor comprising a control module for controlling the operation of the image signal generation module, the memory unit, and the cursor coordinate generation module; And a power supply unit supplying power to the pointing module, the screen display unit, and the information processor.

Preferably, the reference coordinate information is stored in the storage unit before shipment of the electronic device.

As described above, the present invention may store the reference coordinate information in a memory before shipment of the electronic device, thereby preventing the reference coordinate information from changing to an unwanted value.

In addition, the present invention may update the reference coordinates newly while the pointing module is not operating, and automatically set the position of the deformed magnet portion as the reference coordinate when the position of the magnet portion in the pointing module is deformed.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described an embodiment of the present invention in more detail. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but will be implemented in various forms, and only the embodiments are intended to complete the disclosure of the present invention, and to those skilled in the art to fully understand the scope of the invention. It is provided to inform you. Like numbers refer to like elements in the figures.

1 is a conceptual perspective view of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a conceptual block diagram of an information processor, according to an exemplary embodiment. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a pointing module according to an embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a plan view of the pointing module according to an embodiment. 5 is a conceptual block diagram of a sensing chip according to an embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a cursor movement operation of an electronic device, according to an exemplary embodiment. 7 is a flowchart for describing an operation of determining and correcting reference coordinate information, according to an exemplary embodiment. 8 is a flowchart for describing an operation of determining and correcting reference coordinate information according to a modified example of the embodiment. 9 is a flowchart for describing an operation of determining and correcting reference coordinate information according to another modified example of the embodiment.

1 to 9, an electronic device according to the present embodiment includes a screen display unit 1000, an information processor 2000, and a pointing module 3000. In addition, a plurality of input means 4000 is further provided as shown in FIG.

The electronic device further includes cases 5100 and 5200 that accommodate the screen display unit 1000, the information processing unit 2000, the pointing module 3000, and the plurality of input means 4000. The apparatus further includes a power supply unit 5000 for supplying power to the screen display unit 1000, the information processing unit 2000, and the pointing module 3000.

The screen display unit 1000 displays an image using the image signal provided by the information processing unit 1000 and expresses a cursor at a predetermined position in the image using the cursor coordinate signal.

As shown in FIG. 2, the information processing unit 2000 generates a cursor signal based on an output signal of the image signal generation module 2100 and the pointing module 3000. A generation module 2200, a memory unit 2300 in which a plurality of pieces of information including input information provided from a plurality of input means and image information are stored, and a control module 2400 for controlling operations of the elements. .

As shown in FIG. 3, the pointing module 3000 includes a magnet part 3300, an operation member 3400 for moving the magnet part 3300 through movement by a user, a magnet part 3300, and an operation member ( A sensor chip for detecting a change in the magnetic field according to the movement of the magnet part 3300 and generating a predetermined sensing signal and reference coordinate information (that is, zero information). 3500). The substrate 3100 may further include a substrate 3100 on which the media member 3200 is supported and fixed, and on which the sensor chip 3500 is mounted. In the above, the reference coordinate refers to the reference coordinate to set the coordinate value, and represents zero point (0,0).

As shown in FIG. 5, the sensor chip 3500 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a sensor unit 3510 that outputs a sensing signal as the magnet unit 3300 moves, and reference coordinates that generate reference coordinates using the sensing signal. Controls operations of the generation unit 3520, the storage unit 3530 that stores the reference coordinates, the sensor unit 3510, the reference coordinate generation unit 3520, and the storage unit 3530, and the sensing signal and the reference. A control unit 3540 for outputting a coordinate signal is provided. Here, the controller 3540 provides the sensing signal and the reference coordinate signal to the information processor 2000. Of course, the controller 3540 may provide a signal corresponding to the movement of the magnet unit 3300 to the information processor 2000 using the sensing signal and the reference coordinate signal.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the sensor unit 3510 of the sensor chip 3500 includes a plurality of magnetic sensors 3350-x1, 3510-x2, 3510-y1, and 3510-y2. At this time, a magnetic element uses a Hall element whose output voltage changes in proportion to the magnetic flux density. Of course, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the magnetic sensor 3351-x1, 3510-x2, 3510-y1, or 3510-y2 uses one of a semiconductor magnetoresistive element, a potato magnetoresistive element, and a GMR (Giant Magneto Resistive) element. It is possible.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the sensor unit 3510 detects a magnetic field change in the X-axis direction and outputs an X coordinate value corresponding thereto, and the first and second X-axis magnetic sensors 3350-x1 and 3510-x2. And first and second Y-axis magnetic sensors 3510-y1 and 3510-y2 that detect a magnetic field change in the Y-axis direction and output corresponding Y coordinate values. Although not illustrated, the sensor unit 3510 may further include an amplifier configured to amplify an output of the magnetic sensors 3350-x1, 3510-x2, 3510-y1, and 3510-y2 to output the sensing signal.

As described above, the pointing module 3000 according to the present exemplary embodiment may have the first and second X-axis magnets in accordance with the movement of the magnet part 3300 (ie, the movement of the operating member 3400) disposed about the center of the intermediate member 3300. The output values of the sensors 3350-x1 and 3510-x2 and the first and second Y-axis magnetic sensors 3350-y1 and 3510-y2 change.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the sensor chip 3500 includes a reference coordinate generator 3520 capable of generating reference coordinates. The reference coordinate generator 3520 generates reference coordinate information by using the sensing signal of the sensor unit 3510 immediately after assembly of the pointing module 3000 and stores the reference coordinate information.

That is, in the related art, a coordinate value corresponding to a sensing signal value provided from the pointing module 3000 when the electronic device is booted by the information processor is set as reference coordinate information. However, this is reference coordinate information set on the assumption that the magnet 3300 of the pointing module 3000 does not move when the electronic device is booted. Therefore, as described in the background art, when the magnet part 3300 is moved by a user or an external force, wrong reference coordinate information may be set. This may cause a problem that the cursor on the screen moves even if the user does not move the magnet unit 3300 during normal operation.

Thus, in the present exemplary embodiment, a separate storage unit 3530 is further provided in the sensor chip 3500 of the pointing module 3000, and the reference coordinates generated by the reference coordinate generation unit 3520 in the storage unit 3530. Save the information. The pointing module 3000 provides the stored reference coordinate information to the information processor 2000 when the electronic device boots.

In this case, the storage unit 3530 preferably uses a storage device capable of storing the corresponding information even when external power is not applied. The storage device may be epipyrom, ypyrom or flash memory.

In addition, the reference coordinate generator 3520 may automatically determine whether the pointing module 3000 is operated to correct the reference coordinate information, or correct the reference coordinate information according to a control signal of the controller 3540.

As described above, the information processing unit 2000 provided with the sensing signal and the reference coordinate information from the pointing module 3000 may move the movement coordinates corresponding to the movement of the magnet unit 3300 (that is, the movement of the operation member 3400). The cursor moves on the current screen by the calculated movement coordinate value. Here, the reference coordinate information serves as a reference for determining how much the magnet unit 3300 has moved based on the reference coordinate.

Of course, the pointing module 3000 of the present embodiment is not limited to the above-described configuration, and various modifications are possible. For example, a pointing mouse in the form of a ball mouse can be used as a pointing module. In addition, a pointing module may be used to calculate coordinates according to a change of light using an optical sensor. In this case, a ball or a tube may be used instead of the magnet part 3300. In addition, the sensor chip 3500 may sense the movement of the ball or the change of light.

Hereinafter, a cursor movement operation of the electronic device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 6.

When the magnet 3300 of the pointing module 3000 is moved by the user or an external force (that is, the movement of the operating member 3400), a sensing signal corresponding to the movement range is generated (S10). The controller 3520 of the pointing module 3000 provides the sensing signal and the reference coordinate information to the information processor 2000 (S20). In this case, since the reference coordinate information may be provided at the moment when the electronic device is turned on, only the sensing signal may be provided during the movement of the magnet unit. The cursor coordinate generation module 2200 of the information processor 2000 generates cursor movement coordinate information using the applied sensing signal and reference coordinate information (S30). The generated cursor movement coordinate information is provided to the image signal generation module 2100 to move the cursor in the image of the screen display unit 1000 by the movement cursor coordinate information (S40).

As described above, the electronic device of the present embodiment does not calculate reference coordinate information separately using the information processing unit 2000, but receives cursor coordinate information stored in a storage unit of the pointing module 3000 to control cursor movement. Generate information.

Here, the reference coordinate information is determined or corrected at a booting time (first booting time) during or immediately after assembly of the pointing module 3000, and stored in the storage unit 3530 of the pointing module 3000. Of course, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the reference coordinate information may be generated and stored by the sensor chip 3500 of the pointing module 3000 during the process of assembling the pointing module 3000 in the electronic device or at the booting time of the assembled number. have. Of course, reference coordinate information may be calculated and stored before the pointing module 3000 is marketed of the assembled electronic device.

Hereinafter, an operation of determining or calibrating reference coordinate information will be described with reference to the sensor chip 3500 of the pointing module 3000.

The sensor chip 3500 determines whether the current operation is performed at the first boot (S110). That is, it is determined whether power is first supplied to the pointing module 3000. In this case, when the first booting is not performed, the operation for determining the reference coordinate information is terminated. In the first boot, the reference coordinate generation unit 3520 of the sensor chip 3500 receives a sensing signal from the sensor unit 3510 (S120). In this case, the sensing signal includes four outputs each of the first and second X-axis magnetic sensors 3350-x1 and 3510-x2, and the first and second Y-axis magnetic sensors 3351-y1 and 3510-y2. It is desirable to include a value. The reference coordinate generator 3520 may receive a sensing signal directly from the sensor unit 3510, or may receive a sensing signal through the controller 3540. The reference coordinate generator 3520, which receives the sensing signal, generates the reference coordinate corresponding to the sensing signal (S130). Here, the output value of the first X-axis magnetic sensor 3350-x1 becomes a positive X-axis coordinate value among the sensing signals, and the output value of the second X-axis magnetic sensor 3351-x2 is a negative X axis coordinate value. This can be The output value of the first Y-axis magnetic sensor 3350-y1 becomes the positive Y-axis coordinate value among the sensing signals, and the output value of the second Y-axis magnetic sensor 3350-y2 is the negative Y axis coordinate value. This can be Through this, reference coordinates may be generated. Of course, the present invention is not limited thereto, and reference coordinates may be determined through various methods. The sensor chip 3500 stores the generated reference coordinates in the storage unit 3530 (S140).

Of course, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the reference coordinate generating unit 3520 of the sensor chip 3500 of the present exemplary embodiment receives a plurality of sensing signals sequentially at a predetermined period to generate a plurality of reference coordinates, and converts the average of these to initial reference coordinates. You can also save.

That is, as in the modification illustrated in FIG. 8, the controller 3540 of the sensor chip 3500 determines whether the current operation is performed at first booting (S210). In this case, when the first booting is not performed, the operation for determining the reference coordinate information ends. In the first boot, the controller 3540 sets the weight value n to 0 (S220). Subsequently, the reference coordinate generator 3520 receives a sensing signal from the sensor unit 3510 (S230). It is determined whether the weight value n is equal to the set value k (S240). In this case, when the weight value n is smaller than the set value k, the reference coordinate generator 3520 generates reference coordinates corresponding to the received sensing signal (S250). Then, the generated reference coordinates are temporarily stored (S260). Subsequently, 1 is added to the weight value n (S270), and another sensing signal is applied again. At this time, if the operation is performed by the set value k, the weight value n becomes equal to the set value k. For example, when the set value k is 5, the reference coordinate generation unit 3520 receives five sensing signals, generates five reference coordinate values corresponding to each of these, and temporarily stores them in the control unit 3520. do.

If the weight value n is equal to the set value k, the reference coordinate generator 3520 or the controller 3540 calculates an average of the plurality of temporarily stored reference coordinate values (S280). The reference coordinate generator 3520 or the controller 3540 stores the calculated average reference coordinate value as reference coordinate information in the storage unit 3530 (S290). As described above, by receiving a plurality of sensing signals and generating a plurality of reference coordinate values, and storing the average thereof as reference coordinate information, the reliability of the setting value of the reference coordinate information can be improved.

In addition, the present exemplary embodiment is not limited thereto, and a user may apply a separate reference coordinate setting command to the pointing module 3000 to set or correct reference coordinate information.

That is, it is determined whether the user's reference coordinate setting command is applied instead of the initial boot determination step of FIGS. 7 and 8, and if the reference coordinate setting command is not applied, reference coordinate correction is not performed. On the other hand, when a reference coordinate setting command is applied, the reference coordinates are automatically corrected as in the flowcharts described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, and the corrected reference coordinates are stored in the storage unit 3530.

Of course, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the pointing module 3000 of the present embodiment may automatically correct the reference coordinates continuously while the electronic device on which the pointing module 3000 is mounted is operated, not at boot time. That is, during operation of the electronic device, a reference coordinate setting or correction operation is performed on the pointing module 3000 while the user does not move the mechanism part (ie, the magnet part 3300) of the pointing module 3000.

When a local deformation occurs due to the continuous use of the pointing module 3000, the position of the magnet part 3300 of the pointing module 3000 may be changed. In this case, as described above, the reference coordinates may be set as the reference coordinate points by automatically calibrating the reference coordinates during the period in which the user does not use the pointing module 3000.

That is, as illustrated in FIG. 9, it is determined whether the user operates the pointing module 3000 (S310). That is, it is determined whether or not the position of the magnet unit 3300 is changed. In this case, various methods may be used to determine whether the position of the magnet unit 3300 is changed. In the present embodiment, it is preferable to determine whether or not the position of the magnet unit 3300 is changed by determining whether the sensing signal that is the output of the sensor unit 3510 is changed. That is, when the sensing signal is maintained at a constant value for a predetermined time (for example, several seconds (minimum 1 second) to several tens of hours (maximum 1000 hours)), it is determined that the position of the magnet unit 3300 does not change.

As a result of determination, when the user changes the position of the magnet unit 3300 of the pointing module 3000, the automatic reference coordinate automatic operation is stopped. Subsequently, as described above with reference to FIG. 6, an operation for moving the cursor is performed. On the other hand, when the determination result does not change the position of the magnet part 3300 of the pointing module 3000, the reference coordinate generator 3520 of the sensor chip 3500 receives a sensing signal from the sensor part 3510 ( S320). The reference coordinate generator 3520 generates reference coordinates corresponding to the sensing signal (S330). The generated reference coordinates are stored in the storage unit 3530 as new reference coordinate information.

As described above, the pointing module 3000 according to the present exemplary embodiment automatically performs the reference coordinate calibration when the pointing module 3000 is assembled or after completion of the assembly process, or performs the reference coordinate calibration at the request of the user, or by the user. By performing the reference coordinate calibration automatically while not performing the operation on the module 3000, an incorrect reference coordinate signal may be prevented from being generated due to the user's manipulation of the pointing module 3000 during the reference coordinate calibration operation. . The reference coordinate calibration may be stored in the storage unit 3530, which is a nonvolatile memory device, to prevent the reference coordinate signal from being deleted even when the electronic device is powered off. Through this, the electronic device may not perform an operation for additional reference coordinate calibration while the electronic device is booted, and may directly use the reference coordinate signal stored in the storage unit 2300 of the pointing module 3000.

As the electronic device of the present embodiment, a portable telephone, a camera, a camcorder, an MP3, a portable multiplayer, a computer, a laptop, and the like may be used. In this case, the electronic device may further add various elements according to its function. For example, when a portable telephone is used as the electronic device, the electronic device converts the voice data received by the wireless communication module into an audible sound and outputs through the speaker unit a wireless communication module that manages transmission and reception of voice data and control data. Alternatively, the apparatus may further include voice processing modules for converting the voice received from the microphone into data and outputting the voice to the wireless unit.

Although the invention has been described with reference to the accompanying drawings and the preferred embodiments described above, the invention is not limited thereto, but is defined by the claims that follow. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art may variously modify and modify the present invention without departing from the spirit of the following claims.

1 is a conceptual perspective view of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a conceptual block diagram of an information processor according to an exemplary embodiment.

3 is a cross-sectional view of a pointing device according to one embodiment.

4 is a plan view of a pointing device according to one embodiment.

5 is a conceptual block diagram of a sensing chip according to an embodiment.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a cursor movement operation of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

7 is a flowchart for describing an operation of determining and correcting reference coordinate information, according to an exemplary embodiment.

8 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of determining and correcting reference coordinate information according to a modification of the embodiment;

9 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of determining and correcting reference coordinate information according to another modified example of the embodiment;

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings>

1000: screen display unit 2000: information processing unit

2100: image signal generation module 2200; Cursor Coordinate Generation Module

2300: memory 2400: control module

2500: reference coordinate calibration module 3000: pointing module

3100: substrate 3200: intermediate member

3300: magnet portion 3400: operating member

4000: input means 5000: power supply

Claims (11)

Determining whether a reference coordinate setting command is applied from the outside; Setting a sensing signal, which is an output of the sensor unit, to a reference coordinate (ie, zero point); And And storing the set reference coordinates in a storage unit. Determining whether the position of the operating member is changed; Setting a new reference coordinate by receiving a sensing signal of the sensor unit when the position of the operating member does not change; And And updating the initial reference coordinates of the storage unit to the new reference coordinates. The method according to claim 2, The determination of the position change of the operating member is determined by using the change of the sensing signal, but if the sensing signal has the same signal value during the position change detection time, it is determined that the position of the operating member does not change. And determining the position of the operating member when the sensing signal has a variable signal value during the position change detection time. Assembling the pointing module; Booting the pointing module; Setting a sensing signal, which is an output of a sensor unit of the pointing module, to a reference coordinate (ie, zero point); And storing the set reference coordinates in a storage unit. The method of claim 1, wherein the setting of the reference coordinates comprises: Receiving a plurality of sensing signals during a sensing time to generate respective reference coordinates; And And calculating a mean of the plurality of reference coordinates and setting the result as the reference coordinates. A sensor unit for sensing a movement of the operation member and outputting the sensing signal; A reference coordinate generator configured to generate reference coordinate information using the sensing signal; A storage unit in which the reference coordinate information is stored; And And a controller configured to control operations of the sensor unit, the reference coordinate generation unit, and the storage unit, and output the sensing signal and the reference coordinate signal. The method of claim 6, wherein the reference coordinate generation unit, The pointing module generates the new reference coordinate information when the position of the operating member does not change during the set position change detection time. The method of claim 6, wherein the reference coordinate generation unit, A pointing module for generating the new reference coordinate information in accordance with the control signal of the controller. The method according to claim 6, The storage unit includes any one of a pyrom, Ypyrom and flash memory. A screen display for displaying an image and a cursor; A pointing module that detects movement of the operation member and outputs it as a sensing signal, generates reference coordinate information using the sensing signal, and stores the reference coordinate information; An image signal generation module that controls the image according to external image information, a cursor coordinate generation module that calculates movement coordinates of the cursor by using the sensing signal and the reference coordinate information, and moves the cursor by the movement coordinates; An information processor comprising a control module for controlling the operation of the image signal generation module, the memory unit, and the cursor coordinate generation module; And And a power supply unit supplying power to the pointing module, the screen display unit, and the information processor. The method according to claim 10, And the reference coordinate information is stored in the storage unit before shipment of the electronic device.

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