KR20000063192A - Pointing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A positioning system and method in the 3 dimensional space is provided to adjust a movement strength of a cursor or an object according to the strength of the cursor or a positioner acceleration as well as position the cursor or the object without using the conventional directional keys. CONSTITUTION: A positioning system over the 3 dimensional space comprises an oscillator(1), sensors(2a,2b,2c), modulators(3a,3b,3c), a pulse width modulator(4), a micro processor(5) and a communication port(6). The oscillator(1) senses a dynamic acceleration and a gravity caused by a movement of an object. The sensors(2a,2b,2c) senses absolute acceleration quantity in the directions of X, Y,and Z with respect to a vector summation of the acceleration and the gravity sensed by the oscillator(1). The modulators(3a,3b,3c) and the pulse width modulator(4) modulates the absolute acceleration quantity. The microprocessor(5) moves the cursor or the object to a position corresponding to a variation quantity if the variation ratio of the modulated signal is more than a set value.

Description

Positioning device and method in three-dimensional space {POINTING DEVICE}

The present invention relates to a positioning device (Pointing Device) in a three-dimensional space using an acceleration sensor, and specifically detects a movement in the space of the positioning device to determine the position of the cursor or click of a computer or a moving device. The present invention relates to a positioning apparatus and method in three-dimensional space.

More specifically, by using the acceleration sensor or the tilt sensor, the motion in the space of the positioning device, that is, the direction component or the tilt of the acceleration is sensed and transmitted to the controller of the computer or the moving device to use the motion information corresponding to the movement in the space. The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for positioning in a three-dimensional space by which a cursor position on a display window can be determined or clicked, and also used as a direction key.

Currently used mice move the mouse on a mouse pad or a uniform plane to detect the rotation of the ball and transfer it to the computer using the mouse's position value corresponding to the amount of rotation, or in the case of an optical mouse There was a drawback to working only on the pads.

That is, the conventional mouse can only work if there is an appropriate plane or plate that the mouse can move in contact with the mouse often occurs when the movement is unnatural in the portable device.

In recent years, with the development of computer graphics technology, 3D games using three-dimensional stereoscopic image display have gradually become commonplace in the case of a game device in an entertainment facility or a video game device for home use.

The existing mouse is recognized as an input device that is difficult to determine the position of the cursor in response to a new computer three-dimensional graphical user interface (GUI) such as a virtual reality that is gradually three-dimensional by moving only on a plane. In recent years, such as PDAs (portable PCs) and mobile phones, graphic screens gradually increase and users need to use cursors, and positioning in space as game play changes from 2D to 3D. There is a growing need for devices for such applications.

In order to solve this problem, a three-dimensional mouse or a joystick has been developed, but there is a problem in its practical use because of unnecessary mechanical restraints or limitations such as inclination of a mouse pad.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, by using the acceleration sensor or the tilt sensor to detect the movement in the space of the positioning device, that is, the direction component or the slope of the acceleration to the controller of the computer or the moving mechanism By using the motion information corresponding to the movement in space, the cursor position on the display window can be determined or clicked, and it can be applied to products carried by an individual such as a mouse or a personal wireless cellular phone or an electronic notebook. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for positioning in space.

Another object of the present invention is to determine the position of the cursor in three-dimensional space by designing it to be used as a direction key in a computer when the rate of change of the positioning device for a rotation or acceleration movement in each direction is more than a given set value. In addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide a positioning apparatus and method in a three-dimensional space that allows a certain amount of movement of the cursor or expression object on the screen.

It is still another object of the present invention to implement a positioning device in three-dimensional space to quantify the positional shift without mechanical constraints or limitations, so that a uniform plane and a separate mouse pad are virtually unnecessary, so that mobile or portable devices It is an object of the present invention to provide a positioning apparatus and method in a three-dimensional space to enable the application of.

1 is an overall block diagram of a positioning device in three-dimensional space according to the present invention.

2 is a principle diagram of a positioning device in three-dimensional space according to the present invention.

3 is an operation control flowchart of the microprocessor in the preferred embodiment according to the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a use state diagram of a first embodiment in which a positioning device in a three-dimensional space of the present invention is applied to a mouse.

Fig. 5 is a use state diagram of a second embodiment in which a positioning device in a three-dimensional space of the present invention is applied to a PDA.

<Description of Symbols of Major Parts of Drawings>

1: Oscillator 2a ~ 2c: X, Y, Z direction sensor

3a ~ 3c: modulator 4: pulse width modulator

5: microprocessor 6: communication port

100: positioning device

Positioning apparatus in the three-dimensional space of the present invention for achieving this object is the oscillation means for detecting the movement acceleration and the static acceleration (gravity) by the movement of the device, the motion acceleration and the static acceleration detected by the oscillation means Sensor means for sensing an absolute acceleration movement amount in the X, Y, and Z directions represented by the sum, and modulation means for modulating each absolute acceleration movement amount provided from the sensor means with a width of a pulse signal proportional to the magnitude of the absolute acceleration movement amount; And when the rate of change of the pulse width modulating means and the pulse width modulated signal applied from the pulse width modulating means is greater than or equal to the set value, the cursor or object is moved in space by an amount corresponding to the amount of change. Position determination in three-dimensional space consisting of control means for controlling to stop movement It is characterized by including a tablet device.

In addition, the control means according to the present invention, if the rate of change of the pulse width modulated signal in each direction applied from the modulation means is greater than or equal to the key set value, ',' ',' ',' Position in the three-dimensional space, characterized in that the cursor or object is moved in space in the direction of the key and the cursor or object is moved below the set value to stop the movement of the cursor or object in space. An apparatus is provided.

In addition, the positioning method in the three-dimensional space in the present invention comprises a first step of detecting the motion acceleration and the static acceleration (gravity) by the motion of the device by the oscillating means (1); A second step of detecting an absolute acceleration movement amount in the X, Y, and Z directions represented by the sum of the motion acceleration and the static acceleration detected by the oscillation means through the sensor means; A third step of modulating each absolute acceleration movement amount provided from the sensor means by the modulation means and the pulse width modulation means into the width of the pulse signal proportional to the magnitude of the absolute acceleration movement amount; And when the rate of change of the pulse width modulated signal applied from the pulse width modulating means through the control means is greater than or equal to the set value, the cursor or object is moved in space by an amount corresponding to the amount of change. And a fourth step of controlling to stop.

Such a positioning device in three-dimensional space can be largely divided into the following two structures.

It is used to connect a movable unit such as a conventional ball mouse or a track ball to a mobile device by wire or wirelessly, or to use the built-in mobile device to determine the cursor position on the display window according to the proper movement applied to the device. do.

In addition, it is used as a motion capture mechanism that can provide a more natural motion by quantifying the change in acceleration and the intensity of rotation according to the amount of change in position, rather than the existing position input mechanism that receives feedback at regular intervals.

The positioning device in three-dimensional space performs the following three functions according to its function.

First, it has the function of a 3-way coordinate trackball or mouse that continuously changes the position of the cursor according to tilt or acceleration.

Second, if the motion in each direction is greater than the given threshold, ',' ',' ',' It performs the function of a virtual key switch which has the same function as pressing the key corresponding to the direction among the 'keys.

Thirdly, it performs a new concept of motion capture that quantifies instantaneous changes such as three-dimensional spatial coordinates and rotational slope / acceleration.

In accordance with this new trend, the present invention enables the user to determine the position of the cursor or the object or to input a key according to the tilt of the acceleration component or attitude of the input device in space, and to input the amount of movement in the three-dimensional space corresponding to the three-dimensional GUI. To enable the direction keys or joysticks, etc. of the computer keyboard to perform the role.

For this purpose, an acceleration sensor was used to measure the movement acceleration or posture of the positioning device, and it was amplitude modulated and input to the microprocessor, and then fed back into the signal amount corresponding to the position of the cursor through proper signal processing and filtering. Developed to perform.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail the present invention.

1 shows an overall block diagram of a positioning device in three-dimensional space according to the present invention.

An acceleration sensor is used as the X, Y, and Z direction sensors 2a to 2c, and an oscillation device 1 for detecting dynamic acceleration (movement acceleration) or static acceleration (gravity acceleration) by motion is commonly used.

Information about each direction is obtained from the measurement of absolute acceleration represented by the sum of gravity acceleration and motion acceleration by each direction sensor, and all three directions can be detected.

The amount of absolute acceleration sensed by each of the direction sensors 2a to 2c is output by the pulse width modulation circuit 4 as a pulse width proportional to its magnitude, which is quantified using the capture function of the microprocessor 5. can do. Subsequently, the measured values of the sensors 2a to 2c in each of the converted directions are input to the target electronic device through the communication port 6.

For example, referring to FIGS. 4 to 5, when the positioning device 100 is applied to a mouse, measurement values of the sensors 2a to 2c in each direction are input to the computer main body through the communication port 6, and positioning is performed. The same applies when the device 100 is embedded in a PDA or mobile device.

The principle of the positioning device in the three-dimensional space according to the present invention with reference to Figure 2 as follows.

The X direction sensor 2a is an absolute acceleration amount by the sum of the acceleration in the X direction of the positioning device and the static acceleration (inner product between gravity and the X direction unit vector) proportional to the slope obtained when the device is rotated about the Y axis. And Y-direction sensor 2b is the sum of the acceleration of motion of the positioning device in the Y direction and the static acceleration (inner dot between gravity and the Y-direction unit vector) proportional to the slope obtained when the device is rotated about the X axis. Will detect the absolute amount of acceleration.

In addition, the Z direction sensor 2c detects an absolute acceleration amount with respect to the Z axis, which is the sum of the Z direction movement acceleration of the positioning device and the static acceleration (inner product between the unit vector in the Z axis direction and the acceleration of gravity). The position of at can be determined.

3 shows a flow chart of the operation of the microprocessor in the preferred embodiment according to the present invention.

First, the output values of the current X, Y, and Z direction sensors 2a to 2c are set to reference '0', and the cursor or the target position is set to the difference value between the output value of the current sensor and the output value at zero calibration. . Subsequently, when the output change rate of the X, Y, Z direction sensors 2a to 2c is equal to or greater than the set value, the cursor or target is moved by an amount corresponding to the change amount of the positioning device, and the sensor output change rate is set. When it is below, it sets to the movement (movement) of a positioning device. At this time, if the rate of change is greater than or equal to the set value and the cursor or the target moves by an amount corresponding to the amount of change of the positioning device, the respective directions (' ',' ',' ',' Use ') to move the cursor or expression object on the 3D screen by a certain amount.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, in more detail, the operation of the positioning device in three-dimensional space, assuming that the current positioning device lies on a horizontal plane, the X direction sensor 2a is the X direction of the positioning device The absolute acceleration amount is detected by the sum of the acceleration of motion and the static acceleration (inner product between gravity and the unit vector in the X direction) proportional to the slope obtained when the device is rotated about the Y axis, and the Y direction sensor 2b determines the position. The absolute acceleration amount is detected by the sum of the acceleration of motion of the device in the Y direction and the static acceleration (inner product between gravity and the unit vector in the Y direction) proportional to the slope obtained when the device is rotated about the X axis.

In addition, the Z direction sensor 2c detects the absolute acceleration amount with respect to the Z axis, which is the sum of the Z direction movement acceleration of the positioning device and the static acceleration (inner product between the unit vector in the Z axis direction and the gravity acceleration).

Since the absolute acceleration measured by the X, Y, Z direction sensor changes according to the orientation of the positioning device, when the output value according to the absolute acceleration is used as it is, the position of the cursor on the screen is displayed according to the initial position. The position value of the object is changed. Therefore, when the positioning device (equipment) is turned on or reset or zero calibration is performed, the current sensor output value is stored as the reference '0' point, and the cursor or target position is compared with the output value of the current sensor and the output value during zero calibration. Set to the difference value (S1 to S2). This makes it possible to stably position the cursor or the target position irrespective of the initial orientation.

In addition, because it moves in space, the positioning device accepts the input of the action switch pressed on the ring finger in case the position feedback is not needed for intentional movement such as when placing it on the floor or fixing it. Accept the input of (S3). Once the operation switch is continuously pressed to measure the amount of acceleration by performing a zero calibration once (S4 ~ S5). In this case, the amount of movement in the current orientation may be calculated by multiplying a 3X3 correction matrix called a rotation matrix.

In addition, since the X, Y, and Z direction sensors 2a, 2b, and 2c use an analog method, their output values continue to change even when there is no position shift or inclination change of the positioning device. Since the position of the cursor or the target is constantly changing, it is necessary to consider that only the change of the threshold or more is changed and perform filtering (S6). Therefore, the filtered output value expressed as a value relative to the output at the zero point correction may itself be used as a value corresponding to the position of the cursor or the expression target. This is called absolute type positioning and is usefully used for positional expression using static acceleration corresponding to the inclination of the positioning device in the present invention.

When the filtered signal amount is compared with the absolute value and the set threshold value, if it is smaller than the threshold value, the signal is returned to the initial input check state, and if it is larger than the set threshold value, the following procedure is performed to calculate the movement amount (S7). That is, by multiplying the correction matrix, the acceleration values in each direction with respect to the current orientation are calculated (S8), and the correction accelerations for each direction represented by i = 0, 1, and 2 are three directions of x, y, and z, respectively. If; i) is less than the set value, the movement amount in that direction is set to 0 (S9 ~ S11). If it is larger than the set value, the movement amount is calculated in three directions to the connected device such as a PC or display device by calculating the movement amount as set by the program or operation mode switch. It is transmitted (S10, S12 ~ S16).

That is, if the output change rate of the X, Y, Z direction sensor is more than the set threshold value when the movement of the positioning device is given, it is regarded that there is the movement of the cursor or the object by the amount corresponding to the change amount and is less than the set value. It is assumed that there is no movement.

As a result, when the positioning device is moved on the screen by a relatively rapid rotation or a rapid acceleration movement, and the positioning device is slowly restored to its original position, the cursor or expression object is fixed while being moved on the screen. By repeating such an operation, ie, a fast movement and a slowly moving return operation, the expression target can be positioned anywhere on the screen without being restricted by the space where the positioning device is located. This method is called incremental type positioning, and by applying this positioning method, movement on the screen can be expressed over a wide range with high accuracy even in a narrow range of motion. In other words, it is designed to ignore movement out of the range of the set value set in the microprocessor 5, so that the cursor position on the screen can be determined by a small operation of rotating the positioning device, thereby positioning the positioning device over a wide range of motion. No need to move

Therefore, the position variation can be quantified without any mechanical constraints or restrictions such as a uniform plane and a separate mouse pad, so that the position of the cursor and the expression target on the screen can be freely determined when moving or in a portable device. (Pointer mode).

In addition, when the movement change rate of the positioning device for the rotation or acceleration movement in each direction is equal to or greater than a given set value (key set value), the ' ',' ',' ',' As if one of the key switches is pressed, the cursor or the expression target position is moved by a predetermined amount in the direction selected on the screen (Cursor Key Mode; S10 to S16).

Assuming that a game is played in three-dimensional space using such a positioning device, using the positioning device of the present invention, a direction key (' ',' ',' ',' There is an advantage in that the positioning of the cursor and the expression target in the three-dimensional space can be performed using only the mouse without using ').

In addition, the intensity of the movement of the cursor or the expression target can be adjusted not only in accordance with the positioning of the cursor or the expression target in the three-dimensional space, but also according to the strength of the rotation or the movement acceleration in each direction of the positioning device.

In other words, move the positioning device in the direction to move the cursor or the target, but the movement intensity of the cursor or the target varies depending on the movement acceleration intensity of the positioning device. The higher the acceleration strength of the positioning device, the faster the movement of the cursor or the target. The lower the acceleration strength of the positioning device, the slower the movement of the cursor or the object to be moved. If the rate of change of the positioning device is less than the set value, the cursor or expression The subject remains stationary without moving on the screen.

The positioning device in such a three-dimensional space may be a three-dimensional mouse, joystick, pointer, virtual reality three-dimensional power glove, Internet handphone, PDA (hand PC), notebook computer, vehicle or vehicle driving There are advantages that can be applied to various devices such as control systems, simulators, and three-dimensional motion capture.

As described above, according to the present invention, not only the cursor or the expression target is positioned in the three-dimensional space, but also the cursor or the expression is changed depending on the movement of the cursor (object) and the rotational acceleration and the intensity of the movement acceleration in each direction of the positioning device. It is possible to reduce the cost of manufacturing the system by implementing a device that can adjust the intensity of the movement of the object as a single device, so that it is not necessary to use multiple instruments when performing a computer 3D GUI such as a game and virtual reality in a 3D space. Excellent effect

In addition, by implementing a positioning device in three-dimensional space to quantify the positional variation without mechanical constraints or limitations, a uniform plane and a separate mouse pad are practically unnecessary, making it possible to apply it to a mobile device or a portable device. .

In addition, the expression object can be positioned anywhere on the screen without being restricted by the space where the positioning device is located by repetition of fast movement and slow movement.

Therefore, considering the expansion of portable terminals, diversification of models and applications, and generalization of computer three-dimensional GUI, personal wireless cellular phones, electronic notebooks, notebook computers, PDAs (hand PCs), E-NOTE, etc. It is very useful as a positioning device that can be applied to a portable terminal, and it can be said that the field of use is infinite because the variation of the position can be quantified without mechanical constraints or limitations.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the contents described in the accompanying drawings and the detailed description of the specification.

Claims (6)

An input device for positioning in a three-dimensional space, comprising: an oscillation means (1) for sensing movement acceleration and static acceleration (gravity) due to movement of the device, and the movement acceleration and static acceleration detected by the oscillation means. Sensor means (2a to 2c) for detecting the absolute acceleration movement amounts in the X, Y, and Z directions represented by the sum, and the width of the pulse signal proportional to the magnitude of the absolute acceleration movement amounts provided from the respective absolute acceleration movement amounts provided from the sensor means; The rate of change of the pulse width modulated signal applied from the modulating means and pulse width modulating means (3a to 3c, 4) and the modulating means (3a to 3c) and the pulse width modulating means (4) for modulation by Control means (5) for controlling to move the cursor or object in space by an amount corresponding to the amount of change, and to stop the movement in the space of the cursor or object when it is below the set value. Positioning device of the three-dimensional space consisting of a. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control means (5) is set to a value corresponding to the set key set value when the rate of change of the pulse width modulated signal in each direction applied from the pulse width modulating means (4) is equal to or greater than the key set value. ',' ',' ',' And moving the cursor or the object in space in a direction and stopping the movement of the cursor or the object in the space when the cursor or the object is less than the key setting value. The positioning device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the control means (5) uses a microprocessor. The positioning device according to claim 1, wherein an acceleration sensor is used as the sensor means (2a to 2c) used as the direction sensor. An input device for positioning in a three-dimensional space, comprising: a first step of detecting motion acceleration and static acceleration (gravity) due to movement of the device by an oscillating means (1); A second step of sensing an absolute acceleration movement amount in the X, Y, and Z directions represented by the sum of the motion acceleration and the static acceleration detected by the oscillation means through the sensor means (2a to 2c); A third step of modulating each absolute acceleration movement amount provided from the sensor means by a modulation means and pulse width modulation means (3a to 3c, 4) to a width of a pulse signal proportional to the magnitude of the absolute acceleration movement amount; And when the rate of change of the pulse width modulated signal applied from the pulse width modulating means 4 via the control means 5 is greater than or equal to the set value, the cursor or object is moved in space by an amount corresponding to the amount of change, And a fourth step of controlling to stop the movement in the space of the object. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the fourth step is performed by the amount corresponding to the set key set value when the rate of change of the pulse width modulated signal in each direction is greater than or equal to the key set value. ',' ',' ',' And moving the cursor or the object in space in a direction and stopping the movement of the cursor or the object in the space when the cursor or the object is less than the key setting value.