KR20080093304A - Optical pointing device - Google Patents

Abstract

An optical pointing device is provided to protect an image sensor part from impurities for allowing the protected image sensor part to respond to an optical line and improve the space utility of the device by mounting the image sensor part at a lower part of a substrate formed with a light transmitting hole. An optical pointing device includes a cover glass(172) to be exposed to the outside, a light source part(176) for radiating light to the cover glass, a substrate(180) positioned at a lower part of the cover glass and formed with a light transmitting hole, an image sensor part(190) mounted at a lower part of the substrate to be exposed to the outside via a top surface thereof, and a barrel part(140) for transmitting the light reflected against a subject via the cover glass to the image sensing part via the light transmitting hole.

Description

Optical pointing device {OPTICAL POINTING DEVICE}

1 is a view equipped with an optical pointing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a perspective view showing a substrate of the optical pointing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a cross-sectional view of the optical pointing device of FIG. 1 in the II-II direction.

4 is an exploded cross-sectional view of the optical pointing device of FIG. 3.

5 is a cross-sectional view of the optical pointing device of FIG. 1 in the V-V direction.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing an optical pointing device according to a modification of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an exploded cross-sectional view of the optical point device of FIG. 6.

8 is a cross-sectional view according to a first modification of the waveguide portion in the barrel portion of the optical pointing device of the present invention.

9 is a cross-sectional view according to a second modification of the waveguide portion in the barrel portion of the optical pointing device of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10; Personal mobile terminal 140; Neck tube

150; Waveguide 160; Condensing surface

170; Button portion 172; Cover glass

180; Substrate 184; Floodlight hall

190; An image sensor unit 192; Transparent window

194; Image sensor 196; Image sensor housing

The present invention relates to a pointing device using an optical image sensor, and more particularly, to an optical pointing device for a personal portable device mounted on a personal portable device and capable of recognizing movement of a finger or another subject. .

In general, personal mobile terminals such as mobile phones and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) employ a user interface using a keypad. In more detail, the conventional personal portable terminal is provided with a keypad composed of a plurality of buttons for inputting numbers and characters, so that a user can input a telephone number or a sentence by inputting a button of the keypad.

Recently, as some Internet services such as WIBRO (Wireless Broadband) services are commercialized, it is possible to adopt a Windows operating system that supports a Graphical User Interface (GUI) in personal mobile terminals. Windows for the personal portable terminal includes Window CE. In addition, with the development of technology, personal portable terminals have various additional services, and a Windows operating system supporting GUI is also employed for convenient operation of the various additional services.

As described above, as the operating system of the GUI is adopted as the user interface of the personal portable terminal, the development of a pointing device suitable for the personal portable terminal is urgently required.

In general, a pointing device capable of providing a GUI environment in a small device is a track ball type or a joy stick type. However, since the pointing neglect physically occupies a predetermined space or more, it is difficult to be employed in small and thin small devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an optical pointing device capable of assisting in slimming of a device to be mounted because of a small volume and height.

In other words, the present invention can provide an optical pointing device that can be reduced in volume and height of the device provided with the optical pointing device can be reduced in volume and height of the personal mobile terminal.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an optical pointing device capable of protecting an image sensor of the optical pointing device.

In other words, by providing an optical pointing device that can protect the image sensor sensitive to the external environment from the external environment, the image sensor can be protected against dust and foreign matter, the protected image sensor can react more efficiently to the optical axis line It is possible to provide an optical pointing device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an optical pointing device in which space utilization can be improved.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object of the present invention, the optical pointing device may include a cover glass and a light source unit for irradiating light to the cover glass exposed to the outside. In this case, a substrate having a light transmitting hole may be provided below the cover glass, and an image sensor unit may be mounted on the bottom of the substrate so that the upper surface may be exposed by the light transmitting hole provided. In addition, the light reflected by the subject through the cover glass may be provided with a barrel for transmitting to the image sensor unit exposed by the light-transmitting hole.

The image sensor unit may be provided as a sensor housing having an open upper surface, and may include an image sensor in the provided sensor housing. In this case, the upper surface of the sensor housing may be provided with a transparent window to cover the open upper surface, and may include an electrode that can be electrically connected to the image sensor and the substrate provided on the image sensor unit around the transparent window. In this case, the electrode may be positioned in substantially the same direction as the image sensor using the socket. In addition, the transparent window provided in the image sensor unit can protect the image sensor sensitive to the external environment from the external environment, and the connection structure or optical axis leading to the light source unit, the cover glass, the barrel unit, and the image sensor unit due to the image sensor protected by the transparent window. Lines can always remain constant.

In addition, the barrel may include a waveguide for transmitting the light reflected by the subject through the cover glass to the image sensor, wherein the waveguide is formed on the lower portion of the cover glass or the upper portion of the image sensor to provide total prism surface. It may also include a reflector.

In this case, the waveguide may include a reflector provided at a lower portion of the cover glass or an upper portion of the image sensor to provide a prism surface capable of total reflection, where the waveguide may be integrally formed, and in some cases, the first reflection mirror. It may be formed separately from the second reflecting mirror.

That is, the first prism face may be positioned under the cover glass, and may be separated into a second reflector positioned on the substrate and reflecting light from the first reflector to the image sensor. In this case, the light collecting surface may be curved to correspond to the prism surfaces of the first prism surface and the second prism surface, respectively. The condensing surface may condense the light irradiated from the first prism face into one place, and the condensed light may be irradiated toward the second prism face.

In addition, the waveguide portion of the barrel may be extended to be accommodated in the light transmitting hole formed in the substrate. That is, the transparent window of the image sensor portion of the barrel portion and the waveguide portion of the barrel portion may correspond to each other, and the waveguide portion including the second prism face may be extended to be mounted in the transmissive hole direction of the substrate.

In addition, two reflecting mirrors may be provided in the waveguide in the barrel portion, and a condensing lens may be provided between the two reflecting mirrors. In addition, a waveguide portion integrally formed with a prism face may be provided, or a waveguide portion having at least two light collecting surfaces may be provided by cutting a central region of the waveguide portion integrally formed. In this case, the shape of the light collecting surface may be provided in the form of a curved surface to increase the light collecting efficiency of the light reflected from the waveguide.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited or limited by the embodiments. For reference, in the present invention, the same numbers refer to substantially the same elements, and may be described by referring to the contents described in the other drawings under the above rules, and the contents repeated or deemed apparent to those skilled in the art may be omitted.

1 is a view showing an optical pointing device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view showing a substrate of the optical pointing device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 is the optical pointing device of Figure 1 II FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the optical pointing device of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the optical pointing device of FIG. 1 in the V-V direction.

1 to 2, the optical pointing device may be mounted on a navigation key in the personal portable terminal 10, and the button unit 170 corresponding to the navigation key in the optical pointing device may be exposed to the outside of the case. .

The cover glass 172 is positioned at the center of the button unit 170, and the user can move the pointer displayed from the personal mobile terminal 10 by moving a finger or another subject on the exposed cover glass 172, and the menu. You can move or adjust the volume. Optical pointing devices can be used in GUI environments or other situations where movement or adjustment is required.

In this case, referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a substrate used in the optical pointing device 100. In this case, the substrate 180 may have a light transmitting hole 184 that may be exposed to the outside. The image sensor 190 may be exposed through the light transmission hole 184.

That is, the image sensor unit 190 may be provided under the substrate 180 through the light transmission hole 184, and at this time, the transparent window 192 provided to the image sensor unit 190 may be formed in the light transmission hole 184. It may be mounted corresponding to the lower part. Also. The image sensor unit 190 may include electrodes to be electrically connected to the substrate 180, and an image sensor housing 196 may be disposed under the electrode and the transparent window 192 to accommodate the image sensor 194. May be provided.

In other words, since the image sensor 194 is very sensitive to the external environment, an image sensor housing 196 may be provided to protect the image sensor 194 from the external environment, and the image sensor 194 may be provided above the device. Transparent window 192 may be provided to protect from dust or foreign matter. The provided image sensor 194 may be exposed through the light transmission hole 194 formed in the substrate 180, and may be electrically connected to the upper substrate 180 through electrodes provided in the image sensor unit 194.

In addition, referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the optical pointing device 100 is mounted based on the substrate 180 on which the light-transmitting hole 184 is formed, and the barrel portion on which the waveguide 150 is provided on the substrate 180 is provided. 140 may be mounted.

The image sensor unit 190 may be positioned below the substrate 180, and in this case, the substrate 180 may have a light transmitting hole 184 that may expose the image sensor unit 190. In addition, the image sensor unit 190 may be provided with an image sensor housing 196 that protects the image sensor 194, and a transparent window formed on the image sensor housing 196 so as to correspond to the floodlight hole 184. 192 may be provided. In this case, the transparent window 192 serves to protect the image sensor 194 from dust or foreign matter on the outside or the upper portion, and is formed to correspond to the barrel portion 140 of the upper portion to emit light to the image sensor 194. Enable delivery In addition, the image sensor unit 190 may be formed with an electrode that can be electrically connected to the upper substrate 180, the electrode may be provided in the substantially same direction as the image sensor 194 using a socket or the like. . The socket may be used to receive an image sensor and expose the electrode upward. In general, when the electrode of the sensor is formed on the bottom surface, the socket may facilitate mounting of the sensor. In addition, the image sensor unit 190 mounted with the substrate 180 may be connected to the optical axis line from the cover glass 172.

The barrel part 140 may be disposed side by side on the substrate 180. In this case, the barrel part 140 may include a lower hole 144 corresponding to the floodlight hole 184, and the cover glass 172. The upper hole 142 may be formed to correspond. In this case, the light transmitting hole 184 formed on the bottom surface of the lower hole 144 may be formed to correspond to the transparent window 192, and the button unit 170 including the cover glass 172 is mounted on the upper hole 142. Can be. The cover glass 172 is a part of the button unit 170 to allow light to pass through the inside and outside of the barrel 140, and the light transmitted to the image sensor 194 is almost through the cover glass 172 140) you can go inside.

The barrel part 140 may be fixed to the substrate 180, and at this time, an adhesive method or a hole insertion method may be applied. For example, the barrel may be attached to the substrate, and the substrate may be fixed to the barrel. In addition, when the barrel portion is formed of a solderable metal material such as SUS, the barrel portion may be fixed to the substrate through soldering.

In addition, the barrel 140 may include a waveguide 150 that may transmit the light reflected by the subject through the cover glass 172 to the image sensor 190, by using the waveguide 150. The light reflected by the subject of the cover glass 172 is primarily reflected so that the path of the light is horizontally switched with the substrate 180 and the path of the horizontally converted light is vertically switched again.

To this end, the waveguide 150 may include a first prism face 152 positioned below the cover glass 172 and a second prism face 154 positioned above the image sensor 190. The waveguide 150 may be mounted inside the barrel 140 to completely transmit the light transmitted from the cover glass 172 to the image sensor unit 190 without inflow of light from the outside. In this case, the first prism face 152 and the second prism face 154 may switch the light path using total reflection like the prism, and the first and second prism face 154 may have a prism and irradiated light. It can be formed of a variety of materials that can total reflection. In addition, the waveguide 150 may be formed by plastic injection molding, and may be manufactured in various ways using glass and other materials capable of transmitting light.

Referring to FIG. 5, the light source unit 176 includes a light emitting element 178 and a light source guide 174. The light emitting device 178 may be configured as a general LED, and the light generated by the light emitting device 178 may be transmitted to the cover glass 172 through the transparent light source guide 174. The light generated from the light emitting device 178 may be red, green, blue, or a combination thereof, and the light source unit 176 may be disposed at a position adjacent to the side or front and rear of the cover glass 172. In addition, the light source unit 176 may be installed in the barrel unit 140 to prevent external noise light from entering the cover glass 172.

1 to 5, the image sensor unit 190 may be mounted on the lower portion of the substrate 180 to make the volume of the personal portable terminal slim. That is, the existing image sensor may be mounted under the waveguide and mounted on the substrate. At this time, the image sensor should be provided to be provided almost the same as the outer portion of the wave guide portion so that the optical axis line of the cover glass can be easily matched, which is troublesome to install the optical point device. In addition, there are cases where other devices or components are provided on the same line of the image sensor in order to horizontally form the image sensor mounted on the substrate and the substrate. Therefore, a space may be formed around the periphery of the image sensor protruding on the substrate, and the space efficiency may be reduced due to the image sensor. In addition, when the image sensor is mounted on the substrate, another device is installed to protect the image sensor sensitive to the external environment. At this time, the area protruding above the substrate may be increased due to the device for protecting the image sensor. . Therefore, when the thickness of the substrate becomes thick due to the image sensor, the volume and height of the personal mobile terminal can be increased.

However, according to the present invention, the light emitting hole 184 may be provided in the substrate 180 so that the image sensor unit 190 may be mounted in the lower portion of the light emitting hole 184, thereby improving efficiency of the upper space of the substrate 180. have. In addition, an image sensor housing 196 capable of accommodating the image sensor 194 may be provided to protect the image sensor 194 from an external environment, and a transparent window 192 may be provided on the image sensor housing 196. Thus, the image sensor 194 may be protected from dust or foreign matter on the substrate 180 or outside the image sensor housing 196. In addition, the image sensor unit 190 is provided below the substrate 180, so that the height or volume of the personal portable terminal is reduced, thereby providing a slim personal portable terminal.

6 and 7 are cross-sectional views showing modifications of the barrel portion according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the optical point device 200 is provided on an image sensor unit 190, a substrate 180, a light transmitting hole 184 formed on an upper surface of the substrate 180, an upper portion of the substrate 180, and a light transmitting hole 184. It may be accommodated inside, and includes a barrel portion 240 provided to correspond to the transparent window 192, the button portion 170 including a cover glass 172 on the barrel portion 240.

An image sensor unit 190 may be provided below the substrate 180, and a light transmitting hole 184 may be formed on the upper surface of the substrate 180 to correspond to the image sensor unit 190.

The image sensor unit 190 may be provided with an electrode to be electrically connected to the upper substrate. For example, the image sensor unit 190 may provide the electrode and the image sensor 194 in substantially the same direction by using a socket or the like. In this case, the image sensor unit 190 may have an image sensor housing 196 accommodating the image sensor 194, and a transparent window may be formed on the upper surface of the image sensor housing 196 so as to correspond to the upper floodlight hole 184. 192 may be provided. In this case, the transparent window 192 may serve to protect the image sensor 194 from an external environment.

The barrel portion 240 provided on the substrate 180 is provided with a first prism face 252 and a second prism face 254, and includes a first waveguide part 250 and a light projection portion disposed under the cover glass 172. The second waveguide 250 positioned above the hole 184 may be provided. In addition, the first and second waveguide 250 may include a planar or curved condensing surface 260 at a portion facing each other, wherein the planar or curved condensing surface 260 may be appropriately changed. However, the present invention is not limited or limited by the planar or curved shape.

In this case, the barrel portion 240 may extend in the direction of the light-transmitting hole 184 and may correspond to the transparent window 192 of the image sensor unit 190. That is, the waveguide part 250 including the second prism face 254 of the barrel part 240 may be mounted to extend in the direction of the light transmitting hole 184 of the substrate 180, and the mounted barrel part 240 and the image sensor may be mounted. The transparent window 192 of the unit 190 may be mounted to face each other.

Therefore, in the light pointing device 200 in which the barrel portion 240 is extended to the light transmission hole 184, the light reflected by the first and second waveguides 250 provided to the barrel portion 240 is transmitted to the light transmission hole 184. By the tube portion 240 extended to the light can be prevented from leaking to the outside, as a result it is possible to efficiently transmit the light for the subject to the image sensor unit 190.

8 to 9 are cross-sectional views of modified examples of the waveguide portion in the barrel portion of the optical pointing device of the present invention.

8 to 9, the waveguide part 450 formed as a body may be disposed on the substrate 180 in parallel with the substrate 180 in the barrel part 440, and inside the waveguide part 450. May include a first prism face 452 and a second prism face 454. In this case, the first prism face 452 and the second prism face 454 may transmit a path of light using total reflection like a prism, and the first and second prism faces 452 and 454 may be connected to the prism. In addition, it is possible to substitute a material capable of total reflection, and the material of the first and second prism faces 452 and 454 does not limit or limit the present invention. In addition, although the waveguide part 450 is provided in parallel with the direction of the board | substrate 180 in this modified example, in some cases, it is with the barrel part 440 or the waveguide part 450 and the barrel part 440, respectively. The waveguide 450 may be provided to extend in the direction of the light transmitting hole 184 of the substrate 180.

In addition, the waveguide 550 may be divided into a first waveguide 532 positioned under the cover glass 172 and a second waveguide 534 positioned above the image sensor 190. A first prism face 552 may be provided on the first waveguide part 532 disposed under the cover glass 172, and a second waveguide part 534 located on the image sensor part 190 may be provided on the first waveguide part 532. Prism face 554 may be provided. In this case, the first and second waveguides 532 and 534 may be divided, and a planar surface 560 may be provided at portions facing each other, and the plane 560 may include the first plane 562 and the first plane. It may also include two planes 564. In this case, the barrel 540 may be provided with a blocking wall having a pin hole between the first and second planes 562 and 564 to adjust the focus of the light irradiated from the light source 176. It is possible to enable imaging on the surface of the image sensor by using.

In addition, a planar-convex curved surface may be provided instead of the plane 560 to enhance the light converging effect.

The optical pointing device of the present invention has an effect of providing an optical pointing device that can assist in slimming of a device to be mounted with a small volume and height.

In other words, according to the existing optical pointing device, the image sensor is mounted on the substrate, and at this time, other devices or components can be used to protect the image sensor from the external environment. At this time, an area protruding from the upper surface of the substrate is formed due to the device or component used, thereby reducing the efficiency of the formed space around the image sensor. However, the present invention can provide a light transmitting hole in the substrate to provide an image sensor unit below the light transmitting hole, thereby improving the efficiency of the upper space of the substrate. That is, since the image sensor unit is provided under the substrate so that the space on the upper substrate can be utilized, the height or volume of the substrate can be reduced, thereby providing a slim personal portable terminal.

In addition, the present invention has the effect that the image sensor can be protected from the external environment due to the image sensor unit provided on the lower substrate.

That is, an image sensor housing may be provided under the substrate for an image sensor that reacts sensitively to dust or foreign substances to protect the image sensor against dust or foreign substances, and a transparent window may be provided on the image sensor housing to provide a transparent window. It can protect against foreign substances. This allows the protected image sensor to respond more efficiently to the optical axis line.

As described above, although described with reference to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art various modifications and variations of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention described in the claims below I can understand that you can.

Claims (13)

A cover glass exposed to the outside; A light source unit irradiating light onto the cover glass; A substrate under the cover glass and having a light transmitting hole formed therein; An image sensor unit mounted below the substrate such that an upper surface thereof is exposed by the light transmitting hole; And A barrel unit which transmits the light reflected by the subject through the cover glass to the image sensor unit exposed by the floodlight hole; Optical pointing device having a. The method of claim 1, And the image sensor unit comprises a sensor housing having an open top surface, an image sensor embedded in the sensor housing, and a transparent window covering the top surface of the sensor housing. The method of claim 2, And an electrode formed around the transparent window to electrically connect the image sensor and the substrate. The method of claim 2, The image sensor unit further comprises a sensor socket for mounting the image sensor. The method of claim 1, The image sensor unit includes an electrode electrically connected to the image sensor, And the electrode is formed in the same direction as the image sensor. The method of claim 1, The barrel may include a lower hole corresponding to the floodlight hole and an upper hole to correspond to the cover glass. The method of claim 6, And the lower hole of the barrel portion extends below the floodlight hole. The method of claim 1, And the barrel part includes a wave guide part which transmits the light reflected by the subject through the cover glass to the image sensor part. The method of claim 8, And the waveguide extends below the floodlight hole. The method of claim 8, The waveguide part is formed as a single body, and includes a first prism face formed on the bottom of the cover glass and a second prism face formed on the image sensor part. The method of claim 8, The waveguide part includes a first waveguide part positioned below the cover glass and a second waveguide part positioned above the image sensor part.  And the first waveguide part includes a first prism face formed under the cover glass, and the second waveguide part includes a second prism face positioned above the image sensor part. The method of claim 11, And at least one of the first and second prism faces of the first and second waveguides includes a condensing face that is planar or curved at portions facing each other. The method of claim 12, An optical pointing device, characterized in that a blocking wall including a pinhole is provided between the portions facing each other in the first and second waveguides.

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