TW201421377A - Image sensing apparatus, optical touch control apparatus and motion tracking apparatus utilizing the image sensing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

An image sensing apparatus, comprising: a control unit; and an image sensor, wherein the control unit controls the image sensor to utilize a first image sensing range to sense a first image to output a first image signal and controls the image sensor to utilize a second image sensing range to sense a second image to output a second image signal. The first image sensing range is smaller than a total image sensing range of the image sensor, and the second image sensing range is smaller than the first image sensing range.

Description

Image sensing device, optical touch device and mobile tracking device using the image sensing device

The invention relates to an image sensing device, and an optical touch device and a mobile tracking device using the image sensing device, in particular to an image sensing device capable of changing a size of an image sensing range, and using the image sensing device Optical touch device and mobile tracking device.

In the prior art, the sensing range of the image sensor is usually fixed, and the sensing image senses the image with the total image sensing range of the image sensor. Not only does this consume power, but it can also detect erroneous images. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the image sensing device sensing the image with the total image sensing range in the prior art. As shown in FIG. 1, the image sensor 100 senses the sensible range of the entire image sensor (ie, the total image sensing range, in this example, a matrix of N pixels multiplied by M pixels). image. However, there may be an interference area P formed by dirt or dust on the image sensor. Therefore, the image sensed by the image sensor 100 may contain an image formed by the interference area P, and thus the sensing area may be incorrect. Image.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image sensing device that can vary the image sensing range.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an optical touch that can change the image sensing range. Device.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a motion tracking device that can change the image sensing range.

An embodiment of the present invention discloses an image sensing device, including: a control unit; and an image sensor. In a first mode, the control unit causes the image sensor to have a first image sensing range. Sensing a first image and outputting a first image signal; in a second mode, the control unit causes the image sensor to sense a second image and output a second image with a second image sensing range Image signal. The first image sensing range is smaller than a total image sensing range of the image sensor, and the second image sensing range is smaller than the first image sensing range.

Another embodiment of the present invention discloses an optical touch device including: a sensing surface; a light source for illuminating an object on the sensing surface; a control unit; and an image sensor In the first mode, the control unit causes the image sensor to sense a first image and output a first image signal in a first image sensing range; in a second mode, the control unit makes the image sense The detector senses a second image and outputs a second image signal by using a second image sensing range, and the control unit calculates the object according to the plurality of first image signals or the second image signal. Touch action on the surface. The first image sensing range is smaller than a total image sensing range of the image sensor, and the second image sensing range is smaller than the first image sensing range.

Another embodiment of the present invention discloses a mobile tracking device that includes a display and a remote control. The display includes at least one light source disposed thereon. The remote controller includes: a control unit; and an image sensor, wherein in a first mode, the control unit causes the image sensor to sense a first image and output the first image sensing range a first image signal; in a second mode, the control unit causes the image sensor to sense a second image and output a second image signal by using a second image sensing range, and the control unit is configured according to The first image or the second image calculates a location of the light source and calculates a movement motion of the remote controller relative to the light source according to a location of the light source. The first image sensing range is smaller than a total image sensing range of the image sensor, and the second image sensing range is smaller than the first image sensing range.

According to the foregoing embodiments, the image can be sensed by using a suitable sensing range in different modes, so that not only power can be saved, but also a more accurate image can be obtained.

FIG. 2 illustrates an optical touch device 200 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 3 to 6 are schematic views showing the operation of the optical touch device 200 shown in FIG. 2 . As shown in FIG. 2 , the optical touch device 200 includes a sensing surface 201 , a light source 203 , a control unit 205 , and an image sensor 207 . The light source 203 is used to illuminate an object on the sensing surface 201 (in this embodiment, a finger F). The image sensor 207 is configured to sense an image. Therefore, if the finger F is smaller than a predetermined distance from the sensing surface 201, that is, there is a touch action, the light of the light source 203 is incident on the finger F and reflected to the image sensor 207. Thereby, the image sensor 207 senses the image of the finger F. The control unit 205 calculates the touch action of the finger F on the sensing surface 201 according to the image of the finger F.

Image sensor 207 senses images in different modes with different image sensing ranges. Referring to FIG. 3, in the first mode, the image sensor 300 senses an image with a first image sensing range W ₁ and generates a corresponding first image signal. The first image sensing range W ₁ includes only a part of the total image sensing range of the image sensor 300 and is not included in the interference area P, so that not only the power consumption can be reduced, but also the correct one can be sensed. image. The size and location of the first image sensing range W ₁ can be determined by a variety of different decision mechanisms. For example, it may be determined that the image sensor may be less suitable for sensing according to the difference of the image sensor process, so that the first image sensing range W ₁ does not include these portions. Alternatively, after determining the position of the interference zone P, the first image sensing range W ₁ does not include the interference zone P. How to determine the position of the interference zone P has a considerable number of ways. For example, if a fixed image is found in a plurality of images, it can be judged as the interference zone P, but is not limited. The first image sensing range W ₁ may be any shape other than a rectangle, and may also be a discontinuous area. As shown in the embodiment of FIG. 4 , the first image sensing range W ₁ is made up of different strips. The type of sensing area is composed of.

The image sensor 207 senses the image to generate a corresponding second image signal by using a second image sensing range W ₂ that is smaller than the first image sensing range W ₁ in a second mode, such as the fifth image. The figure shows. The positional relationship between the first image sensing range W ₁ and the second image sensing range W ₂ may be as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 , and the first image sensing range W ₁ includes the second image sensing range W _2, but can also as shown in FIG. 6 as the first image sensing range of a second W ₁ and W ₂ image sensing range do not overlap. In an embodiment, the control unit 205 determines whether the image sensing range of the image sensor 207 has a fixed image according to the first image signal or the second image signal, and uses the first image sensing range W ₁ or the second. The image sensing range W ₂ compensates for the fixed image when the image is sensed. This step of compensating for the fixed image can be viewed as a step of reducing image noise, which allows the image sensor to sense a more accurate image. How to determine the fixed image and compensate it is known to those skilled in the art, and therefore will not be described again.

In an embodiment, the first mode is a normal mode and the second mode is a sleep mode. That is to say, in the normal mode, the image sensor 207 senses the image with the first image sensing range W ₁ , and when entering the sleep mode, the second image sensing range W ₂ is further changed. To sense the image. In the second mode, the control unit 205 causes the image sensor 207 to sense whether the distance between the finger F and the sensing surface 201 is less than a threshold value (ie, whether there is a touch action) by using the second image sensing range W ₂ . If so, the optical touch device 200 is switched back to the first mode, otherwise the optical touch device 200 is maintained in the second mode. In detail, if the distance between the finger F and the sensing surface 201 is greater than a threshold (ie, there is no touch action), the image sensor 207 does not receive the light reflected from the finger F, so the brightness is darker, and vice versa. If the distance between the finger F and the sensing surface 201 is less than a threshold (ie, there is a touch action), the image sensor 207 receives the light reflected from the finger F, so the brightness is brighter. Therefore, in the second mode, the control unit 205 causes the image sensor 207 to change the brightness of the overall image in the second image sensing range W ₂ . If the change in brightness is greater than a threshold, it may represent a finger F or other The object approaches the sensing surface, so the control unit 205 switches the optical touch device 200 back to the first mode. A smaller second image sensing range W ₂ can be employed in the second mode because sensing the change in overall image brightness does not require too much sensing range.

The image sensing mechanism shown in Figures 3 through 6 can also be applied to other electronic devices. That is to say, the control unit 205 and the image sensor 207 in FIG. 2 can be regarded as an image sensing device, and the image sensing device can be applied to other electronic devices. FIG. 7 illustrates a mobile tracking device according to an embodiment of the present invention, which also uses the foregoing image sensing device composed of a control unit and an image sensor. As shown in Figure 7 The mobile tracking device 700 includes a display 701 and a remote controller 703. The display 701 includes at least one light source 705 (only one of the light sources is shown in the example), and the remote controller 703 includes a control unit 707 and an image sensor 709. The image sensor 709 can sense an image according to the image sensing mechanism shown in FIGS. 3 to 6. In an embodiment, the first mode is a normal mode and the second mode is a sleep mode. In the first mode, the control unit 707 calculates the position of the light source 705 according to the sensed image and calculates the movement action of the remote controller 703 with respect to the light source 705 according to the position of the light source 707. In an embodiment, the cursor Cr can be controlled by the movement of the remote controller 703 with respect to the light source 705, but is not intended to limit the present invention. In the second mode, the control unit 707 determines whether the sensed image includes a light source image generated by the light source 705, and if so, switches the mobile tracking device 700 back to the first mode, if otherwise, the mobile tracking device 700 is maintained at the first Two modes.

According to the foregoing embodiments, the image can be sensed by using a suitable sensing range in different modes, so that not only power can be saved, but also a more accurate image can be obtained.

The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and all changes and modifications made to the scope of the present invention should be within the scope of the present invention.

100, 300‧‧‧ image sensor

200‧‧‧Optical touch device

201‧‧‧Sensing surface

203, 705‧‧‧ light source

205, 707‧‧‧ control unit

207, 709‧‧‧ image sensor

P‧‧‧Interference zone

W ₁ ‧‧‧First image sensing range

W ₂ ‧‧‧second image sensing range

700‧‧‧Mobile tracking device

701‧‧‧ display

703‧‧‧Remote control

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the image sensing device sensing the image with the total image sensing range in the prior art.

FIG. 2 illustrates an optical touch device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

3, 4, 5, and 6 are schematic views showing the operation of the optical touch device shown in Fig. 2.

Figure 7 illustrates a mobile tracking device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

300‧‧‧Image Sensor

P‧‧‧Interference zone

W ₁ ‧‧‧First image sensing range

Claims (20)

An image sensing device includes: a control unit; and an image sensor, wherein in a first mode, the control unit causes the image sensor to sense a first image with a first image sensing range and Outputting a first image signal; in a second mode, the control unit causes the image sensor to sense a second image and output a second image signal by using a second image sensing range; wherein the first image The image sensing range is smaller than a total image sensing range of the image sensor, and the second image sensing range is smaller than the first image sensing range. The image sensing device of claim 1, wherein in the second mode, the control unit causes the image sensor to sense the brightness of the second image by using the second image sensing range, if When the change in brightness is greater than a threshold, the control unit switches the image sensing device to the first mode. The image sensing device of claim 1, wherein the control unit determines whether the sensing range of the image sensor has a fixed image according to the first image signal or the second image signal, and uses the The fixed image is compensated when the first image sensing range or the second image sensing range senses the image. The image sensing device of claim 1, wherein the image received by the image sensor is caused by reflected light of an object. The image sensing device of claim 1, wherein the image received by the image sensor is caused by incident light emitted by an object. The image sensing device of claim 1, wherein the first image sensing range comprises a discontinuous image sensing range. The image sensing device of claim 1, wherein the first image sensing range comprises the second image sensing range. The image sensing device of claim 1, wherein the first image sensing range and the second image sensing range do not overlap. An optical touch device includes: a sensing surface; a light source for illuminating an object on the sensing surface; a control unit; and an image sensor, wherein in a first mode, the control unit enables The image sensor senses a first image and outputs a first image signal in a first image sensing range. In a second mode, the control unit causes the image sensor to sense the second image. The range is to sense a second image and output a second image signal, and the control unit calculates a touch action of the object on the sensing surface according to the plurality of first image signals or the second image signal; The first image sensing range is smaller than a total image sensing range of the image sensor. And the second image sensing range is smaller than the first image sensing range. The optical touch device of claim 9, wherein in the second mode, the control unit causes the image sensor to sense the distance between the object and the sensing surface by the second image sensing range. Whether it is less than a threshold value, if yes, switching the optical touch device back to the first mode, if otherwise maintaining the optical touch device in the second mode. The optical touch device of claim 9, wherein the control unit determines whether the sensing range of the image sensor has a fixed image according to the first image signal or the second image signal, and uses the The fixed image is compensated when the first image sensing range or the second image sensing range senses the image. The optical touch device of claim 9, wherein the first image sensing range comprises a discontinuous image sensing range. The optical touch device of claim 9, wherein the first image sensing range comprises the second image sensing range. The optical touch device of claim 9, wherein the first image sensing range and the second image sensing range do not overlap. A mobile tracking device comprising: a display comprising at least one light source disposed thereon; and a remote controller comprising: a control unit; and an image sensor, wherein in a first mode, the control unit causes the image sensor to An image sensing range senses a first image and outputs a first image signal; in a second mode, the control unit causes the image sensor to sense a second image with a second image sensing range And outputting a second image signal, and the control unit calculates a location of the light source according to the first image or the second image, and calculates a movement motion of the remote controller relative to the light source according to the location of the light source; wherein the The image sensing range is smaller than a total image sensing range of the image sensor, and the second image sensing range is smaller than the first image sensing range. The mobile tracking device according to claim 15, wherein in the second mode, the control unit determines whether the second image includes a light source image generated by the light source, and if so, switches the mobile tracking device back to the The first mode if otherwise the mobile tracking device is maintained in the second mode. The mobile tracking device of claim 15, wherein the control unit determines whether the sensing range of the image sensor has a fixed image according to the first image signal or the second image signal, and uses the first When the image sensing range or the second image sensing range senses the image, the fixed image is compensated. The mobile tracking device of claim 15, wherein the first image sensing range comprises a discontinuous image sensing range. The mobile tracking device of claim 15, wherein the first image sensing range comprises the second image sensing range. The mobile tracking device of claim 15, wherein the first image sensing range and the second image sensing range do not overlap.