TWI425389B - Movable touchpad with high sensitivity - Google Patents

Description

High sensitivity accusation skateboard device

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to an accusation skateboard device, and more particularly to an accusation skateboard device for a notebook computer.

In order to carry convenience, a typical notebook computer usually attaches a set of touchpads on the keyboard to replace the external mouse as an input device, so that the user is not restricted by the venue, and does not need to carry a mouse. Increasing the inconvenience of the user. However, the accusation board has the disadvantage of being sensitive and susceptible to environmental influences. Most users prefer to carry another mouse to use it, and they are not willing to use an inconvenient accusation board.

The accusation board generally consists of two parts: a touch detection unit and a touch control unit. The touch detection unit is configured to detect and receive the touch position information of the user, and then transmit the information to the touch control unit, and then the touch control unit converts the position information into a contact coordinate and transmits the information to the operating system of the computer (OS) ) is used to control the position of the cursor. Common accusations include resistive, capacitive, infrared, and surface acoustic wave accusations.

However, the characteristics of the accusation board are susceptible to changes in atmospheric pressure that affect its operational sensitivity. For example, when the atmospheric pressure becomes low, the human body reduces the pressure in the body in response to changes in atmospheric pressure, causing changes in the conductivity characteristics of the human body. When the capacitive accusation plate is used, the coupling capacitance between the human body and the accusation plate is lowered, and the accusation is lowered. The sensitivity of the board is reduced, so the user needs to apply a large force to sense. Conversely, when the atmospheric pressure becomes high, the user only needs to apply less force to sense.

For the resistive accusation board, the principle is to use the surface pressure sensing of the accusation board to calculate the touch position after voltage conversion. When the ambient atmospheric pressure becomes low, the user needs to exert a large force to sense, when the ambient atmospheric pressure changes. When high, the user only needs to apply less force to sense.

Therefore, under different atmospheric pressures, the operational sensitivity of the accusation board will be affected, and the user must also change the operating habits and strengths in operation, resulting in inconvenience in use.

The sensitivity of the accusation board is not high. When the sensitivity is increased, the accurate positioning cannot be achieved. In addition, the sensitivity and positioning accuracy are also affected by the change of the user's contact surface. In addition, when the existing accusation board is used to move the cursor, the cursor movement is performed by dragging the finger back and forth. When the distance to be moved is long, it is often necessary to perform a plurality of back and forth dragging actions to increase the user's inconvenience.

Since the traditional accusation board is susceptible to changes in ambient atmospheric pressure or hand-pointing sweat, which affects its operational sensitivity and positioning accuracy, it is necessary to provide a touch device whose sensitivity is independent of changes in ambient atmospheric pressure and provides more High sensitivity control allows the notebook to be sensitive to cursors without an external mouse.

Therefore, in order to solve the above problem, referring to Fig. 1, a new accusation board device for controlling a screen cursor is proposed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0068332. The patent application uses a light source to scan a movable panel, and uses the reflected light from the movable panel to calculate the displacement amount and position corresponding to the cursor represented by the movable panel movement. In addition, there is an automatic homing device for positioning the movable panel at a point to further use the panel to control the cursor. However, the automatic homing device of the invention does not conform to the usage habits of the general person in practice, and does not go into the relationship between the accusation plate and the edge contact time and the vernier displacement speed, and the inconvenience has a new problem.

Therefore, the present invention is directed to the above problem and the inconvenience of the previous case, and proposes a computer-accepted skateboard device having a movable slide for the user to touch and slide, and can provide a corresponding movement of the user to control the position of the cursor of the computer. . All of the skateboards are resistive or capacitive sensing surfaces, which can provide click or double click or drag information at any position on the surface of the skateboard. In addition, an optical sensing device is mounted under the slide for sensing. The displacement spot image on the lower surface of the moving slide is measured, and the image of the spot before and after the movement is processed by the image processor, and the relative displacement information is calculated and sent to the operating system of the computer, and the operating system controls the position of the cursor of the computer. In addition, the present invention utilizes an edge detection device to provide dynamic control of the cursor on the one hand and to correct the position of the cursor on the other hand to ensure that the position of the alleged skateboard is synchronized with the cursor of the screen.

By replacing the original capacitive or resistive touchpad with a slide to control the movement of the cursor, the effect of changes in atmospheric pressure on the inconvenience of the accelerometer can be avoided. Moreover, the optical mechanism of the non-deformable spot image capturing device and the method cooperates with the movement of the skateboard to have higher sensitivity and linearity, so that there is no need to use the accusation board for a large range of movements, and the fingers need to be repeatedly moved back and forth. Covering the action can reduce the fatigue of the finger, and will not improve the wrist disease of the mouse for a long time but cause damage to the finger. In addition, the use of the control slide can provide the user with an operational feel in use, just as the finger is operating the mouse.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A primary object of the present invention is to provide a high sensitivity allegation slide device for a digital device having a cursor comprising: an accusation slide having a surface exposed to the outside and a back opposite to the surface, the back comprising a textured structure a limiting element for limiting the range of movement of the accused skateboard and providing a low friction sliding environment for the accused skateboard, which is wrapped around the accused slide and exposes a central portion of the surface of the accensated slide; an optical displacement a sensing device, located below the accusation slide, for sensing the relative movement of the accused slide, comprising: a light source for emitting a light beam to illuminate the texture of the back of the accused slide; an image sensor for Receiving the light beam to illuminate the scattered light generated by the back surface of the accused slide; and an image processor for generating position information corresponding to each position of the accused slide plate according to the received scattered light, and obtaining the accused skateboard according to the position information Relative position and direction of motion and speed; and a control unit based on the relative position obtained by the image processor Controlling the digital device is cursor position.

According to the present invention, the restraining member has an opening relative to the central portion of the back of the accused slide such that the light beam of the light source directly illuminates the back of the accrued slide.

According to the present invention, the optical displacement sensing device further includes a lens for adjusting the light beam emitted by the light source to make a parallel beam to the back of the accrued slide, thereby generating scattered light.

According to the present invention, the optical displacement sensing device further includes an imaging module to receive the scattered light and generate a plurality of diffracted lights.

According to the present invention, the imaging module is a lens and an aperture.

According to the present invention, a capacitive touch switch device is further disposed on the accusation slide to provide a cursor selection function.

According to the concept of the present invention, a resistive touch switch device is further disposed on the accusation slide to provide a cursor selection function.

According to the concept of the present case, the clicking function includes a single click, a double click, a drag, or a scroll.

According to the concept of the present invention, the surface and the back surface of the accused skateboard are composed of the same rigid material.

According to the concept of the case, the surface and the back of the accused skateboard are composed of different rigid materials.

According to the concept of the case, the alleged skateboard is made of metal aluminum.

According to the present concept, the surface and back of the accused skateboard have different surface characteristics.

According to the present concept, the surface characteristics include roughness or texture.

According to the present invention, an edge detecting device is further disposed on the four edges of the limiting member for detecting whether the alleged sliding plate contacts the edge of the moving range.

According to the present invention, the edge detecting device includes a micro touch switch, an inductor or a push button switch.

According to the present invention, the edge detection device provides an edge contact signal to the image processor to ensure that the cursor position is synchronized with the relative position of the alleged slider.

According to the present invention, the edge contact signal is a digital pulse wave.

According to the present invention, the light source can be a light emitting diode (LED) or a laser diode.

According to the concept of the present invention, the image processor can be a central processing unit (CPU), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP) or Application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a high sensitivity accusation skateboard device that can simultaneously provide a good sensitivity cursor control and touch button selection function. The unit can be used in notebook computers, as well as in optical joysticks, TV selectors, and any interface that can be viewed using cursors.

The present invention is illustrated by the three embodiments.

First embodiment

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the device of the present invention includes an accusation slide 202 and a housing 204. The accusation slide 202 is mounted in the housing 204. The housing 204 has an opening above the opening and a finger. The area that can be touched. The skateboard 202 is said to be movable and exposed to the opening of the housing 204 for the user to touch with a finger. Please refer to Fig. 2, which is a longitudinal sectional view of the housing 204 and the accusation slide 202, and a top view of the lower portion. The housing 204 is an embedded trough design with a good contact surface designed to optimize the user's operating feel. The housing 204 is primarily functional to provide a low friction sliding environment for the alleged skateboard 202 and to limit the movable range of the alleged sled 202. The size of the moving range is equal to the size of the display screen area, so that the cursor can be controlled to any position of the entire area of the screen in an effective area in which the entire slide board 202 is moved.

As shown in FIG. 3, a set of optical displacement sensing devices 206 are placed under the allegation slide 202 for sensing the displacement of the alleged slide 202. Below the housing 204, a source 2061 of optical displacement sensing device 206 (which may be an LED or a laser diode) may be provided at the opening of the alleged sled 202 to illuminate the back of the alleged sled 202.

The front side of the skateboard 202 is provided with a material surface for the user's fingers to operate comfortably. The back of the skateboard 202 is said to be a surface surface that facilitates the sensing device 206 to detect displacement. For example, for an LED light source, it can select a uniform rough surface and a non-smooth material to facilitate the calculation of displacement; but for a laser source, a material with good scattering can be selected for contrast. A good spot image is good for the calculation of the spot displacement ratio. Therefore, the accumulating skateboard 202 can be a single rigid material (such as but not limited to metal aluminum), a composite/combined rigid material (ie, the front and back sides can be different materials), or have different surface characteristics (such as roughness) on the front and back sides. Degree, texture, etc.) to meet the needs of frontal touch and back optical displacement detection.

Another function of the alleged skateboard 202 is to block the output signal of the light source (LED or laser) to prevent the light source 2061 from emitting energy out of the housing 204, causing eye injury.

In addition to the light source 2061, the optical displacement sensing device 206 further includes a lens 2062, an imaging lens 2063, an aperture 2064, an image sensor 2065, and an image sensing processor 2066. The imaging lens 2063, the aperture 2064 and the image sensor 2065 constitute an optical detecting mechanism. The lens 2062 adjusts the light beam emitted by the light source 2061 to make a parallel beam to the back of the accrued slide 202, thereby generating scattered light. The imaging module composed of the imaging lens 2063 and the aperture 2064 is configured to receive scattered light and generate a plurality of diffracted lights. After the light source 2061 is incident on the back of the accrual slide 202 via the lens 2062, the imaging lens 2063 and the aperture 2064 image the characteristics (shadows or spots) on the back of the accumulating slide 202 on the image sensor 2065. The continuously moving imaging signal is sent to the image processor 2066 to calculate the displacement information of the object plane (referring to the accusation slider 202) before and after the movement, and the information presented by the displacement signal is transmitted to the driver of a computer 208 to provide the cursor. The function of position control. The image processor 2066 is responsible for image processing and displacement calculation. The position information of each position of the alleged slide plate 202 is generated according to the received scattered light, and the relative position and the moving direction and speed of the charge slide 202 are obtained according to the position information. It can be a general central processing unit (CPU), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), or a specific application integrated circuit (application). -specific integrated circuit, ASIC), etc.

Second embodiment

As shown in FIG. 4, most of the components and functions of the device of the present invention are the same as those of FIG. 3, and have an accusation slide 302, a casing 304, and an optical displacement sensing device 306 (including a light source 3061 and a lens 3062). An imaging lens 3063, an aperture 3064, an image sensor 3065 and an image processor 3066), and a computer 308. The corresponding function of the similar name component is the same as that of the first embodiment, but the skateboard 302 is said to be a combined rigid material, that is, the front and back sides may be different materials. The back of the skateboard 302 is said to provide the function of an optical baffle and is the object surface of the optical displacement sensing device 306.

The front surface of the alarm slide 302 is a capacitive or resistive (not limited to) touch switch device 3022. When an object (such as a finger) contacts the touch switch device 3022, the touch sensing signal is sent to the image processor 3066 of the optical displacement sensing device 306. In addition to being responsible for image processing and displacement calculation, the image processor 3066 needs to detect the signal of the touch sensing and determine the click action of the user as a single click, double click, and drag ( Cursor point fetch function such as drag) or scroll. Then, the image processor 3066 sends the detected displacement signal and the clicked touch signal to the driver of the computer 308 to provide cursor position control and click control.

Third embodiment

When the skateboard is designed, the scale of the screen can be used to plan the linear mapping of the movable area. The user controls that the displacement and direction of the skateboard movement will be linearly reflected on the cursor movement of the screen. This provides the user with a better operating feel when moving. Since the skateboard is limited to a limited movable range, in order to achieve better dynamic control applications for the cursor, such as game positioning control, the design of the edge detection device is introduced inside the housing.

The edge detection device can be a miniature touch switch, a sensor, a push button switch or a simple I/O contact, which can provide an edge contact signal (for example, a digital pulse wave), and the processor detects the potential level and the short circuit digit. Signal and contact time.

See Figure 5 and Figure 6. A left edge detecting device 4052, a right edge detecting device 4054, an upper edge detecting device 4056, and a left edge, a right edge, and a bottom portion are respectively disposed inside the casing 404 (viewed from above). The edge detection device 4058 is next. The main function of the edge detecting device is to detect whether an alleged skateboard 402 has touched the edge of the moving range. An optical displacement sensing device 406 (including a light source 4061, a lens 4062, an imaging lens 4063, an aperture 4064, an image sensor 4065, and an image processor 4066), wherein the optical slide sensor 402 is in contact with the edge. The image processor 4066 of the first embodiment can receive the edge contact signal, and the edge contact signal is a digital pulse wave. The accused skateboard 402 can no longer move after touching the edge detecting device, and the image processor 4066 continues to receive the digital pulse wave signal that the skateboard 402 is in contact with the edge, and confirms that the accused skateboard 402 remains stationary, and The time when the skateboard 402 is accused of being stationary. At this time, in order to ensure that the cursor also reaches the edge of the screen at the same time, the image processor 4066, in response to the time when the accusation skateboard 402 is stationary, notifies the computer of the predicted cursor movement speed to control the cursor to touch the edge of the screen.

As shown in Fig. 7, the horizontal axis represents the time (t) at which the slider 402 is in contact with the edge, and the vertical axis represents the vernier displacement velocity (v). The time t is zero when the alleged skateboard 402 is in contact with the edge detecting device. The curve interval (a) represents that when the time at which the skateboard 402 is contacted with the edge is less than or equal to T1, the computer program controls the cursor to move toward the edge at a constant velocity V. T1-T2 is a curve interval (b), which means that when the time when the skateboard 402 is in contact with the edge is greater than T1, the cursor movement speed will increase linearly, or as the curve interval (c) exponential function increases. When the time is greater than T2, the speed drops to zero, as shown by the curve interval (d). However, in any of the above intervals, before the cursor reaches the end position (ie, the screen boundary), the cursor position is calculated by the image processor 4066 and the predicted displacement information is sent. After the cursor reaches the end position (ie the screen boundary), the speed drops to zero and remains stationary. The parameters of the parameters T1, T2, V, the slope of the interval (b) and the curve of the interval (c) can be set by the computer's cursor configuration setting program, and the parameter setting value is transmitted to the image processor 4066 through the driver.

The user can determine whether the curve interval (a), (b) or (c) is activated or not and the parameter size through the configuration setting program. For example, when T1=0, and T2≠0, there is no curve interval (a). Only the curve interval (b) or (c); when T1≠0, and T1=T2, only the curve interval (a); and when T1=T2=0, the skateboard and the edge-contact cursor will immediately jump to the end position ( That is, the screen boundary), there will be no effect of the cursor moving process.

The edge detection device not only provides the dynamic control function of the cursor, but also has the function of the cursor position correction to ensure that the position of the alleged skateboard is synchronized with the cursor of the screen.

The present invention is not limited to the above method, and may be a combination of the methods described in the second and third embodiments.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art can make some modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

202. . . Accusation skateboarding

204. . . case

206. . . Optical displacement sensing device

2061. . . light source

2062. . . lens

2063. . . Imaging lens

2064. . . aperture

2065. . . Image sensor

2066. . . Image processor

208. . . computer

302. . . Accusation skateboarding

3022. . . Touch switch device

304. . . case

306. . . Optical displacement sensing device

3061. . . light source

3062. . . lens

3063. . . Imaging lens

3064. . . aperture

3065. . . Image sensor

3066. . . Image processor

308. . . computer

402. . . Accusation skateboarding

404. . . case

4052. . . Left edge detection device

4054. . . Right edge detection device

4056. . . Upper edge detection device

4058. . . Lower edge detection device

406. . . Optical displacement sensing device

4061. . . light source

4062. . . lens

4063. . . Imaging lens

4064. . . aperture

4065. . . Image sensor

4066. . . Image processor

408. . . computer

Figure 1 depicts a prior art of an accusation device.

Figure 2 illustrates the accusation device of the present invention.

Figure 3 illustrates a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 illustrates yet another accusation device of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a view showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between the displacement speed of the cursor and the time of the contact slide and the edge contact in the third embodiment of the present invention.

202. . . Accusation skateboarding

204. . . case

206. . . Optical displacement sensing device

2061. . . light source

2062. . . lens

2063. . . Imaging lens

2064. . . aperture

2065. . . Image sensor

2066. . . Image processor

208. . . computer

Claims (20)

A high-sensitivity allegation slide device for a digital device having a cursor, comprising: an accusation slide having a surface exposed to the outside and a back surface opposite the surface, the back surface comprising a textured structure; a limiting element for limiting The claim slides the range of movement and provides a low-friction sliding environment for the alleged skateboard, which is wrapped around the accused skateboard and exposes the central portion of the surface of the accused skateboard; an optical displacement sensing device is located on the accusation skateboard The lower side is configured to sense the relative movement of the accused skateboard, and includes: a light source for emitting a light beam to illuminate the texture on the back of the accused slide; and an image sensor for receiving the light beam to illuminate the accusation slide The scattered light generated by the back surface; an image processor configured to generate position information corresponding to each position of the alleged slide plate according to the received scattered light, and obtain a relative position and a moving direction and speed of the alleged slide plate according to the position information; a control unit that controls the cursor position of the digital device according to the relative position obtained by the image processor The claim slide device of claim 1, wherein the restricting member has an opening with respect to a central portion of the back of the accused slide such that a light beam of the light source directly illuminates the back of the accrued slide. The claim slide device of claim 1, wherein the optical displacement sensing device further comprises a lens for adjusting the light beam emitted by the light source to make a parallel beam to the back of the accrued slide, thereby generating scattered light. The claim slide device of claim 1, wherein the optical displacement sensing device further comprises an imaging module to receive the scattered light and generate a plurality of diffracted lights. The claim slide device of claim 4, wherein the imaging module is an imaging lens and an aperture. The claim slide device of claim 1, further comprising a capacitive touch switch device located on the accusation slide to provide a cursor selection function. The claim skateboard device of claim 6, wherein the click function includes a single click, a double click, a drag, or a scroll. The claim slide device of claim 1, further comprising a resistive touch switch device located on the accusation slide to provide a cursor selection function. The claim slide device of claim 8, wherein the click function includes a single click, a double click, a drag, or a scroll. The claim slide device of claim 1, wherein the surface and the back surface of the alleged slide are made of the same rigid material. The claim slide device of claim 1, wherein the surface and the back surface of the alleged slide are composed of different rigid materials. The claim slide device of claim 1, wherein the charge slide is made of metal aluminum. The claim slide device of claim 1, wherein the surface and the back surface of the charge slide have different surface characteristics. The claim slide device of claim 13, wherein the surface characteristic comprises roughness or texture. The claim slide device of claim 1, further comprising an edge detecting device located on four edges of the restricting member for detecting whether the accused slide plate contacts the edge of the moving range. The claim slide device of claim 15, wherein the edge detecting device comprises a micro touch switch, a sensor or a push button switch. The claim slide device of claim 15, wherein the edge detecting device provides an edge contact signal to the image processor to ensure that the cursor position is synchronized with the relative position of the alleged slide. The claim slide device of claim 17, wherein the edge contact signal is a digital pulse wave. The claim slide device of claim 1, wherein the light source is a light emitting diode (LED) or a laser diode. The claim slide device of claim 1, wherein the image processor is a central processing unit (CPU), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and a digital device. A digital signal processor (DSP) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).