Optical system for inputting pointer and character data into electronic equipment

#The present invention relates generally to data input devices and, more particularly, to data input devices adapted for use with portable communications and computing equipment.

#Demand for compact communications and computing equipment has increased dramatically over the last decade. Computers that can be held in the palm of your hand and wireless phones that fit in a shirt pocket are two examples of popular miniaturized machines. More recently, demand for wireless e-mail and Internet access has begun to soar, with experts projecting future demand to rise at unprecedented rates.

#One problem associated with miniaturized communications and computing equipment is having a convenient way to input data, such as character and pointing device data, into such equipment. Early miniaturized computing equipment, typical of the 1990s, included a miniaturized keyboard that was scaled to fit the desired sized of the computing equipment. Typing a few words using such systems is quite laborious because the operator's fingers are typically too large to use the device as a traditional keyboard. Portable communication equipment, on the other hand, typically include a conventional 12-button keypad to input data. It is extremely difficult to use this set-up to enter non-numerical data. For example, to enter the word CALL, an operator would hit the button marked “2-A-B-C” three times for C, the button marked “2-A-B-C” once for A, the button marked “5-J-K-L” three times for L, and finally the button marked “5-J-K-L” three times again for the final L.

#These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings wherein:

#FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a data input device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

#FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the principal components of a keyboard image generator used in the present invention;

#FIG. 1 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the virtual data input device 10 of the present invention. The virtual data input device 10 may incorporate four primary elements including an image generator 20, an optical sensor light source 40, an optical sensor receiving unit 50, and a microprocessor 60, which controls overall system operation. The virtual data input device 10 optically interfaces with an operator desiring to enter characters, position, or other forms of data into equipment 70 such as any form of communications or computing equipment. This data may include any character or function typically incorporated into a conventional keyboard, including alphanumerics, symbols, function keys, operational keys (e.g., Tab and Enter) and Hot Keys. The characters and the like used by the operator to input this data may be displayed on a virtual keyboard 80, which may take one of many forms as described below. While the virtual data input device 10 of the present invention is particularly adapted for use with portable communications and computing equipment, including, for example, cellular telephones, Internet-ready cellular telephones, personal digital assistants, and the like, the virtual data input device 10 may also be suited for use with virtually any form of communications or computing equipment requiring entry of characters, pointing device data, and/or other forms of data, including standard desktop computers. Of course, the equipment 70 may include and/or interface with other forms of input and output devices, including display monitors, conventional keyboards, a pointing device (e.g., a mouse device), tablets, disk drives, infrared devices, and the like. The virtual data input device 10 is adapted to discriminate the position and motion of objects, e.g., the operator's fingers, and to generate character and position/motion information from such position and motion, all as described herein.

#FIG. 2 illustrates an image generator 20 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The image generator 20 is designed to project an optical image of an input device, for example, a conventional QWERTY keyboard, onto any surface available to the operator, such as a table top, a desktop, a laptop, the ground, or a piece of paper. The image generator 20 includes a light generator 22, an optical deflection device 30, such as a stencil, and various lenses. The light generator 22 may be a diode laser, a gas laser, or other type of laser, a traditional incandescent light bulb or a florescent light bulb, a light emitting diode (LED), or other suitable device capable of producing visible light. Preferably, the light generator 22 is low power and compact in design so that it may be incorporated into small communications and computing equipment such as cellular telephones and hand-held personal digital assistants.

#The light generator 22 delivers a visible light beam 24 to a collimating lens 26. The collimating lens 26 diverges the light beam 24 and emits collimated rays 28 of light having an increased cross-sectional area. Rays 28 are then projected through a deflective optical element 30 and through lens 32. Lens 32 expands the rays 28 to project an image, such as of a full size keyboard, at a suitable distance from the input device 10 and preferably adjacent an operator. Alternatively, the image generator 20 may be designed to project light through the deflective optical element 30 at a particular distance without the use of lens 32. A diverging image beam 34 is produced that projects an image, such as an image 80 of a conventional keyboard, onto any surface. The image 80 is typically formed from a plurality of discrete sub-images 82, that may represent, for example, particular keys on a conventional keyboard. The image 80 generally defines an input zone, i.e., the two-dimensional area within which the virtual data input device 10 will detect the position of the operator's fingers and correlate such position to unique character data. Each of the discrete sub-images 82 may then be selected by the operator for input into the equipment 70 based upon a unique position of objects within the input zone, e.g., a particular arrangement of fingers on the “virtual keyboard.”