Abstract:
A motion-controlled portable electronic device includes a motion sensor for detecting a position shift and a direction of motion of the portable electronic device; a display device for displaying a cursor; and a microprocessor electrically connected to the motion sensor, and the display device for driving the display device according to the position shift and the direction of motion to adjust a position of the cursor on the display device.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a motion-controlled portable electronic device, and more specifically, to a portable electronic device integrated with an optical mouse sensor for controlling the display position of a cursor.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     Due to the rapid improvement in related technology, more and more digital products are now miniaturized and integrated to increase the convenience of daily life, for example, mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), smart phones, and MP3 players. These products have many integrated functions, so they all have a display device (ex: a liquid crystal display, LCD) showing messages and selections, enabling them to be used easily. The method of operation can be utilizing buttons to control the moving direction of a cursor, used by mobile phones and MP3 players. Alternatively, users can control the movement of a cursor by clicking a touch screen through a touch pen, used by PDAs and smart phones.  
         [0005]     Such control methods as described above have advantages and disadvantages, but it is obviously that these well-known methods of cursor control are different from the cursor control method of digital products with which users are most familiar, i.e. computers. In a computer system, users generally control a cursor through using a mouse. Therefore, users are unaccustomed to other methods of cursor control and may need to spend unnecessary time on studying new control devices such as buttons or touch pens.  
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
       [0006]     The claimed invention is to provide a portable electronic device integrated with an optical mouse sensor for conveniently controlling the cursor position on the display device of a portable electronic device to solve the above-mentioned problems.  
         [0007]     According to an embodiment of the claimed invention, a motion-controlled portable electronic device is disclosed. The portable electronic device includes a motion sensor for detecting a position shift and a moving direction of the portable electronic device, a display device for displaying a cursor, and a microprocessor electrically connected to the motion sensor and to the display device for driving the display device according to the position shift and the direction of motion to adjust a position of the cursor on the display device.  
         [0008]     The motion-controlled portable electronic device in the claimed invention includes a motion sensor (ex: an optical mouse sensor), therefore, while the portable electronic device is moving, the motion sensor provides data concerning the position shift and the direction of motion for a microprocessor in the portable electronic device. Next, according to the data, the microprocessor further adjusts the cursor position on the display device of the portable electronic device. In other words, the method for controlling a cursor of a motion-controlled portable electronic device in the claimed invention is similar to the method for controlling a cursor on a computer monitor utilizing a mouse.  
         [0009]     The present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0010]      FIG. 1  is a diagram of a mobile phone according to a first embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is a rear view of the mobile phone shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of the mobile phone shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  is a diagram of a PDA according to a second embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 5  is a rear view of the PDA shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0015]     Please refer to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 1  is a diagram of a mobile phone  10  according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 2  is a rear view of the mobile phone  10  shown in  FIG. 1 . In order to describe features of the claimed invention clearly, only devices related to the claimed invention in the mobile phone  10  will be discussed and illustrated in the following disclosure. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the display device  15  is an LCD panel, or another kind of panel such as an organic-light-emitting-diode panel, or an advanced display panel (ex: a field emission display (FED), or a plasma display panel (PDP)), showing messages and various objects (ex: a list of selections) selected by users. As with general computer monitors, the display device  15  displays a movable cursor  20 , which is controlled by users to select objects shown on the display device  15 . The mobile phone  10  has a housing  35  and a number of buttons  30   a ,  30   b , and  30   c , which are positioned on the housing  35 . Users are allowed to set functions of the buttons  30   a ,  30   b , and  30   c  by themselves via the operation interface of the mobile phone  10 , or accept a default value set by producers making the button functions the same as general computer mice buttons. Users click the buttons  30   a ,  30   b , and  30   c  to select, when the cursor  20  is positioned on an object required by the users on the display device  15 . Please note that, in this embodiment, there is a button  25  on the housing  35 , and the button  25  is a control module for switching between the control method of traditional mobile phones and the method disclosed in the claimed invention. In other words, users have discretion to switch the button  25  according to the condition and users&#39; habits to choosing a suitable control method. As  FIG. 2  shows, the housing  35  has an opening  50 , and an optical mouse sensor  100  is assembled in the housing  35 . The optical mouse sensor  100  outputs and receives a light beam through the opening  50  to detect the position shift and moving direction of the mobile phone  10 . A detailed description is as follows.  
         [0016]     Please refer to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 3  is a block diagram of the mobile phone  10  shown in  FIG. 1 . In the embodiment, the optical mouse sensor  100  includes an image-gathering unit  105 , a shift-calculating unit  110 , and a light emitting diode (LED)  115 . The LED  115  outputs a light beam as a light source when the mobile phone  10  is switched to operate the control method disclosed in the claimed invention. When the mobile phone  10  moves on a nontransparent surface (ex: a nontransparent table), the light emitted from the LED  115  is reflected by the nontransparent surface and gathered by the image-gathering unit  105  to form images at different times. Next, the shift-calculating unit  110  compares the images gathered at different time to continuously calculate the position shift and the moving direction of the mobile phone  10 . Continuously, the optical mouse sensor  100  transmits the data (position shift and direction of motion) to a microprocessor  120 , and the microprocessor  120  drives the display device  15  according to the position shift and the direction of motion to adjust the position of the cursor  20  on the screen. Additionally, control signals outputted by buttons  25 ,  30   a ,  30   b , and  30   c  are also transmitted to the microprocessor  120  to control actions of the mobile phone  10 .  
         [0017]     Please refer to  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 4  is a diagram of a PDA  150  according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 5  is a rear view of the PDA  150  shown in  FIG. 4 . In this embodiment, the PDA  150  includes a display device  155 , a plurality of buttons  170   a ,  170   b , and  170   c , and a housing  175 . The cursor-controlling method of the PDA  150 , according to a second embodiment of the present invention, is similar to the cursor-controlling method of the mobile phone  10  described in the first embodiment, and devices in this embodiment having the same name as in the first embodiment have similar (or the same) functions and rules, therefore, a detailed description is not repeated. As shown in  FIG. 4 , the display device  155  displays a cursor  160  and an icon  165 . The display device  155  can be a touch screen for showing messages and various items selected by users, and users can use a touch pen (not illustrated) for generating a control signal via the display device  155 . The buttons  170   a ,  170   b , and  170   c  positioned on the housing  175  of the PDA  150  are for generating control signals. For example, users are allowed to click the button  170   a  for selection, when the cursor  160  is positioned on a predetermined region of the display device  155 . In the embodiment, a cursor-controlling method switched by software is disclosed. It is well-known that in a common PDA, a touch screen is used as a display device, and users utilize a touch pen clicking the touch screen to select an object. In this embodiment, therefore, the touch screen is chosen to be a control module, where the touch screen displays an icon  165  in the corner. As a result, users can control whether the PDA  150  is switched to the control method disclosed in the claimed invention by clicking the icon  165  through using a touch pen. If the control method disclosed in the claimed invention is chosen, the optical mouse sensor  200  positioned in the PDA  150  starts to detect a position shift and a direction of motion of the PDA  150  through an opening  185 . Therefore, as mentioned above, this data is applied to drive the display device  155  to adjust the position of the cursor  160  on the touch screen.  
         [0018]     Please note that the first embodiment uses a mobile phone  10  as an example to explain how the present invention controls a cursor  20 , and the second embodiment uses a PDA  150  as an example to explain how the present invention controls a cursor  160 . However, the motion-controlled portable electronic device claimed in the present invention is not only bounded in mobile phones and PDAs. For instance, smart phones or MP3 players can also use the method of the claimed invention.  
         [0019]     Compared with the prior art, by means of installing a motion sensor (ex: an optical mouse sensor) in the portable electronic device and making some suitable modifications to the related software and hardware, users can conveniently control the cursor on the display device of a portable electronic device. Users use the method for controlling a computer mouse, and do not need to spend time on getting used to a new control method. In conclusion, the method of controlling a cursor of a motion-controlled portable electronic device in the claimed invention has significant advantages over the related art.  
         [0020]     Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.