Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US8049720?dq=7,812,828
Timestamp: 2017-12-18 18:43:58
Document Index: 252427485

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 200380107859', 'Application No. 200380107859', 'Application No. 2003', 'Application No. 200380107859', 'Application No. 03790129', 'Application No. 10', 'Application No. 2005124284', 'Application No. 2005124284']

Patent US8049720 - Compact optical pointing apparatus and method - Google Patents
A display pointing device (10) includes a fingerprint sensing circuit (18) that optically senses, for example, a portion of a fingerprint or other skin texture, and a fingerprint movement detection circuit (20), operatively coupled to the fingerprint sensing circuit (18), that is operative to determine...http://www.google.com/patents/US8049720?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US8049720 - Compact optical pointing apparatus and method
Publication number US8049720 B2
Application number US 11/456,719
Also published as CN1732507A, CN1732507B, EP1579417A2, EP1579417A4, US7102617, US20040125072, US20060244722, WO2004061751A2, WO2004061751A3
Publication number 11456719, 456719, US 8049720 B2, US 8049720B2, US-B2-8049720, US8049720 B2, US8049720B2
Inventors Lawrence Alan Gust
Patent Citations (32), Non-Patent Citations (17), Referenced by (2), Classifications (8), Legal Events (5)
US 8049720 B2
A display pointing device (10) includes a fingerprint sensing circuit (18) that optically senses, for example, a portion of a fingerprint or other skin texture, and a fingerprint movement detection circuit (20), operatively coupled to the fingerprint sensing circuit (18), that is operative to determine a direction of movement and a rate of movement of skin texture being sensed by the fingerprint sensing circuit (18) to produce pointing output data (24) for a display (12). The pointing output data (24) may be, for example, data representing a visual indication of a position on a display screen, such as a position of a cursor or of highlighted text, or any other suitable position indication. A method for providing pointing information for display includes sensing a fingerprint, determining a direction of movement and a rate of movement of the fingerprint and producing a pointing output for display based on a determined direction of movement and rate of movement of the sensed fingerprint.
This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/331,432 filed Dec. 30, 2002, entitled “COMPACT OPTICAL POINTING APPARATUS AND METHOD”, having as inventor Lawrence Alan Gust, and owned by instant assignee, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,102,617.
The invention relates generally to display pointing devices, and more specifically, to optical pointing devices.
A pointing device, such as a mouse, allow a user to point to a position on a screen to interactively position a cursor or select a position on a display surface, such as a display screen or other suitable surface. Such pointing devices are known to be used in desktop computers, mobile devices, laptop computers, cell phones, PDAs, Internet appliances and other devices. The pointer on a display may be textual (e.g., highlighted text) or graphical (e.g., cursor).
Another type of optical mouse such as an IntelliEye Optical Sensor™ marketed by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. uses optical sensors and image processing techniques to determine relative motion. As with all other prior art mice implementations, this product requires an auxiliary surface on which to operate. This product is differentiated from the optical grid mouse previously cited in that it does not require a separate optical repeating grid pad and it uses a plurality of sensor arrays and an image processor to determine speed and direction of motion of a flat smooth surface below it. The sensor arrays are thus necessarily positioned on a bottom surface of the optical mouse. A flat sensing window on the bottom of the mouse receives light for the optical sensor arrays. In operation, a flat area, such as the top of a desk, is required to use the mouse. The minimum size of the flat area is at least as large as the mouse housing, which is about the size of a user's palm, and in practice the flat area required is several times larger than a user's palm. As such, an improved display pointing device would be desirable for portable consumer devices.
Briefly, a display pointing device includes a surface texture sensing circuit that senses, for example, a portion of a surface, such as a finger or other skin texture, and a surface texture movement detection circuit, operatively coupled to the surface texture sensing circuit, that is operative to determine a direction of movement and a rate of movement of skin texture being sensed by the surface texture sensing circuit to produce pointing output data for a display. The pointing output data may be, for example, data representing a visual indication of a position on a display screen, such as a position of a cursor or of highlighted text, or any other suitable position indication. A method for providing pointing information for display includes sensing a surface texture, determining a direction of movement and a rate of movement of the surface texture and producing a pointing output for display based on a determined direction of movement and rate of movement of the sensed surface texture. In one example, the method includes resolving data received from the surface texture sensing circuit to produce a first image, storing the first image, and comparing the first image to one or more previously stored images to determine whether movement of the surface texture has occurred and if so, the rate and direction of movement.
FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a display pointing device 10 that for purposes of illustration, is shown to be employed within a device that includes a display 12, a user interface 14, and memory 16. The display pointing device 10 includes a surface texture sensing circuit 18, such as an optical fingerprint sensing circuit, and a surface texture movement detection circuit 20. The memory 16 may alternatively be included as part of the surface texture sensing circuit and/or surface texture movement detection circuit. As used herein, the term “fingerprint” includes any portion of skin texture or other texture and does not refer to an entire fingerprint and is not limited to skin texture associated with a finger. As such, the surface texture sensing circuit 18 is operative to sense at least a portion of, for example, a fingerprint or other suitable skin pattern, or other surface such as a glove, that is placed on or in proximity to a sensing window of the surface texture sensing circuit.
FIG. 6 is a cross-section illustrating an example of an embedded display pointing device in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. As shown, a depressible button or key 600 houses the fingerprint sensing circuit 18 and hence sensing window 410. A suitable opening 602 is made in the button to pass any wiring 604 or connectors required to connect to a printed circuit board or other suitable interface. As such, a control button normally used as a “enter” key or other suitable key may also house the fingerprint sensing circuit 18, thereby minimizing the footprint required to accommodate the disclosed display pointing device. As such, the sensing window is co-located on a button or key. A user may position a cursor or text on a graphical user interface using the display pointing device and may use the button itself for the selecting and activating an operation associated with the mobile device.
US7425945 * Mar 24, 2004 Sep 16, 2008 Logitech Europe S.A. Wireless optical input device
US20020104957 Nov 6, 2001 Aug 8, 2002 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Method of measuring the movement of an input device
US20040125072 Dec 30, 2002 Jul 1, 2004 Gust Lawrence Alan Compact optical pointing apparatus and method
CN1233791A Jan 29, 1999 Nov 3, 1999 惠普公司 Mouseless, optical and position translation type screen pointer control for computer system
CN1378169A Mar 30, 2001 Nov 6, 2002 王建勤 Keyboard for information input by means of finger print identification technology
JP2001155137A Title not available
KR20000029097A Title not available
KR1020000029097A Title not available
WO2000016244A Title not available
WO2000016244A1 Sep 7, 1999 Mar 23, 2000 Digital Persona, Inc. A configurable multi-function touchpad device
1 Chinese Decision on Rejection; Chinese Application No. 200380107859.2; dated Jan. 8, 2010.
2 Chinese Notification of Reexamination; Chinese Application No. 200380107859.2; dated Sep. 27, 2010.
3 Chinese Office Action for Application No. 2003/80107859.2; Jun. 8, 2007; pp. 1-10.
4 Chinese office action; for Chinese Application No. 200380107859.2; dated May 22, 2009.
5 EP Search Report; EP Application No. 03790129.5; dated Dec. 10, 2009; pp. 1-3.
6 International Search Report for International Application No. PCT/US03/37962 dated Oct. 12, 2004.
7 Korean Office Action; Korean Application No. 10-2005-7012257; dated Apr. 5, 2010.
8 Microsoft Mice; Take Control with IntelliEye technology; Microsoft Corporation, 2001.
9 Office Action from U.S. Patent Office; U.S. Appl. No. 10/331,432; mailed Dec. 21, 2004.
10 Office Action from U.S. Patent Office; U.S. Appl. No. 10/331,432; mailed Jun. 14, 2005.
11 Office Action from U.S. Patent Office; U.S. Appl. No. 10/331,432; mailed Sep. 21, 2005.
12 Polish office action; for Polish Application No. P377273; dated May 4, 2009.
13 Response to Office Action mailed Dec. 21, 2004; U.S. Appl. No. 10/331,432; dated Jan. 27, 2005.
14 Response to Office Action mailed Jun. 14, 2005; U.S. Appl. No. 10/331,432; dated Jul. 14, 2005.
15 Response to Office Action mailed Sep. 21,2005; U.S. Appl. No. 10/331,432; dated Jan. 23, 2006.
16 Russian Office Action; Russian Application No. 2005124284; dated Jun. 26, 2008.
17 Russian Office Action; Russian Application No. 2005124284; dated Nov. 2007.
U.S. Classification 345/158, 345/156, 345/166, 345/173
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:GUST, LAWRENCE ALAN;REEL/FRAME:033558/0291