Optical navigation sensor with tracking and lift detection for optically transparent contact surfaces
US7755604B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 19, 2006 |
| Grant date | Jul 13, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 22, 2027 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F3/0317
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
In one embodiment, an optical navigation sensor for a computer mouse is designed to be operable on an optically transparent material. The optically transparent material may include a contact surface on which the mouse sits during normal operation. An optically rough tracking surface is provided below the contact surface. The mouse includes a light source that illuminates an area on the contact surface and an area on the tracking surface. The mouse may include a tracking sensor onto which the illuminated area on the tracking surface is imaged to detect mouse displacement. The mouse may also include a lift sensor that picks up specular light reflected from the illuminated area on the contact surface to generate lift information indicative of whether the mouse has been lifted off the contact surface. Tracking of the mouse displacement may be qualified with the lift information.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.