Patent · US Active

Method of measuring relative movement in two dimensions of an object and an optical input device using a single self-mixing laser

US7994468B2 · kind B2 · utility

13Cited by
3References
11Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 23, 2006
Grant dateAug 9, 2011
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 14, 2028

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F3/03547
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An optical input device for measuring relative movement between an object (15) and a sensor unit comprising a laser device (3, 5) having a laser cavity for emitting a measuring beam (13, 17) and a respective radiation-sensitive detector (4, 6) for generating a measurement signal representative of changes in the operation of the laser device (3, 5) as a result of measuring beam radiation re-entering the laser cavity. A sensor unit is provided for measuring relative movement along each measuring axis in an action plane, and the resultant measurement signal from one or each of the sensor units is used to determine distance and/or movement of the input device and the object (15) relative to each other along a measuring axis transverse to the action plane by summing the offset frequency of a rising and falling slope of the measurement signal.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.