Optical touch system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9063219-B2
Application number	US-201213645295-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 4, 2012
Priority date	Oct 5, 2011
Publication date	Jun 23, 2015
Grant date	Jun 23, 2015

Abstract

An image system comprises a light source, an image sensing device, and a computing apparatus. The light source is configured to illuminate an object comprising at least one portion. The image sensing device is configured to generate a picture comprising an image. The image is produced by the object and comprises at least one part corresponding to the at least one portion of the object. The computing apparatus is configured to determine an intensity value representing the at least one part and to determine at least one distance between the at least one portion and the image sensing device using the intensity value and a dimension of the at least one part of the image.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An image system comprising:
a light source configured to illuminate an object comprising at least one portion;
an image sensing device configured to generate a picture comprising an image produced by the object, wherein the image comprises at least one part corresponding to the at least one portion of the object; and
a computing apparatus configured to determine an intensity value representing the at least one part of the image and to determine at least one distance between the at least one portion of the object and the image sensing device using the intensity value and a dimension of the at least one part of the image, wherein the picture is obtained by subtracting a picture that is taken when the light source is turned off from a picture that is taken when the light source is turned on.

2. The image system of claim 1 , wherein the object comprises a plurality of portions, and the computing apparatus determines a plurality of first distances corresponding to the plurality of portions and a three-dimensional image using the plurality of first distances and the picture.

3. The image system of claim 1 , wherein the light source emits invisible light and the image sensing device is configured to detect the invisible light.

4. The image system of claim 3 , wherein the light source emits infrared light and the image sensing device is configured to detect infrared light.

5. The image system of claim 3 , further comprising a visible light image sensing device configured to generate a visible light picture comprising an image of the object, wherein the computing apparatus determines a position of the at least one part of the image of the picture and the dimension using the visible light picture.

6. The image system of claim 1 , wherein the image sensing device is a global shutter image sensor.

7. The image system of claim 1 , wherein the computing apparatus compares the intensity value representing the at least one part of the image with a predetermined intensity range to determine either the time during which the light source is turned on or the exposure time of the image sensing device.

8. An image system comprising:
a light source configured to illuminate an object comprising at least one portion;
an image sensing device configured to generate a picture comprising an image produced by the object, wherein the image comprises at least one part corresponding to the at least one portion of the object; and
a computing apparatus configured to determine an intensity value representing the at least one part of the image and to determine at least one distance between the at least one portion of the object and the image sensing device using the intensity value and a dimension of the at least one part of the image, wherein the image sensing device is a global shutter image sensor,
wherein the image sensing device comprises a pixel array and an automatic exposure control device coupled with the pixel array, and
wherein the automatic exposure control device is configured to compare the intensity value representing the at least one part of the image with a predetermined intensity range to determine an exposure control value, which is used to determine exposure time of the pixel array.

9. An image system comprising:
a light source configured to illuminate an object comprising at least one portion;
an image sensing device configured to generate a picture comprising an image produced by the object, wherein the image comprises at least one part corresponding to the at least one portion of the object; and
a computing apparatus configured to determine an intensity value representing the at least one part of the image and to determine at least one distance between the at least one portion of the object and the image sensing device using the intensity value and a dimension of the at least one part of the image, wherein the object comprises two connected portions and the image comprises two connected parts corresponding to the two connected portions, and
wherein the computing apparatus determines intensity values respectively representing the two connected parts and a second distance between one of the two connected portions and the image sensing device, and reflectance of another of the two connected portions, according to the intensity values respectively representing the two connected parts and the second distance.

10. An image system comprising:
a light source configured to illuminate an object comprising at least one portion;
an image sensing device configured to generate a picture comprising an image produced by the object, wherein the image comprises at least one part corresponding to the at least one portion of the object; and
a computing apparatus configured to determine an intensity value representing the at least one part of the image and to determine at least one distance between the at least one portion of the object and the image sensing device using the intensity value and a dimension of the at least one part of the image, wherein the computing apparatus determines two third distances between two portions of the object respectively corresponding to two parts of the image and the image sensing device by dimensions of the two parts of the image, and checks one of the two third distances with another of the two third distances.

11. An image system comprising:
a light source configured to illuminate an object comprising at least one portion;
an image sensing device configured to generate a picture comprising an image produced by the object, wherein the image comprises at least one part corresponding to the at least one portion of the object; and
a computing apparatus configured to determine an intensity value representing the at least one part of the image and to determine at least one distance between the at least one portion of the object and the image sensing device using the intensity value and a dimension of the at least one part of the image, wherein the computing apparatus determines two fourth distances between two portions of the object respectively corresponding to two parts of the image and the image sensing device by dimensions of the two parts of the image, and checks reflectance of one of the two portions with the two fourth distances.

12. An image system comprising:
a light source configured to illuminate an object comprising a first portion and a second portion connected with the first portion, wherein the first portion comprises reflectance different from that of the second portion;
an image sensing device configured to generate a picture comprising an image produced by the object, the image comprising a first part corresponding to the first portion of the object and a second part corresponding to the second portion of the object; and
a computing apparatus configured to determine reflectance of the second portion of the object using an intensity value representing the first part of the image and an intensity value representing the second part of the image, wherein the computer apparatus compares the intensity value representing the first part of the image with a predetermined intensity range to determine either the time during which the light source is turned on or the exposure time of the image sensing device.

13. The image system of claim 12 , wherein the computing apparatus determines a dimension of the first part of the image and a distance between the first portion of the object and the image sensing device by the dimension.

14. The image system of claim 12 , wherein the light source emits invisible light and the image sensing device detects the invisible light, and the image system further compri

Assignees

• Pixart Imaging Inc

Inventors

• Hsu En-Feng

Classifications

• G06V10/141

  Control of illumination · CPC title

• G06V10/143

  Sensing or illuminating at different wavelengths · CPC title

• G06T2207/10152

  Varying illumination · CPC title

• G01S17/89

  for mapping or imaging · CPC title

• G06T7/0073

  Physics · mapped topic