Handheld input devices and electronic systems

Abstract

This invention discloses a handheld input device and an electronic system. The handheld input device includes a pen-shaped body, a flexible displacement sensor, and a processor. The flexible displacement sensor is disposed on the pen-shaped body, wherein the flexible displacement sensor deforms in response to pressure applied to it. The processor is connected to the flexible displacement sensor and disposed in the pen-shaped body, wherein the processor is configured to: obtain a specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor; and determine the stroke size of a representative object in a virtual environment based on the specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor, wherein the representative object corresponds to the handheld device. In this way, the user can have a writing experience using a brush (e.g., a Chinese calligraphy brush) in a virtual environment.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a handheld input device and an electronic system, and more specifically, to a handheld input device and an electronic system having a flexible displacement sensor. Background Technology

[0002] In existing technology, the writing function of a VR pen can be activated / deactivated by pressing a button on the pen. However, the button can only be used to activate / deactivate the writing function, but cannot be used to change the stroke size used for writing. In other words, when the VR pen is used to write in a VR environment, the size / width of the handwritten lines is not adjustable. Under these circumstances, it is difficult to produce a writing experience similar to that of a traditional Chinese brush pen. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Therefore, the present invention relates to a handheld input device and an electronic system that can be used to solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0004] Embodiments of the present invention provide a handheld input device paired with a host device, wherein the handheld input device includes a pen-shaped body, a flexible displacement sensor, and a processor. The flexible displacement sensor is disposed on the pen-shaped body, and deforms in response to pressure applied to it. The processor is connected to the flexible displacement sensor and disposed within the pen-shaped body, wherein the processor is configured to: obtain a specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor; and determine the stroke size of a representative object in a virtual environment based on the specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor, wherein the representative object corresponds to the handheld device.

[0005] Embodiments of the present invention provide an electronic system comprising a handheld input device and a host device. The handheld input device includes a flexible displacement sensor that deforms in response to pressure. The host device is paired with the handheld input device and provides a virtual environment. The handheld input device obtains a specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor and provides the specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor to the host device. The host device determines the stroke size of a representative object in the virtual environment, wherein the representative object corresponds to the handheld device, based on the specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor. Attached Figure Description

[0006] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and form a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

[0007] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an electronic system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0008] Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of a flexible displacement sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0009] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating how a stroke size is determined based on a specific displacement using a flexible displacement sensor, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a flexible displacement sensor for receiving external light according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0011] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a handheld input device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0012] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a handheld input device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] Explanation of icon numbers

[0014] 1~4, 114a, 114b, A1~AN: Sensing areas;

[0015] 100: Electronic systems;

[0016] 110, 510, 610: Handheld input devices;

[0017] 112: Pen-shaped body;

[0018] 112a: Grip part;

[0019] 114, 514, 614: Flexible displacement sensors;

[0020] 116: Processor;

[0021] 120: Main unit;

[0022] 211: Deformable body;

[0023] 212: Light emitter;

[0024] 213: Photodetector;

[0025] D1: Direction;

[0026] F1: Press;

[0027] L1: Light;

[0028] L2: external light;

[0029] O1: Entity object;

[0030] R: Predetermined displacement range;

[0031] R1~RK: Subrange. Detailed Implementation

[0032] Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numerals are used in the drawings and description to refer to the same or similar parts.

[0033] Figure 1 A schematic diagram illustrating an electronic system according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Figure 1 In this embodiment, electronic system 100 includes a handheld input device 110 and a host device 120 paired with the handheld input device 110. In various embodiments, electronic system 100 may be a VR system, wherein the host device 120 can be used to provide VR services to users of the VR system. For example, the host device 120 may be a computer device running VR programs and capable of generating VR content for users to view. In some embodiments, the VR system may further include a head-mounted display (HMD), and the host device 120 may provide VR content to the HMD for viewing by a user wearing the HMD. In other embodiments, the host device 120 may be a standalone HMD running VR programs and generating VR content for viewing by a user wearing the host device 120, but the invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the VR system may include other components, such as handheld controllers, motion tracking elements, etc.

[0034] In one embodiment, the handheld input device 110 can be understood as a VR pen, which can be used by a user to write in a VR environment provided by the host device 120.

[0035] exist Figure 1 In this device, the handheld input device 110 includes a pen-shaped body 112, a flexible displacement sensor 114, and a processor 116. The pen-shaped body 112 has a grip portion 112a that can be held by a user's hand. The flexible displacement sensor 114 is disposed on the grip portion 112a, wherein the flexible displacement sensor 114 is deformable in response to pressure applied to it.

[0036] Processor 116 is connected to flexible displacement sensor 114 and disposed within pen-shaped body 112. In various embodiments, processor 116 may be a general-purpose processor, a special-purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a core of a digital signal processor, a controller and microcontroller, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), any other integrated circuit, a state machine, an advanced RISC machine (ARM) based processor, etc.

[0037] In an embodiment of the invention, processor 116 is configured to: obtain a specific displacement of flexible displacement sensor 114; and determine the stroke size of a representative object in a virtual environment (e.g., a VR environment) based on the specific displacement of flexible displacement sensor 114, wherein the representative object corresponds to handheld input device 110. A detailed discussion follows.

[0038] See Figure 2 The diagram illustrates the structure of a flexible displacement sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 In this embodiment, the flexible displacement sensor 114 includes a deformable body 211, a light emitter 212, and a light detector 213. In some embodiments, the deformable body 211 may be made of any material that is deformable when receiving a pressing pressure F1, such as foam and / or sponge, wherein the pressing pressure F1 may be applied by the finger (e.g., thumb) of a user holding the handheld input device 110.

[0039] A light emitter 212 is disposed in a deformable body 211 and emits light L1. A photodetector 213 is disposed in the deformable body 211 and receives light L1. In some embodiments, in response to a pressing pressure F1, the deformable body 211 deforms to partially block the light path of light L1 because the transmittance decreases due to the increased density of the deformable body 211, thereby correspondingly reducing the light intensity of light L1 detected by the photodetector 213. That is, when the deformable body 211 receives a pressing pressure F1, the photodetector 213 can correspondingly detect a decrease in the light intensity of light L1. Therefore, the processor 116 determines a specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor 114 based on the light intensity of light L1.

[0040] In some embodiments, the specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor 114 is negatively correlated with the light intensity of light L1. That is, the lower the light intensity of light L1, the higher the specific displacement, and vice versa. In some embodiments, the correspondence between the light intensity of light L1 and the specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor 114 can be defined in advance. Therefore, when the processor 116 receives the light intensity of light L1 from the photodetector 213, the processor 116 can correspondingly obtain the specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor 114.

[0041] In some embodiments, the processor 116 determines the stroke size of a representative object in the virtual environment based on a specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor 114.

[0042] See Figure 3 The diagram illustrates how stroke size is determined based on a specific displacement of a flexible displacement sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 In this process, the pressure F1 increases over time. In some embodiments, the flexible displacement sensor 114 can be divided into sensing regions 1 to 4, and the processor 116 can obtain the displacement of each of the sensing regions 1 to 4 and correspondingly obtain the average displacement of the sensing regions 1 to 4 as a specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor 114, wherein the average displacement is in Figure 3 The line shown in the middle is a solid line.

[0043] In one embodiment, the stroke size representing an object can be one of a plurality of predetermined stroke sizes. Figure 3 In this invention, the multiple predetermined stroke sizes may range from 1 pixel to K pixels (K is an integer), but the invention is not limited thereto.

[0044] In one embodiment, the K predetermined stroke sizes may each correspond to a plurality of sub-ranges R1 to RK within a predetermined displacement range R. For example, the sub-range R1 corresponding to a predetermined stroke size of 1 pixel may be in the range of 0.3 mm to 0.39 mm; the sub-range RK corresponding to a predetermined stroke size of K pixels may be in the range of 5.91 mm to 6 mm, but the invention is not limited thereto.

[0045] In one embodiment, the processor 116 can find the first sub-range to which a specific displacement belongs from sub-ranges R1 to RK. For example, if the specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor 114 is 0.33 mm, then the processor 116 can find the sub-range R1 to which the specific displacement belongs as the first sub-range; if the specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor 114 is 5.93 mm, then the processor 116 can find the sub-range RK to which the specific displacement belongs as the first sub-range, but the invention is not limited thereto.

[0046] Next, the processor 116 can find a first predetermined stroke size corresponding to the first subrange as the stroke size of the representative object in the virtual environment. For example, if the first subrange is determined to be subrange R1, then the processor 116 can correspondingly determine 1 pixel as the stroke size of the representative object; if the first subrange is determined to be subrange RK, then the processor 116 can correspondingly determine K pixels as the stroke size of the representative object.

[0047] In some embodiments, in response to processor 116 determining that a specific displacement of flexible displacement sensor 114 belongs to a range higher than the highest subrange RK in a predetermined displacement range R, processor 116 may determine a maximum predetermined stroke size (e.g., K pixels) as the stroke size of a representative object.

[0048] In some embodiments, in response to the processor 116 determining that a specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor 114 falls below the lowest subrange R1 in a predetermined displacement range R, the processor 116 may ignore the specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor 114. That is, the processor 116 may determine that the flexible displacement sensor 114 has not received any pressure.

[0049] As mentioned above, the flexible displacement sensor 114 can be divided into multiple sensing areas. In some embodiments, a user can press any of the sensing areas on the flexible displacement sensor 114 to activate the corresponding function of the handheld input device 110. For example, in Figure 1 In this embodiment, the flexible displacement sensor 114 may include a sensing region 114a and a sensing region 114b, wherein the sensing region 114a may be closer to the tip of the pen body 112 than the sensing region 114b. In one embodiment, in response to determining that a pressing force F1 is applied to the sensing region 114a, the processor 116 may determine a representative object corresponding to the handheld input device 110 for providing writing functionality in a virtual environment.

[0050] In some embodiments, the processor 116 may obtain the movement trajectory of the handheld input device 110 and provide the movement trajectory of the handheld input device 110 to the host device 120. Therefore, the host device 120 may combine the movement trajectory of the handheld input device 110 with the stroke size of a representative object to create a stroke trajectory of the representative object in a virtual environment. That is, when the user moves the handheld input device 110, the representative object will move accordingly to write in the virtual environment with a determined stroke size.

[0051] On the other hand, in response to determining that a pressing pressure F1 is applied to the sensing area 114b, the processor 116 can determine a representative object corresponding to the handheld input device 110 for providing an erasing function in the virtual environment. That is, when the user moves the handheld input device 110, the representative object with the determined stroke size will move accordingly to erase in the virtual environment with the determined stroke size, but the invention is not limited thereto.

[0052] In some embodiments, the processor 116 may use the flexible displacement sensor 114 to perform other detections.

[0053] See Figure 4 The diagram illustrates a flexible displacement sensor for receiving external light according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 In this embodiment, the deformable body 211 may be made of a translucent material that allows the photodetector 213 to receive external light L2 from outside the deformable body 211. In this case, the photodetector 213 can detect the combined light intensity of light L1 and external light L2. In one embodiment, the change in the combined light intensity of light L1 and external light L2 may include both DC and AC components. In another embodiment, the processor 116 can determine a specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor 114 based on the direct component of the change in the combined light intensity of light L1 and external light L2.

[0054] Furthermore, since blood flow at the user's finger changes in response to the user's heart rate, when the user touches the deformable body 211 with their finger, the light intensity of the external light L2 will change in response to the user's blood flow, and this phenomenon causes an AC component of the combined light intensity change. Therefore, the processor 116 can further determine the heart rate of the user touching the deformable body 211 based on the AC component of the combined light intensity change of light L1 and external light L2.

[0055] In some embodiments, the handheld input device of the present invention can be used to scan the outline of a physical object using a specially designed flexible displacement sensor.

[0056] See Figure 5 The diagram illustrates a handheld input device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 In this device, the handheld input device 510 includes a pen-shaped body 112, a flexible displacement sensor 514, and a processor 116. The pen-shaped body 112 has a grip portion 112a that can be held by a user's hand. The flexible displacement sensor 514 is disposed on the grip portion 112a, wherein the flexible displacement sensor 514 is deformable in response to pressure applied to it.

[0057] In one embodiment, the flexible displacement sensor 514 is rod-shaped and has multiple sensing areas A1 to AN. In one embodiment, the handheld input device 510 can be switched to operate in scanning mode. In this case, the processor 116 can obtain the movement trajectory of the handheld input device 116 and obtain the displacement of each of the sensing areas A1 to AN.

[0058] exist Figure 5 In this scenario, it is assumed that the handheld input device 510 moves along direction D1, and sensing areas A1 to AN are used to touch the surface of the physical object O1 during the movement of the handheld input device 510. In this case, the displacement of each of the sensing areas A1 to AN will change in response to the contour of the physical object O1 during the movement of the handheld input device 510. Therefore, the processor 116 can determine the contour of the physical object O1 touched by the flexible displacement sensor 514 based on the movement trajectory of the handheld input device 510 and the displacement of each of the sensing areas A1 to AN. That is, the handheld input device 510 can be used to scan the contour of the physical object O1.

[0059] In one embodiment, the processor 116 may further provide the outline of the entity object O1 to the host device 120. Therefore, the host device 120 may create a virtual object corresponding to the entity object O1 in a virtual environment based on the outline of the entity object O1.

[0060] See Figure 6 The diagram illustrates a handheld input device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 In this device, the handheld input device 610 includes a pen-shaped body 112, a flexible displacement sensor 614, and a processor 116. The pen-shaped body 112 has a grip portion 112a that can be held by a user's hand. The flexible displacement sensor 614 is disposed on the tip of the pen-shaped body 112, wherein the flexible displacement sensor 614 is deformable in response to pressure applied to it.

[0061] In one embodiment, a user can use the handheld input device 610 as a regular pen to write on some physical surface (e.g., a table), such that the flexible displacement sensor 614 will receive pressure from the touch surface during the user's writing. In this case, when the user writes with greater force, the stroke size corresponding to the representative object of the handheld input device 610 in the virtual environment will be larger because the flexible displacement sensor 614 receives greater force, and vice versa.

[0062] In some embodiments, the host device 120 may create virtual objects in a virtual environment, and the surface of these virtual objects corresponds to a physical surface. In this case, when a user writes on a physical surface using a handheld input device 610, the host device 120 may correspondingly create stroke trajectories on the surface of the virtual object in the virtual environment, but the invention is not limited thereto.

[0063] In other embodiments, the handheld input device in the above embodiments may be used only to obtain a specific displacement of the corresponding flexible displacement sensor and provide the specific displacement to the host device 120. Therefore, the host device 120 can perform subsequent operations, such as determining the stroke size of the representative object, the user's heart rate, the stroke trajectory, the outline of the scanned entity object, etc., and the details of these operations can be referred to in the above embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0064] In summary, the flexible displacement sensor on a handheld input device can provide a specific displacement in response to the pressure applied to it, and this specific displacement can be used to determine the stroke size corresponding to a representative object on the handheld input device. Therefore, the handheld input device allows users to select the desired stroke size by changing the pressure applied to the flexible displacement sensor, thus providing a novel input experience in a virtual environment. For example, when a user writes / draws lines in a virtual environment, the user can adjust the pressure applied to the flexible displacement sensor during writing / drawing, resulting in varying line widths. Therefore, the user can have a writing experience similar to using a calligraphy brush (e.g., a Chinese calligraphy brush) in a virtual environment.

[0065] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that this invention cover modifications and variations that fall within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A handheld input device paired with a host device, characterized in that, include: Pen-shaped body; A flexible displacement sensor is disposed on the pen-shaped body, wherein the flexible displacement sensor deforms in response to pressure applied to the flexible displacement sensor; A processor, connected to the flexible displacement sensor and disposed within the pen-shaped body, wherein the processor is configured to: The specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor is obtained; The stroke size of a representative object in the virtual environment is determined based on the specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor, wherein the representative object corresponds to the handheld input device; The movement trajectory of the handheld input device is obtained, wherein the flexible displacement sensor is rod-shaped and has multiple sensing areas; The movement trajectory of the handheld input device is provided to the host device, wherein the host device combines the movement trajectory of the handheld input device with the stroke size of the representative object, and creates the stroke trajectory of the representative object in the virtual environment accordingly. In response to determining that the handheld input device is operating in scanning mode, the movement trajectory of the handheld input device is obtained and the displacement of each of the sensing areas is obtained; The outline of the physical object touched by the flexible displacement sensor is determined based on the movement trajectory of the handheld input device and the displacement of each of the sensing areas; The outline of the entity object is provided to the host device, wherein the host device creates a virtual object corresponding to the entity object in the virtual environment.

2. The handheld input device according to claim 1, wherein the flexible displacement sensor comprises: Deformable body, receiving the pressing pressure; A light emitter is disposed in the deformable body and emits light; A photodetector is disposed in the deformable body and receives the light, wherein in response to the pressing pressure, the deformable body deforms to partially block the light path and correspondingly reduce the light intensity.

3. The handheld input device of claim 2, wherein the processor determines the specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor based on the light intensity of the light.

4. The handheld input device of claim 2, wherein the deformable body is semi-transparent and allows the photodetector to also receive external light outside the deformable body, wherein the variation in the combined light intensity of the light and the external light includes a DC component and an AC component, and the processor determines the specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor based on the DC component of the variation in the combined light intensity of the light and the external light.

5. The handheld input device of claim 4, wherein the processor determines the heart rate based on the AC component of the change in the combined light intensity of the light and the external light.

6. The handheld input device according to claim 1, wherein the stroke size is one of a plurality of predetermined stroke sizes, the plurality of predetermined stroke sizes respectively corresponding to a plurality of sub-ranges within a predetermined displacement range, and the processor is configured to execute: Find the first sub-range to which the specific displacement belongs from the plurality of sub-ranges; Find the first predetermined stroke size corresponding to the first subrange from the plurality of predetermined stroke sizes as the stroke size of the representative object in the virtual environment.

7. The handheld input device of claim 1, wherein the flexible displacement sensor has a first sensing area and a second sensing area, and the processor is configured to execute: In response to determining that the pressing pressure is applied to the first sensing area, it is determined that the representative object corresponding to the handheld input device is used to provide writing functionality in the virtual environment; In response to determining that the pressing pressure is applied to the second sensing area, the representative object corresponding to the handheld input device is determined to provide the erasure function in the virtual environment.

8. An electronic system, characterized in that, include: A handheld input device, including a flexible displacement sensor that deforms in response to pressure; The host device is paired with the handheld input device and provides a virtual environment. The handheld input device obtains a specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor and provides the specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor to the host device; The host device determines the stroke size of a representative object in the virtual environment based on the specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor, wherein the representative object corresponds to the handheld input device; The handheld input device is further configured to: The movement trajectory of the handheld input device is obtained, wherein the flexible displacement sensor is rod-shaped and has multiple sensing areas; The movement trajectory of the handheld input device is provided to the host device, wherein The host device combines the movement trajectory of the handheld input device with the stroke size of the representative object, and creates the stroke trajectory of the representative object in the virtual environment accordingly. In response to determining that the handheld input device is operating in scanning mode, the movement trajectory of the handheld input device is obtained and the displacement of each of the sensing areas is obtained; The displacement of each of the sensing regions is provided to the host device, wherein The host device determines the outline of the physical object touched by the flexible displacement sensor based on the movement trajectory of the handheld input device and the displacement of each of the sensing areas; and The host device is further configured to: Create a virtual object corresponding to the entity object in the virtual environment.

9. The electronic system according to claim 8, wherein the flexible displacement sensor comprises: A deformable body that receives the pressing force applied to the flexible displacement sensor; A light emitter is disposed in the deformable body and emits light; A photodetector is disposed in the deformable body and receives the light, wherein in response to the pressing pressure, the deformable body deforms to partially block the light path and correspondingly reduce the light intensity.

10. The electronic system of claim 9, wherein the handheld input device determines the specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor based on the light intensity of the light.

11. The electronic system of claim 9, wherein the deformable body is semi-transparent and allows the photodetector to further receive external light outside the deformable body, wherein the variation in the combined light intensity of the light and the external light includes a DC component and an AC component, and the handheld input device determines the specific displacement of the flexible displacement sensor based on the DC component of the variation in the combined light intensity of the light and the external light.

12. The electronic system of claim 11, wherein the handheld input device determines the heart rate based on the alternating component of the change in the combined light intensity of the light and the external light.

13. The electronic system of claim 8, wherein the stroke size is one of a plurality of predetermined stroke sizes, the plurality of predetermined stroke sizes respectively corresponding to a plurality of sub-ranges within a predetermined displacement range, and the host device is configured to: Find the first sub-range to which the specific displacement belongs from the plurality of sub-ranges; Find the first predetermined stroke size corresponding to the first subrange from the plurality of predetermined stroke sizes as the stroke size of the representative object in the virtual environment.

14. The electronic system of claim 8, wherein the flexible displacement sensor has a first sensing area and a second sensing area, and the handheld input device is configured to: In response to determining that the pressing pressure is applied to the first sensing area, it is determined that the representative object corresponding to the handheld input device is used to provide writing functionality in the virtual environment; In response to determining that the pressing pressure is applied to the second sensing area, the representative object corresponding to the handheld input device is determined to provide the erasure function in the virtual environment.

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