Electronic device with magnetometer

Abstract

An electronic device, comprising: - a housing, the spatial extent of which is characterized by a set of orthogonal dimensions that define a reference coordinate system, the housing comprising at least a user interaction portion within a user interaction surface at a reference height above a base of the housing; a first plurality of magnetometers (MA5) defining a first magnetometer plane, the first plurality of magnetometers (MA5) being surrounded by a housing; The first plurality of magnetometers are disposed in a first magnetometer mounting region of the housing, an upper boundary of the first magnetometer mounting region is provided by the user interaction portion, and lateral boundaries of the first magnetometer mounting region are spaced apart from a plurality of side walls of the housing by a plurality of distances corresponding to the length and / or width directions.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] (Related Applications) This application claims the benefit of European Patent Application No. 22307016.0, filed December 22, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present disclosure relates to an electronic device configured to obtain user interaction from a user-worn device, the user-worn device comprising at least one magnetic object. The present disclosure also relates to related systems, methods, computer program elements, and computer-readable media. [Background technology]

[0003] In the technical field of location determination and / or tracking of devices held or worn by a user (i.e., user-worn devices), providing multiple magnetometers enables measuring magnetic fields associated with magnetic objects disposed within or coupled to the user-worn device. User-worn devices using this technology may be electronically and / or electrically passive. More specifically, electrically passive means that the user-worn device does not include a power source (e.g., a battery) and / or a means for receiving power (e.g., wireless power transmission via an induction coil) to power the electronic functions of the user-worn device. Electronically passive means that no calculations or processing are performed (or occur) on the user-worn device. Magnetometer measurements enable determining and / or tracking the location of magnetic objects within a sensing volume generated by the multiple magnetometers. In some applications, the magnetic object may be disposed within a writing device (e.g., a stylus) that can be manipulated by a user on a writing substrate during user operation. The location of the writing device on the writing substrate can be determined based on magnetic field measurements associated with the magnetic objects.

[0004] User manipulation of a user-worn device within a sensing volume generated by the multiple magnetometers can be represented to the user on an output device (e.g., a screen). More specifically, movement of the user-worn device within the sensing volume can be reproduced as movement of a virtual object on the output device. In current applications, the visual reproduction on the output device of the location of the user-worn device within the sensing volume can be inaccurate and unreliable for specific arrangements of the multiple magnetometers and the output device. Therefore, electronic devices equipped with magnetometers can be further improved. Summary of the Invention

[0005] According to a first aspect, there is provided an electronic device, the electronic device comprising: - a housing, the spatial extent of which is characterized by a set of orthogonal dimensions including a length, a width, and a height, and in the housing's reference coordinate system, the housing comprises at least a user interaction portion on a user interaction surface at a reference height above a base of the housing; a first plurality of magnetometers defining a first magnetometer plane, the first plurality of magnetometers being enclosed by a housing; The first plurality of magnetometers are disposed in a first magnetometer mounting region of the housing, an upper boundary of the first magnetometer mounting region is provided by the user interaction portion, and lateral boundaries of the first magnetometer mounting region are spaced apart from a plurality of surfaces of the housing by a plurality of distances corresponding to the length and / or width directions.

[0006] According to a second aspect, there is provided a system comprising an electronic device according to the first aspect or an embodiment thereof and at least one user-worn device comprising at least one magnetic object and / or magnetic field generator, wherein the electronic device is configured to obtain magnetic field measurements associated with the user-worn device, determine a location of the user-worn device relative to a peripheral coordinate system of a peripheral device, and communicate the location of the user-worn device from the peripheral device to a host device.

[0007] According to a third aspect, there is provided a computer-implemented method, the method comprising: - in an electronic device according to the first aspect or an embodiment thereof, obtaining magnetic field measurements measured by a plurality of magnetometers associated with at least one magnetic object and included in the electronic device; - determining a location of the user-worn device relative to a frame of reference of the electronic device based on the magnetic field measurements; - communicating the location of the user-worn device to a device driver instantiated in the user environment of the electronic device.

[0008] An effect is that a particular magnetometer configuration within an electronic device is provided that enables improved tracking of one or more timed objects within at least one user-worn device.

[0009] A typical electronic device, such as a laptop computer, has numerous ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic elements, magnets, or coils that affect the performance of the magnetometer array in detecting the location of magnets within the user-worn device. Furthermore, electronic devices such as laptops have severe positioning constraints that limit where the magnetometer array can be placed.

[0010] This specification discusses solutions in which a sensing volume is created to cover the sensing area of ​​an electronic device to extend the device's housing or sensing surface in a magnetic-based location sensing system. In certain configurations, the sensing volume is created to cover the top of a laptop, for example, where the keyboard is located. In other examples, magnetic sensors located on the sides of the keyboard allow the sensing volume and / or sensing surface to extend along the sides of the laptop computer.

[0011] This specification also discusses configurations that allow for tilting of a printed circuit board or other mounting configuration relative to the housing of an electronic device. A printed circuit board or other mounting configuration with multiple magnetometers can improve sensing resolution while accommodating packaging constraints within the housing.

[0012] Additionally, a flexible printed circuit board can be provided with the magnetometer array, which conforms to the curvature of the housing and allows the magnetometer array to be incorporated into a limited packaging volume.

[0013] The application of such techniques improves detection accuracy in sensing volumes or sensing surfaces on top of electronic devices such as laptops, an area where accessories such as computer styluses or other pointers are typically used. Generally, the signal-to-noise ratio of magnetometer sensing systems is improved, resulting in a larger possible sensing volume or sensing area. Sensors located at least on top of electronic devices such as laptops improve the signal-to-noise ratio when sensing in a sensing volume located above, for example, the user's hand rest or keyboard area of ​​a laptop. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] Other features will become apparent from the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this disclosure. The drawings are intended to further explain the disclosure and enable those skilled in the art to practice it. However, these drawings are intended as non-limiting examples. Common reference symbols in different figures indicate similar or similar features. [Figure 1] 1 illustrates a schematic representation of an electronic device arranged with a user-worn device. [Figure 2] 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a system for controlling the presentation of a user-worn device. [Figure 3] 1 shows a schematic representation of the location of a magnetic object relative to the magnetometer plane. [Figure 4A]10A-10C show schematic diagrams of variations in the location of the magnetometer when attached to an electronic device. [Figure 4B] 10A-10C show schematic diagrams of variations in the location of the magnetometer when attached to an electronic device. [Figure 5] 1 shows a schematic plan view of a user interaction surface of an electronic device; [Figure 6] 1A and 1B show schematic cross-sectional side views of electronic devices; [Figure 7] 1 shows a schematic plan view of a user interaction surface of an electronic device; [Figure 8] 1A and 1B show schematic cross-sectional side views of electronic devices; [Figure 9] 1 shows a schematic plan view of a user interaction surface of an electronic device; [Figure 10] 1A and 1B show schematic cross-sectional side views of electronic devices; [Figure 11] 10A and 10B show schematic variations of magnetometer arrays; [Figure 12] 1 shows a schematic representation of an interaction volume and surface surrounding an electronic device. [Figure 13] 1 shows a schematic illustration of three sets of multiple magnetometers. [Figure 14] The experimental results for the layout shown in FIG. 13 are shown schematically. [Figure 15] The experimental results for the layout shown in FIG. 13 are shown schematically. [Figure 16] The experimental results for the layout shown in FIG. 13 are shown schematically. [Figure 17] 1A and 1B show schematic diagrams of the configuration of an electronic device. [Figure 18] 1 illustrates a computer-implemented method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an electronic device with a user-worn device according to a first embodiment.

[0016] 1 is a laptop computer included in a system 1 that includes a user-worn device 100. The user-worn device may be, for example, a computer mouse, a dial, a ring, a toy, a keyboard, a joystick, a brush, or a stylus. The user-worn device 100 comprises at least one magnetic object 110. The user-worn device 100 is, for example, laterally translatable and / or rotatable on an interaction surface 210 provided by an interaction support 200.

[0017] Translation of the user-worn device 100 (i.e., the magnetic moment of at least one magnet contained within the user-worn device 100) is detected by one or more sets of magnetometers MA1-MA6 contained within the housing 12 of the electronic device 10. The magnetometers are numbered differently in different embodiments. Generally, the magnetometer MA5 is labeled as the first magnetometers, the magnetometer MA1 (if present) is labeled as the second magnetometers, the magnetometer MA2 (if present) is labeled as the third magnetometers, the magnetometer MA3 (if present) is labeled as the fourth magnetometers, and the magnetometer MA4 (if present) is labeled as the fifth magnetometers. However, in some situations, the plurality of magnetometers MA1 may be labeled as the (first) plurality of magnetometers, the plurality of magnetometers MA2 may be labeled as the second plurality of magnetometers, the plurality of magnetometers MA3 may be labeled as the third plurality of magnetometers, and the plurality of magnetometers MA4 may be labeled as the fourth plurality of magnetometers. The respective context will clarify which counting scheme is used. The second scheme is used when the focus of the discussion is not on the (first) plurality of magnetometers MA5 (see, for example, FIGS. 4A and 4B, embodiments A-P). However, in general, according to the first aspect of the present disclosure, the first plurality of magnetometers disposed in the first magnetometer mounting region of the housing, the top boundary of the first magnetometer mounting region provided by the user interaction portion, and the lateral boundaries of the first magnetometer mounting region spaced a corresponding plurality of distances in the length direction and / or width direction from the surfaces of the housing are always present in embodiments of the present disclosure. In different embodiments, additional magnetometers may or may not be present.

[0018] The one or more sets of magnetometers MA1-MA6 output signals that undergo signal processing, enabling the electronic device 10 to determine the location of the user-worn device 100 relative to the one or more sets of magnetometers MA1-MA6. Typically, the signal processing is performed by an embedded controller communicatively coupled to the one or more sets of magnetometers MA1-MA6. The output of the signal processing includes, for example, the 2D location of the user-worn device 100 in the XY plane of the interaction surface 210 or the 3D location in a sensing volume defined around the electronic device 10. The output of the signal processing is provided to a device driver executing in the software environment of the electronic device 10. The device driver of the electronic device 10 can be accessed by one or more applications hosted by the software environment of the electronic device 10. In this way, the applications hosted by the software environment of the electronic device 10 obtain a proxy for the location of the user-worn device 100 in 2D or 3D coordinates. Thus, the applications hosted by the software environment of the electronic device 10 can use the location of the user-worn device 10 for a wide range of user input tasks. In the example of FIG. 1, the location of the user-worn device 100 is represented by an on-screen cursor 7 on the display 11 of the electronic device 10.

[0019] The electronic device 10 typically includes a tablet-shaped rectangular envelope that rests on an interaction surface 210. The illustrated electronic device 10 is a laptop computer and also includes a display 11 that is pivotable using a hinge 9 about a hinge axis R. Accordingly, the housing 12 includes a first surface 14 that typically faces the user during use. In an embodiment, the first surface 14 may be the front wall of the housing 12. The housing also includes a second surface 16 on the user's left-hand side. In an embodiment, the second surface 16 may be the first side wall of the housing 12. The housing 12 also includes a third surface 18 (not visible in the perspective view of FIG. 1 ) on the user's right-hand side. In an embodiment, the third surface 18 may be the second side wall of the housing 12. The housing 12 also includes a fourth surface 20 on a rear surface of the housing 12 that faces away from the user during use. In an embodiment, the fourth surface 20 may be the rear wall of the housing 12. The first to fourth surfaces are covered by a surface including, for example, the touchpad 30. When in use, the surface including the touchpad 30 functions to support, for example, the user's wrist.

[0020] Those skilled in the art will also understand that the foregoing description of a laptop housing is an example and that electronic device 10 may be embodied in a tablet, a smartphone, a keyboard, a television, and / or an electronic device 10 having any shape, such as a circle, a square, a triangle, a pentagon, or a hexagon, or any other shape.

[0021] In the example, the hinged display 11 portion of the electronic device 10 includes a display surface magnet 112. In use, the location of the display surface magnet relative to the housing 12 may be determined by one or more of a plurality of magnetometers M1-M5 included in the housing 12.

[0022] In an example, the hinged display 11 portion of the electronic device 10 includes at least one set of multiple magnetometers MA6 to provide higher fidelity in detecting the location of the user-worn device 100.

[0023] In an embodiment, the electronic device 10 includes a second plurality of magnetometers MA2 on the left-hand side of the housing 12. In an embodiment, the electronic device 10 includes a third plurality of magnetometers MA3 on the right-hand side of the housing 12. The additional plurality of magnetometers MA2 and MA3 extend in the Y dimension along the housing 12, thus improving the fidelity of movement of the user-worn device 100 toward the right-hand and / or left-hand sides of the housing 12 over the interaction surface 210, or of sensing volumes adjacent to the right or left sides of the housing 12. In an embodiment, a fourth plurality of magnetometers MA4 provided along the rear of the housing 12 improves the fidelity of position detection of the user-worn device 100 adjacent to the rear of the housing 12. For example, an electronic device 10 having a “2-in-1” format or a general-purpose tablet PC can benefit from a fourth plurality of magnetometers MA4 that enables user interaction at the rear of the electronic device 10. A first plurality of magnetometers MA5 spatially correlated with touchpad 30 can improve resolution in a sensing volume directly above or around touchpad 30. A sixth plurality of magnetometers MA6 located at the hinge portion of housing 12 that includes display 11 can further improve detection fidelity in a sensing volume in front of display 11.

[0024] According to one embodiment, the electronic device 10, 800 is one of a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a tablet computer, a smartphone, a keyboard, a smartwatch, a television, an interactive whiteboard, a virtual reality headset, a wireless access point, and / or a display projector.

[0025] In the example, the housing 12 of the electronic device 10, such as a laptop computer, includes one or more other electronic modules. The following components are not shown in FIG. 1 for clarity. For example, the housing 12 shown in FIG. 1 can include a base cover configured to contact the interaction support 200 and a battery configured to power other electronic circuitry of the electronic device. The housing can also include a solid-state drive or a disk-based hard drive, a system board, one or more loudspeaker housings, a display assembly, a wireless modem and associated antennas, a USB interface board, a heat sink and system fan, a palm rest assembly, an I / O daughterboard, and a heat sink shield. Additionally, the housing includes mechanical mounting elements, such as pillars, that can hold the listed internal components of the electronic device 10 in place. Typically, the electronic device 10 has limited space for adding additional components.

[0026] According to one embodiment, the first surface of the housing 12 is closest to and faces the user of the electronic device 10, 800 during operation.

[0027] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a system for controlling the presentation of a user-worn device.

[0028] 2 , the user-worn device coordinate system includes a first device axis xd, a second device axis yd that is orthogonal to the first device axis xd, and a perpendicular device axis zd that is orthogonal to the first device axis xd and the second device axis yd. In the illustrated example, the user-worn device 100 may include a contact surface that contacts the interaction surface 210. In other examples, the user-worn device may include a contact point (e.g., a stylus or other writing device with a writing tip that contacts the interaction surface 210 during a writing action). The user-worn device 100 may operate within a sensing volume M rather than on the interaction surface 210. In this case, the user-worn device 100 may be used, for example, as a pointer that is not directly manipulated on the interaction surface 210 (i.e., not in contact with and / or separated from the interaction surface 210). In some embodiments, the device coordinate system may be defined within the geometric center of the user-worn device 100.

[0029] Referring to FIG. 2 , the arrangement of multiple magnetometers relative to an interaction surface 210 defined on an interaction support 200 is shown. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 , the multiple magnetometers 300 may be arranged in an array of rows and columns. However, the multiple magnetometers may also be arranged in a disordered, or random, configuration within the multiple magnetometers. A calibration procedure can be used to determine the measurement axis, sensitivity, and offset of each magnetometer's exact location within the magnetometer body relative to the reference coordinate system XYZ. When the multiple magnetometers 300 are fixedly installed within the housing 12 of the electronic device 10, the reference coordinate systems of the multiple magnetometers 300 are related to the reference coordinate system of the electronic device 10 by a rigid-body transformation. The multiple magnetometers 300 are shown in FIG. 2 as being arranged in a magnetometer plane 310 (i.e., in the same plane with respect to the vertical reference axis Z). However, as outlined above, one or more of the magnetometers may be spaced apart from the magnetometer plane 310, more specifically, spaced apart in the direction of the vertical reference axis Z.

[0030] The plurality of magnetometers 300 may be electrically (e.g., via a wire or data bus) or wirelessly connected to the processing unit 400, an external processing unit, and / or an electronic device. In embodiments, the plurality of magnetometers 300 may be integrated into a wall, furniture, a notebook, an electronic device, a screen, a keyboard, and / or a mouse pad. When the plurality of magnetometers 300 are configured on a wall, the interaction surface 210 may be a screen or display positioned in front of the plurality of magnetometers 300. In embodiments, the interaction surface 210 may be defined on one or more output devices 500.

[0031] In an embodiment, the electronic device 10 may include a processing unit 400 or may be connectable to an external processing unit. The processing unit 400 may be configured to execute a computer-implemented method capable of determining the location (position and orientation) of the user-worn device 10 relative to a coordinate system XYZ. In an embodiment, the processing unit 400 may be integrated into the electronic device. In an embodiment, the output device 500 may be integrated into the electronic device. In an embodiment, the electronic device 10 may be a tablet, a mobile phone, a laptop, a computer, a virtual reality (VR) set, or a television.

[0032] One or more of the multiple magnetometers MA1-MA6 of the electronic device 10 may be configured to enable identification of the 2D or 3D location (position and / or orientation) of the user-worn device 100 using signal processing. The spatial region in which the identification can be performed with an acceptable signal-to-noise ratio is referred to as a sensing volume around the electronic device (e.g., as shown in FIG. 12 ). In an example, the sensing volume is defined by a contour that provides a common signal-to-noise ratio for location (integrating both position and orientation) detection. The multiple magnetometers MA1-MA6 may be associated with a magnetometer plane 310. More specifically, the magnetometer plane 310 may be defined by a plane that may extend across a majority of the multiple magnetometers 300. In some embodiments, the user-worn device 100 may be operable on an interaction surface 210, and more specifically, the interaction surface 210 may be defined within or as the boundary of the sensing volume M.

[0033] When two or more sets of magnetometers are present, a magnetometer plane can be defined for each of the two or more sets of magnetometers.

[0034] The term "at least one magnetic object" may refer to an object that may have a component made of a magnetic material, i.e., a material having magnetic properties measurable by the plurality of magnetometers 300. The user-worn device 100 and / or the at least one magnetic object 210 may be mobile, i.e., freely movable within the reference coordinate system XYZ. In other words, during a user operation (i.e., an operation in which the user-worn device 100 and / or the at least one magnetic object 110 are manipulated by the user), the location of the user-worn device 100 within the sensing volume M and / or relative to the interaction surface 210 may be manipulated by the user within the sensing volume M.

[0035] At least one magnetic object 110 may be a permanent magnet. In embodiments, at least one magnetic object 110 may be configured to generate a non-zero magnetic field. The magnetic object may include a paramagnetic or diamagnetic material. In embodiments, at least one magnetic object 110 may include a ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic material.

[0036] FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation of determining the location of a magnetic object (eg, included in the user-worn device 100) relative to the magnetometer plane.

[0037] Determining the user-worn device location may include determining a magnetic object location of at least one magnetic object 110 that is indicative of the user-worn device location. Specifically, determining the user-worn device location may include determining a position vector indicative of the magnetic object position and / or determining a magnetic moment vector 120 indicative of the magnetic object attitude of the at least one magnetic object 110. Because the magnetic object 110 is coupled to the user-worn device 100, the location of the magnetic object 110 can be indicative of the location of the user-worn device 100.

[0038] The user-worn device location may indicate an absolute user-worn device location with respect to the magnetometer plane 310, in particular the reference coordinate system XYZ, and / or a user-worn device location relative to the interaction surface 210. Determining a user-worn device location indicating an absolute user-worn device location may include determining an absolute magnetic object location. The absolute magnetic object location may indicate an absolute magnetic object position and / or absolute magnetic object orientation of at least one magnetic object 110 with respect to the reference coordinate system XYZ. Specifically, the absolute magnetic object location may be determined based on magnetic field measurements acquired from multiple magnetometers MA1 to MA6. This allows determining an absolute position and / or absolute orientation of at least one magnetic object 110 in the reference coordinate system XYZ.

[0039] In an embodiment, determining the absolute magnetic object location may include generating magnetic field measurement data based on the acquired magnetic field measurements. The magnetic field measurement data may indicate a magnetic field position, a magnetic field orientation, and / or a magnetic field strength for the magnetic object 110 relative to a reference coordinate system XYZ. Determining the absolute magnetic object location may further include processing the magnetic field measurement data to associate the magnetic field measurement data with the absolute magnetic object location. For example, a filter and / or an estimation algorithm may be used to evaluate the absolute magnetic object location associated with the magnetic field measurement data.

[0040] The absolute magnetic object location may include a magnetic moment vector 120 and / or an absolute position vector associated with at least one magnetic object 110. The magnetic moment vector 120 may indicate the magnetic object attitude and the magnetic strength of the magnetic object. The absolute position vector may indicate the magnetic object position relative to a reference coordinate system XYZ. In an embodiment, the absolute magnetic object attitude may be defined by a first set of magnetic object tilt angles δ1, δ2, δ3 measured between the magnetometer plane 310 and the magnetic moment vector 120. The first set of magnetic object attitude angles δ1, δ2, δ3 may be measured relative to the reference coordinate axes X, Y, Z, more specifically, between the magnetic moment vector 120 and each of the axes X, Y, Z of the reference coordinate system XYZ.

[0041] For example, the first magnetic object attitude angle δ1 may be defined between the first reference axis X and the magnetic moment vector 120, more specifically in the XZ plane. In embodiments, two angles relative to the magnetometer plane 310 may be sufficient to define the absolute magnetic object orientation of the magnetic object 110. Specifically, when a magnetic dipole model is used, the two angles relative to the magnetometer plane 310 may be sufficient to define the absolute magnetic object orientation of the magnetic object 110. More specifically, when the magnetic object 110 is symmetric along the magnetization axis, i.e., rotationally symmetrically magnetized, the two angles relative to the magnetometer plane 310 may be sufficient to define the absolute magnetic object orientation of the magnetic object 110. In some embodiments, the absolute position vector may be defined by a first set of Cartesian coordinates defined in the reference coordinate system XYZ.

[0042] The magnetic moment vector 120 and / or the absolute position vector can be determined based on the implementation of a measurement model and the use of an estimation filter, such as a Kalman filter, an extended Kalman filter, or an unscented Kalman filter. The measurement model relates each measurement of a magnetometer among the plurality of magnetometers 300 to the location of at least one magnetic object 110 in a reference coordinate system XYZ. The model can typically be constructed from physical equations of electromagnetics, more specifically, equations of magnetostatics. To establish this model, at least one magnetic object 110 can be approximated by a magnetic dipole. Each magnetometer among the plurality of magnetometers 300 can be a vector magnetometer and can be configured to measure magnetic fields in one, two, or three dimensions.

[0043] 3, determining a user-worn device location indicating a relative user-worn device location may include determining a relative magnetic object location. The relative magnetic object location may indicate a relative magnetic object position and / or a relative magnetic object orientation. The relative magnetic object position may be a position of at least one magnetic object 110 relative to the interaction surface 210, more specifically relative to the interaction surface coordinate system xs, ys, zs.

[0044] The relative magnetic object orientation may be the orientation of at least one magnetic object 110 with respect to the interaction surface 210, more specifically with respect to the interaction surface coordinate system xs, ys, zs. The relative magnetic object location may include a magnetic moment vector 120 and / or a relative position vector Δxs, Δys, Δzs associated with at least one magnetic object 110. The magnetic moment vector 120 may indicate the relative magnetic object orientation, and / or the relative position vector Δxs, Δys, Δzs indicates the magnetic object position relative to the interaction surface coordinate system xs, ys, zs. In an embodiment, the relative position vector may be understood as a vector from the origin of the surface coordinate system xs, ys, zs to the center of mass or dipole center of the magnetic object 110.

[0045] In an embodiment, the relative magnetic object pose may be defined by a second set of magnetic object tilt angles γ1, γ2, γ3 determined between the interaction surface 210 and the magnetic moment vector 120. In other words, the relative magnetic object pose may be defined by a set of magnetic object tilt angles γ1, γ2, γ3 relative to the interaction surface coordinate axes xs, ys, zs.

[0046] Specifically, a first magnetic object tilt angle γ1 (not shown in FIG. 3 ) can be determined between the first interaction surface axis xs and the magnetic moment vector 120. A second magnetic object tilt angle γ2 (not shown in FIG. 3 ) can be determined between the second interaction surface axis ys and the magnetic moment vector 120. A vertical magnetic object tilt angle γ3 can be determined between the vertical interaction surface axis zs and the magnetic moment vector 120. For example, the vertical magnetic object tilt angle γ3 can be defined between the vertical interaction surface axis zs and the magnetic moment vector 120. In particular, the vertical magnetic object tilt angle γ3 may be defined between the magnetic moment vector 120 and the vertical interaction surface axis zs or an axis parallel thereto, such that the vertical magnetic object tilt angle γ3 can only range from 0° to 90°. In an embodiment, two angles relative to the magnetometer plane 310 may be sufficient to define the relative magnetic object attitude of the magnetic object 110.

[0047] Thus, the configuration of one or more sets of multiple magnetometers in electronic device 10 is related to the range of magnetic object tilt angles and the distance from the electronic device at which that angle can be reliably determined, as two examples. In other words, the placement of one or more sets of multiple magnetometers MA1-MA6 in electronic device 10 determines the sensing volume M over which the user-worn device can be reliably used. Accordingly, useful configurations of one or more sets of multiple magnetometers MA1-MA6 in electronic device 10 are now described.

[0048] According to a first aspect, the electronic device 10 comprises: - an enclosure, the spatial extent of which is characterized by a set of orthogonal dimensions including a length L, a width W, and a height H in a reference coordinate system of the enclosure, the enclosure comprising at least a user interaction portion 8 within a user interaction surface at a reference height above a base of the enclosure; a first plurality of magnetometers MA5 defining a first magnetometer plane MP5, the first plurality of magnetometers MA5 being surrounded by a housing; The first plurality of magnetometers are arranged in a first magnetometer mounting region of the housing, the upper boundary of the first magnetometer mounting region being provided by the user interaction portion 8, and the lateral boundary 24 of the first magnetometer mounting region being spaced apart from the plurality of surfaces 14, 16, 18, 20 of the housing by a plurality of distances SD1 to SD4 corresponding to the length and / or width directions.

[0049] According to an example, housing 12 is fabricated from a material that allows a magnetometer contained within housing 12 to detect variations in a magnetic field outside of housing 12. For example, housing 12 may include plastic, wood, or aluminum. In an example, the surface of housing 12 does not include magnetic materials, such as ferromagnetic and / or ferrimagnetic materials.

[0050] FIG. 1 shows schematically an electronic device 10 according to a first embodiment.

[0051] 4A and 4B are schematic diagrams showing variations in the location of the magnetometer when attached to an electronic device, and are plan views of the configuration of an area including multiple magnetometers within the housing 12 shown in FIG.

[0052] According to configuration embodiment A, a set of magnetometers MA1 is provided in the vicinity of the front wall of the housing 12.

[0053] According to configuration embodiment B, a set of magnetometers MA1 is provided adjacent to the left front corner of the housing 12.

[0054] According to configuration embodiment C, a set of magnetometers MA1 is provided adjacent to the right front corner of the housing 12.

[0055] According to configuration embodiment D, the set of magnetometers MA1 is provided substantially close to the front wall facing the user of the housing 12. In this case, the set of magnetometers MA1 is divided into sub-regions MA1a, MA1b.

[0056] According to configuration embodiment E, the housing comprises a plurality of magnetometers MA1 arranged adjacent to the front wall of the housing 12 and a second plurality of magnetometers MA2 arranged adjacent to the left-hand side wall of the housing 12.

[0057] According to configuration embodiment F, the housing comprises a plurality of magnetometers MA1 arranged adjacent to the front wall of the housing 12, a second plurality of magnetometers MA2 arranged adjacent to the left-hand side wall of the housing 12, and a third plurality of magnetometers arranged adjacent to the right-hand side wall of the housing 12.

[0058] Configuration embodiment G is similar to option A, but it is emphasized that the magnetometers MA1 are provided close to the front wall of the housing 12, but the ends of the area containing the magnetometers MA1 extend close to the left and right side walls of the housing 12.

[0059] Configuration embodiment H provides a plurality of magnetometers MA1 adjacent to the front wall of the housing 12 combined with a second plurality of magnetometers MA2 adjacent to the right side wall of the housing 12.

[0060] Configuration embodiment I shows that the plurality of magnetometers MA1 can be considered as a continuous U-shape in the XY plane of the housing 12. In other words, some of the plurality of magnetometers MA1 are adjacent to the left-hand side wall, the front wall, and the right-hand side wall of the housing 12.

[0061] Configuration embodiment J shows a first and second plurality of magnetometers MA1, MA2. The plurality of magnetometers MA1 is adjacent to the left-hand sidewall and front wall of the housing 12. The second plurality of magnetometers MA2 is adjacent to the right-hand sidewall and front wall of the housing 12.

[0062] In an example of embodiment J, one or more of the first and second pluralities of magnetometers MA1 and MA2 may be mounted on front corner loudspeaker enclosures of an electronic device 10, such as a laptop built-in sound system.

[0063] Configurations K and L illustrate that the magnetometers may be provided separately in either the left or right corner of the housing 12. Configuration M is similar to configuration I, since three sets of magnetometers MA1, MA2, and MA3 together form a U-shaped unit adjacent the left, front, and right-hand sides of the housing 12. Configuration N illustrates the magnetometers MA1 disposed on a substantially curved mounting substrate, which may be, for example, a flexible printed circuit board. In this example, the flexible printed circuit board is disposed along the surface wall of the housing 12.

[0064] Configuration embodiment O illustrates an embodiment, described below, in which the first, second, and third plurality of magnetometers MA1-MA3 define a region 4a of the housing 12 that is free or substantially free of magnetic material. In an example, region 4b of the housing 12 may include magnetic material. An aspect of such a configuration is that the omission of magnetic material from region 4a improves the fidelity of magnetic surface or volume positioning when the user-worn device 100 is held in proximity to the plurality of magnetometers MA1-MA3.

[0065] Configuration embodiment P shows a variation of option F, in which the multiple magnetometers MA1 have a notch to accommodate the antenna portion of the electronic device 10 (in other words, the longitudinal section of the multiple magnetometers MA1 is constricted in the XY plane).

[0066] Configuration embodiment Q illustrates a variation of option F that further includes a first plurality of magnetometers MA5 located proximate to a touchpad 30 disposed within the housing 12 of the electronic device.

[0067] Configuration embodiment R shows an electronic device 10 with a housing 12 having a plurality of magnetometers MA4 at the rear.

[0068] All of the above configuration embodiments can be combined with other embodiments disclosed throughout this specification.

[0069] According to one embodiment, a plurality of magnetometers MA1 are proximate to the first surface 14 of the housing 12.

[0070] For example, a printed circuit board or other carrier comprising magnetometers belonging to the plurality of magnetometers MA1 is in physical contact with the first surface 14 of the housing 12. For example, a printed circuit board or other carrier comprising magnetometers belonging to the plurality of magnetometers MA1 is bonded to or integrally formed with the first surface 14 of the housing 12.

[0071] For example, a printed circuit board or other carrier carrying magnetometers belonging to the plurality of magnetometers MA1 abuts, but is not bonded to, the first surface 14 of the housing 12.

[0072] For example, a printed circuit board or other carrier carrying magnetometers belonging to magnetometer MA1 is spaced from first surface 14 of housing 12 by a distance of more than 0.1 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.3 mm, 0.4 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.6 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.8 mm, 0.9 mm, 1.0 mm, 1.1 mm, 1.2 mm, 1.3 mm, 1.4 mm, 1.5 mm, 1.6 mm, 1.7 mm, 1.8 mm, 1.9 mm, 2.0 mm, 3.0 mm, 4.0 mm, or 5.0 mm in the Y direction, where, in this specification, with reference to another plurality of magnetometers MA2-MA6, the term "close to" refers to similar separation distances between another plurality of magnetometers MA2-MA6 and other surfaces of housing 12.

[0073] According to one embodiment, the length L of the housing 12, preferably defined as the major dimension of the first or fourth surface, is in the range of 50 mm to 400 mm.

[0074] According to one embodiment, the width W of the housing 12, preferably defined as the major dimension of the second or third surface, is in the range of 50 mm to 400 mm.

[0075] According to one embodiment, the height H of the housing 12 is in the range of 5 mm to 50 mm.

[0076] FIG. 5 shows a schematic plan view of a user interaction surface of an electronic device.

[0077] According to one embodiment, the magnetometers physically located in the first portion 14a include only magnetometers operably coupled to the plurality of magnetometers MA1, and magnetometers not associated with the plurality of magnetometers MA1 are not physically located within the first portion 14a.

[0078] According to one embodiment, the magnetometers physically located in second portion 16a include only magnetometers operably coupled to second plurality of magnetometers MA2, and magnetometers not associated with second plurality of magnetometers MA2 are not physically located within second portion 16a.

[0079] According to one embodiment, the magnetometers physically located in the third portion 18a include only magnetometers operably coupled to the third plurality of magnetometers MA3, and magnetometers not associated with the third plurality of magnetometers MA3 are not physically located within the third portion 18a.

[0080] According to one embodiment, the magnetometers physically located in fourth portion 20a include only magnetometers operably coupled to fourth plurality of magnetometers MA4. Magnetometers not associated with fourth plurality of magnetometers MA4 are not physically located within fourth portion 20a.

[0081] According to one embodiment, the magnetometers physically located in fifth portion 22a include only magnetometers operably coupled to first plurality of magnetometers MA5. Magnetometers not associated with first plurality of magnetometers MA5 are not physically located within fifth portion 22a.

[0082] In FIG. 5, all other elements of the electronic device 10, such as the printed circuit board and the battery, have been omitted from view to allow a clearer view of the boundaries of the mounting areas of the multiple magnetometers.

[0083] FIG. 6 shows a schematic cross-sectional side view of the electronic device shown in FIG.

[0084] FIG. 7 shows a schematic plan view of a user interaction surface of an electronic device.

[0085] FIG. 8 shows a schematic cross-sectional side view of an electronic device.

[0086] Unlike FIGS. 5 and 6, FIGS. 7 and 8 show the internal mounting arrangement within the housing 12 of the printed circuit board comprising the first to fifth plurality of magnetometers MA1 to MA5.

[0087] The printed circuit board (or electronic circuit assembly) comprising the plurality of magnetometers MA1 has a length L(MA1) and a width W(MA1). The fact that the printed circuit board comprising the plurality of magnetometers MA1 is mounted in close proximity to the first wall 14 of the housing 12 is indicated using the distance epsilon (ε) shown.

[0088] The printed circuit board (or electronic circuit assembly) comprising the second plurality of magnetometers MA1 has a length L(MA2) and a width W(MA2).

[0089] The printed circuit board (or electronic circuit assembly) comprising the third plurality of magnetometers MA3 has a length L(MA3) and a width W(MA3).

[0090] The printed circuit board (or electronic circuit assembly) comprising the fourth plurality of magnetometers MA4 has a length L(MA4) and a width W(MA4).

[0091] The printed circuit board (or electronic circuit assembly) comprising the first plurality of magnetometers MA5 has a length L(MA5) and a width W(MA5).

[0092] The dimensions of each of the second and third pluralities of magnetometers can vary significantly and need not be the same as shown in FIG.

[0093] According to one embodiment, a line perpendicular to and separating the first surface 14 and the first inner boundary surface 14b of the housing 12 defines a first portion separation distance 14d, and the ratio between the first portion separation distance 14d and the width W of the housing 12 is less than one of 0.25, 0.2, 0.15, 0.1, or 0.05.

[0094] According to one embodiment, the first portion separation distance 14d is less than one of 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm, 15 mm, or 20 mm.

[0095] According to one embodiment, the first portion 14a of the housing 12 comprising the plurality of magnetometers MA1 has a cubic shape defined by a first portion length, a first portion width, and a first portion height.

[0096] According to one embodiment, a first surface of the housing 12 is closest to and faces a user of the electronic device 10 during operation.

[0097] According to one embodiment, the first portion 14a of the housing 12 has a length that is greater than one of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 82.5%, 85%, 87.5%, or 90%, 92.5%, 95%, or 97.5% of the total length L of the housing 12.

[0098] According to one embodiment, the first portion 14a is centered on a line of symmetry of the housing 12, or the first portion 14a abuts a second surface 16 or a third surface 18, respectively, perpendicular to the first surface 14 of the housing 12.

[0099] According to one embodiment, the first portion 14 a extends along substantially the entire length L of the housing 12 .

[0100] According to one embodiment, the plurality of magnetometers MA1 comprises a network of N magnetometers arranged in a matrix.

[0101] According to one embodiment, a magnetometer of the plurality of magnetometers MA1 is mounted in a magnetometer plane such that the angle A(MA1) enclosed by the magnetometer plane and the first surface 14 of the housing 12 is at least 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5, 20, 22.5, 25, 27.5, 30, 32.5, 35, 37.5, 40, 42.5, 45, 47.5, 50, 52.5, 55, 57.5, 60, 62.5, 65, 67.5, 70, 72.5, 75, 77.5, 80, 82.5, 85, 87.5, or 90 degrees.

[0102] According to one embodiment, the electronic device 10, 800: - further comprising a second plurality of magnetometers MA2 relative to the reference coordinate system of the housing 12 and surrounded by the housing 12. The second plurality of magnetometers MA2 are arranged in a second portion 16a of the housing 12. The location of the second portion 16a is within a second outer boundary surface 16c that borders a second surface of the housing 12 and a second inner boundary surface 16b that is parallel to the second outer boundary surface 16c.

[0103] According to one embodiment, a line perpendicular to and separating the second surface 16b and the second inner boundary surface 16b of the housing 12 defines a second portion separation distance 16d, and the ratio between the second portion separation distance 16d and the length L of the housing 12 is less than one of 0.25, 0.2, 0.15, 0.1, or 0.05.

[0104] According to one embodiment, the second portion separation distance 16d is less than one of 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm, 15 mm, or 20 mm.

[0105] According to one embodiment, a second plurality of magnetometers MA2 is proximate to the second surface 16 of the housing 12.

[0106] According to one embodiment, the magnetometers of the second plurality of magnetometers MA2 are mounted in a second magnetometer plane, and the angle A(MA2) enclosed by the second magnetometer plane and the second surface 16 of the housing 12 is at least 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5, 20, 22.5, 25, 27.5, 30, 32.5, 35, 37.5, 40, 42.5, 45, 47.5, 50, 52.5, 55, 57.5, 60, 62.5, 65, 67.5, 70, 72.5, 75, 77.5, 80, 82.5, 85, 87.5, or 90 degrees.

[0107] According to one embodiment, the second plurality of magnetometers MA2 comprises a network of N magnetometers arranged in a matrix, more particularly N being 5, 16, 32, 64, 128 or more than 256.

[0108] According to one embodiment, the electronic device 10, 800 further comprises a third plurality of magnetometers MA3 relative to the reference coordinate system of the housing 12 and surrounded by the housing 12. The third plurality of magnetometers MA3 are arranged within a third portion 18a of the housing 12, the location of the third portion 18a being within a third outer boundary surface 18c that bounds the third surface 18 of the housing 12 and a third inner boundary surface 18b that is parallel to the third outer boundary surface 18c.

[0109] According to one embodiment, the third portion separation distance 18d is defined in a direction perpendicular to and between the third surface 18 and the third inner boundary surface 18b of the housing 12, and the ratio between the third portion separation distance 18d and the length L of the housing 12 is less than one of 0.25, 0.2, 0.15, 0.1, or 0.05.

[0110] According to one embodiment, the third portion separation distance 18d is less than one of 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm, 15 mm, or 20 mm.

[0111] According to one embodiment, a third plurality of magnetometers MA3 is proximate to a third surface 18 of the housing 12.

[0112] According to one embodiment, a magnetometer of the third plurality of magnetometers MA3 is mounted in a third magnetometer plane, and the angle A(MA3) enclosed by the third magnetometer plane MA3 and the third surface 18 of the housing 12 is at least 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5, 20, 22.5, 25, 27.5, 30, 32.5, 35, 37.5, 40, 42.5, 45, 47.5, 50, 52.5, 55, 57.5, 60, 62.5, 65, 67.5, 70, 72.5, 75, 77.5, 80, 82.5, 85, 87.5, or 90 degrees.

[0113] According to one embodiment, the plurality of magnetometers MA1 and the second plurality of magnetometers MA2 are mounted on a single member or a single printed circuit board near corners of the second surface 16 and the first surface 14 of the housing 12.

[0114] According to one embodiment, the plurality of magnetometers MA1 and the third plurality of magnetometers MA3 are mounted on a single member or a single printed circuit board near corners of the third surface 18 and the first surface 14 of the housing 12.

[0115] According to one embodiment, the electronic device 10, 800 further comprises a fourth plurality of magnetometers MA4 relative to the reference coordinate system of the housing 12. The fourth plurality of magnetometers MA4 is surrounded by the housing 12. The fourth plurality of magnetometers MA4 is disposed within a fourth portion 20a of the housing 12. The location of the fourth portion 20a is within a fourth outer boundary surface 20c that borders the fourth surface 20 of the housing 12 and a fourth inner boundary surface 20b that is parallel to the fourth outer boundary surface.

[0116] According to one embodiment, the fourth surface 20 of the housing 12 faces farthest from and away from the user of the electronic device 10, 800 during operation.

[0117] FIG. 9 shows a schematic plan view of a user interaction surface 8 of an electronic device.

[0118] FIG. 10 shows a schematic cross-sectional side view of an electronic device.

[0119] According to one embodiment, the housing 12 comprises at least a user interaction portion 8 on a user interaction surface at a reference height above the base of the housing 12. The electronic device 10, 800 further comprises a first plurality of magnetometers MA5 surrounded by the housing 12. The first plurality of magnetometers MA5 are disposed in a fifth portion 22a of the housing 12 (also referred to in some embodiments as a first magnetometer mounting area), with an upper boundary of the fifth portion 22a provided by the user interaction portion 8 and lateral boundaries of the fifth portion 22a spaced a corresponding plurality of distances SD1-SD4 from one or more surfaces of the housing 12.

[0120] According to one embodiment, the electronic device 10, 800 further comprises a touchpad 30. A portion of the touchpad 31 is arranged parallel to or substantially coplanar with the user interaction portion 8.

[0121] According to one embodiment, the lateral boundaries of fifth portion 22 a are parallel to or substantially aligned with the lateral extent of touchpad 30 .

[0122] According to one embodiment, the lower boundary 22b of the fifth portion 22a is the base of the housing 12 or a lateral plane that is a predetermined distance below the user interaction portion in the height H direction.

[0123] According to one embodiment, the fifth portion 22a has the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped.

[0124] According to one embodiment, the fifth portion 22a is positioned such that the center of gravity of the fifth portion 22a is on a line that vertically bisects the user interaction portion in the width and / or length directions of the housing 12.

[0125] According to one embodiment, a first distance SD1 measured along a line on the plane of the user interaction portion 8 between the first surface 14 (e.g., the front wall) of the housing 12 and the lateral boundary of the fifth portion 22a and perpendicular thereto is greater than a distance characterized by the width W of the housing 12 multiplied by one of the following coefficients: 0.33, 0.25, 0.20, 0.15, 0.10, or 0.05.

[0126] According to one embodiment, a first distance SD1 measured along a line within the user interaction surface between and perpendicular to the first surface 14 (e.g., front wall) of the housing 12 and the lateral boundary of the first magnetometer mounting area may be greater than a distance characterized by the overall width of the housing 12 multiplied by one of the following factors: 0.8, 0.7, 0.5, 0.33, 0.25, 0.20, 0.15, 0.10, or 0.05.

[0127] According to one embodiment, the length of the lateral boundary of the first magnetometer mounting area may be within a distance range characterized by the overall width of the touchpad 30 multiplied by one of the following factors: 2.0, 1.5, 1.2, 1.0, 0.8, 0.7, or 0.5.

[0128] According to one embodiment, the width of the lateral boundary of the first magnetometer mounting area may be within a distance range characterized by the overall width of the touchpad 30 multiplied by one of the following factors: 2.0, 1.5, 1.2, 1.0, 0.8, 0.7, 0.5.

[0129] According to one embodiment, a second distance SD2 measured along a line on the plane of the user interaction portion 8 between the second surface 16 (e.g., the first side wall) of the housing 12 and the lateral boundary of the fifth portion 22a and perpendicular thereto is greater than a distance characterized by the width W of the housing 12 multiplied by one of the following coefficients: 0.33, 0.25, 0.20, 0.15, 0.10, or 0.05.

[0130] According to one embodiment, a third distance SD3 measured along a line on the plane of the user interaction portion 8 between the third surface 18 (e.g., the second side wall) of the housing 12 and the lateral boundary of the fifth portion 22a and perpendicular thereto is greater than a distance characterized by the width of the housing 12 multiplied by one of the following coefficients: 0.33, 0.25, 0.20, 0.15, 0.10, or 0.05.

[0131] According to one embodiment, a fourth distance SD4 measured along a line on the plane of the user interaction portion 8 between and perpendicular to the fourth surface 20 (e.g., rear wall) of the housing 12 and the lateral boundary of the fifth portion 22a is greater than a distance characterized by the length of the housing 12 multiplied by one of the following coefficients: 0.75, 0.70, 0.65, 0.60, 0.55, 0.50, 0.45, 0.40, 0.35, 0.30, 0.25, 0.20, 0.15, 0.10, or 0.05.

[0132] According to one embodiment, a fifth distance measured in a height direction H between and perpendicular to the bottom wall of the housing and the bottom of the first magnetometer mounting area is characterized by the total height of the housing multiplied by one of the following factors: 0.75, 0.70, 0.65, 0.60, 0.55, 0.50, 0.45, 0.40, 0.35, 0.30, 0.25, 0.20, 0.15, 0.10, or 0.05.

[0133] According to one embodiment, the first plurality of magnetometers MA5 are mounted along a line defined by at least a portion of the lateral boundary 24 of the fifth portion 22a.

[0134] According to one embodiment, one or more of the first through fifth pluralities of magnetometers are mounted within respective magnetometer mounting regions on a corresponding 2D planar member, hi some embodiments, the first of the plurality of magnetometers MA5 is mounted within a first magnetometer mounting region on the 2D planar member.

[0135] According to one embodiment, a first subset of the first plurality of magnetometers MA5 is mounted at a different height H of the housing 12 in the fifth portion 22a relative to a second subset of the first plurality of magnetometers MA5.

[0136] According to one embodiment, the first magnetometer mounting region is positioned to provide a magnetic buffer distance (e.g., a distance large enough that the effect of the magnetic material on the first plurality of magnetometers MA5 is negligible, e.g., greater than 5 cm) between the first plurality of magnetometers MA5 mounted within the first magnetometer mounting region and at least one magnetic material contained within the housing 21.

[0137] According to one embodiment, a first portion of the first magnetometer mounting area is below the touchpad 30 and a second portion of the first magnetometer mounting area is below the user interaction portion 8 .

[0138] According to one embodiment, the magnetometers included in the first to fifth pluralities of magnetometers are not mounted in or around the laptop display 11.

[0139] According to one embodiment, N is 5, 16, 32, 64, 128, or 256 or greater.

[0140] According to one embodiment, the magnetometers of the plurality of magnetometers MA1 are mounted on a first printed circuit board.

[0141] According to one embodiment, the magnetometers included in the matrix of magnetometers MA1 are arranged in at least two rows separated by a separation distance D extending along the length direction L(MA1) of the magnetometers MA1.

[0142] According to one embodiment, the first printed circuit board has a maximum lengthwise dimension L(MA1) of 310 mm and a maximum widthwise dimension W(MA1) of 220 mm.

[0143] According to one embodiment, the electronic device 10, 800: a processor 804 communicatively coupled to at least the plurality of magnetometers; a communication interface 806 communicatively coupled to the processor 804.

[0144] The processor 804 is configured to obtain, via the communication interface, a plurality of measurements related to at least one magnetic object measured by at least a plurality of magnetometers MA1.

[0145] The processor 804 is configured to perform signal processing on the plurality of signals to generate coordinates characterizing the location and / or orientation of at least one user-worn device comprising at least one magnet relative to at least the first magnetometer plane MP5.

[0146] Processor 804 is configured to transmit, via communication interface 806, a location characterizing the position and / or orientation of at least one user-worn device.

[0147] According to one embodiment, the plurality of magnetometers MA1, the second plurality of magnetometers MA2, and the third plurality of magnetometers MA3 are mounted on a monolithic member or a monolithic printed circuit board.

[0148] According to one embodiment, the plurality of magnetometers MA1, and / or the second plurality of magnetometers MA2, and / or the third plurality of magnetometers MA3, and / or the fourth plurality of magnetometers MA4, and / or the first plurality of magnetometers MA5 are mounted on a flexible printed circuit board.

[0149] According to one embodiment, the interior of the housing 12 is divided into a first compartment 9a containing at least a plurality of magnetometers MA1 and a second compartment 9b containing no magnetometers, and according to one embodiment, the first compartment 9a does not contain a substantial amount of magnetic material.

[0150] Referring to FIG. 1, according to one embodiment, the electronic device may further comprise a lid and a pivotable joint configured to movably couple the lid to the housing 12, such that the electronic device is configurable into at least a first, closed state in which the lid is positioned substantially flush with the user interaction surface, and a second, open state.

[0151] According to one embodiment, the electronic device may further comprise a keyboard, preferably located on substantially the same surface as the touchpad 30 .

[0152] According to one embodiment, the lid may include at least one magnet 112, and the first plurality of magnetometers MA5 may be configured to detect movement of the lid relative to the user interaction surface by measuring the magnetic field of the at least one magnet included in the lid.

[0153] According to one embodiment, the first plurality of magnetometers MA5 may be configured to detect at least one user-worn device comprising at least one magnet in proximity to the plurality of magnetometers, and the electronic device is configured to enable or disable the touchpad 30 upon detecting the at least one magnet in proximity to the plurality of magnetometers.

[0154] According to one embodiment, the first plurality of magnetometers MA5 may be configured to detect the proximity of at least one magnet 112 included in the lid to the first plurality of magnetometers MA5, and the electronic device is configured to disable the display included in the lid. Preferably, detecting the proximity of at least one magnet 112 included in the lid to the first plurality of magnetometers MA5 is performed when the first plurality of magnetometers MA5 detects that the SNR due to at least one magnet 112 included in the lid exceeds a predetermined threshold.

[0155] According to one embodiment, the first plurality of magnetometers MA5 may be configured to detect that at least one magnet 112 included in the lid is not in proximity to the plurality of magnetometers, and the electronic device is configured to activate a display included in the lid. Preferably, detecting that at least one magnet included in the lid is not in proximity to the first plurality of magnetometers MA5 is performed when the first plurality of magnetometers detects that the SNR due to at least one magnet 112 included in the lid falls below a predetermined threshold.

[0156] According to one embodiment, the first plurality of magnetometers MA5 are configured to detect the location and / or orientation of at least one user-worn device comprising at least one magnetic object in proximity to the touchpad, and the electronic device is configured to enable or disable the touchpad upon detecting that the at least one magnetic object is in proximity to the touchpad, preferably less than 10mm, 9mm, 8mm, 7mm, 6mm, 5mm, 4mm, 3mm, 2mm, or 1mm.

[0157] According to one embodiment, the electronic device is configured to enable or disable the touchpad upon detecting that at least one magnetic object has contacted the touchpad.

[0158] Figure 11 shows a schematic variation of multiple magnetometers, which in examples may be called a magnetometer cluster or magnetometer array.

[0159] FIG. 11a) illustrates a linear plurality of magnetometers MA1 having an aspect ratio suitable for use in close proximity to or against the front surface 14 of an electronic device 10, such as a laptop. According to one example, the aspect ratio (width:length) of the printed circuit board supporting the plurality of magnetometers is 1:30, 1:25, 1:20, 1:15, or 1:10. The example of FIG. 11a) illustrates a linear plurality of magnetometers MA1 including two rows of magnetometers separated by a pitch distance D. The magnetometers 32 in each row are separated by a distance S1. In one example, the magnetometers in the first row are offset relative to the magnetometers in the second row by an offset distance S0. According to one embodiment, passive components 34 required for operation of each magnetometer 32 are located within the gap defined by the offset distance S0.

[0160] By way of specific example, a front printed circuit board intended to be mounted adjacent to first surface 14 may have a width dimension of 10 mm and a length dimension of 280 mm. The front printed circuit board may include 27 magnetometers. The front printed circuit board (and its associated magnetometer planes) is angled 25 degrees with respect to a normal vector to the surface on which electronic device 10 stands.

[0161] FIG. 11b) shows a variant of FIG. 11a), in which the linear magnetometers MA1#2 are arranged in a single row.

[0162] 11c) shows multiple magnetometers arranged in a set of two offset rows mounted on a printed circuit board suitable for use adjacent the second surface 16 or the third surface 18 of the housing 12 of the electronic device 10. In particular, the printed circuit board MA2 may have an aspect ratio (width:length) of 1:10, 1:7, 1:5, or 1:3.

[0163] According to a particular example, the second and / or third portions of the magnetometers are mounted on a printed circuit board having a length dimension of 10 mm and a width dimension of 75 mm. The printed circuit board includes 11 magnetometers and is mounted at a 45 degree angle relative to a normal vector to the surface on which the electronic device 10 stands.

[0164] Figure 11d) shows multiple magnetometers arranged in a single line on a printed circuit board.

[0165] FIG. 11e) illustrates a two-dimensional matrix of magnetometers suitable for use under touchpad 30, for example, in a fifth plurality of magnetometers as described hereinabove. The printed circuit board has a width dimension WMA5 and a length dimension LMA5. In the length dimension, the separation of magnetometers 34 is defined by distance S2. The longitudinal offset between magnetometers 34 on adjacent rows of the matrix is ​​defined by dimension S5. In the width dimension, the separation of the rows is defined by dimension S4.

[0166] FIG. 11f) shows a diagram of the magnetometer array showing further details of the placement of the magnetometers 32 relative to the offset passive components 34.

[0167] In a particular example, touchpad 30 may have dimensions of 70 x 60 mm and include a magnetometer array with eight magnetometer sensors.

[0168] FIG. 12 schematically illustrates interaction volumes and surfaces surrounding an electronic device. For example, electronic device 10 is shown supported by interaction surface 200. When signals received from multiple magnetometers MA1-MA5 are received by a device driver included in the user environment of the operating system executed by electronic device 10, an application hosted by the operating system of electronic device 10 can access two-dimensional or three-dimensional coordinates (e.g., defined on support surface 200) representing the location of the user-worn device. A first sensing volume SV1 is provided in front of first surface 14 of electronic device 10 and is primarily monitored by multiple magnetometers MA1. A second sensing volume SV2 is provided on the left-hand side of second surface 16 and is primarily monitored by second multiple magnetometers MA2. A third sensing volume SV3 is provided on the right-hand side of third surface 18 and is primarily monitored by third multiple magnetometers MA3. A fourth sensing volume SV4 is provided at the rear of electronic device 10 and is primarily monitored by fourth multiple magnetometers MA4. A fifth sensing volume SV5 is provided above the touchpad 30 of the electronic device 10 and is monitored primarily by a fifth plurality of magnetometers MA5.

[0169] According to one embodiment, the first plurality of magnetometers MA5 may be configured to detect whether at least one user-worn device including at least one magnetic object is within a first portion of the sensing volume or within a second portion of the sensing volume. In an embodiment, the electronic device may be configured to switch between a first user interaction mode and a second user interaction mode based on whether the at least one user-worn device with the at least one magnetic object is within the first portion of the sensing volume or within the second portion of the sensing volume.

[0170] FIG. 13 shows a schematic diagram of three examples of multiple magnetometers used for experimental verification. In particular, the left printed circuit board (corresponding to multiple magnetometers MA2) has a length of 10 mm and a width of 75 mm. The left printed circuit board includes 11 magnetometers. A first line of six sensors is located closest to the edge of the electronic device 10, and a second line of five sensors is located offset toward the center of gravity of the electronic device 10. The left printed circuit board is mounted at a 45° angle to the vertical. The right printed circuit board (corresponding to multiple magnetometers MA3) is identical to the left printed circuit board in the experimental example of FIG. 13.

[0171] The front printed circuit board has a length dimension of 280 mm and a width dimension of 10 mm. It has a total of 27 magnetometers. A first line of magnetometers, which is close to the edge of the electronic device 10, has 14 magnetometers. A second line of magnetometers, which is closer to the center of gravity of the electronic device 10, has 13 magnetometers compared to the first line of magnetometers.

[0172] According to one example, each magnetometer is separated from the center of any other magnetometer by a distance greater than 10 mm, 9 mm, 8 mm, 7 mm, 5 mm, 4 mm, 3 mm, 2 mm, or 1 mm.

[0173] By way of example, if a surface mounted capacitor is required as a passive component to drive each magnetometer, the capacitor is preferably placed more than 6 mm, if not more than 8 mm, from any other magnetometer.

[0174] By way of example, if a surface mounted resistor is required as a passive component to drive each magnetometer, the resistor is preferably placed more than 6 mm, if not more than 4 mm, away from any other magnetometer.

[0175] Figure 14 shows a schematic of the experimental results for the layout shown in Figure 13. The bottom of the figure shows the signal-to-noise contours (SNR) for the magnetometer configuration shown in Figure 13. A proprietary Python code developed by Advanced Magnetic Interaction (AMI) is used to model the magnetic field. For simulation purposes, the magnet used is cylindrical with a residual field equal to 1.44, a diameter of 10 mm, and a length of 10 mm. The SNR is calculated at locations in this XY plane, with the Z position fixed at 4 cm.

[0176] To measure the SNR, the magnet is moved along the grid. At each point, the magnetic field is calculated on the magnetometer, the average is calculated, and then the SNR is calculated.

[0177] The results show that the presence of magnetometer arrays on the left and right hand sides of the electronic device increases the areas of high signal-to-noise ratio on the left and right hand sides of the laptop in the simulation. This means, for example, that a mouse using a magnet with a sensor array will experience better spatial resolution and / or lower latency than if the magnetometer array was not provided on the left and / or right hand sides of the laptop. Furthermore, having a wide magnetometer array on the front of the laptop extends the useful distance over which a mouse with a magnet can be used on the front of the laptop.

[0178] Fig. 15 shows a schematic diagram of the experimental results using the layout shown in Fig. 13. For example, Fig. 15 shows the SNRs along the lines L1, L2, and L3 shown in Fig. 14.

[0179] Fig. 16 schematically shows the experimental results using the layout shown in Fig. 13. For example, Fig. 16 shows the SNRs along lines L4, L5, and L6 shown in Fig. 14.

[0180] FIG. 17 shows a schematic configuration of the electronic device.

[0181] According to one example, each of the plurality of magnetometers MA1 comprises a processor for performing magnetic measurements, which are transmitted to the processor for calculating location information from the magnetic measurements.

[0182] According to a second aspect, there is provided a system 1 including an electronic device 10, 800 according to the first aspect or an embodiment thereof. The system further comprises at least one user worn device 100 comprising at least one magnetic object 110 and / or magnetic field generator. The electronic device 10 is configured to obtain magnetic field measurements associated with the user worn device 100, determine a location of the user worn device relative to a reference coordinate system, and communicate the location of the user worn device 100.

[0183] According to one embodiment, the user-worn device 100 is one of a stylus, a ring, a dial, a keyboard, a joystick, a computer mouse, for example, including a scroll wheel, or a toy including a magnetic object.

[0184] According to a third aspect, there is provided a computer-implemented method, the method comprising: - obtaining 602, in an electronic device 10 according to the first aspect or an embodiment thereof, magnetic field measurements associated with at least one magnetic object and measured by a plurality of magnetometers included in the electronic device 10; - determining 604 the location of the user-worn device relative to a reference frame relative to the electronic device 10 based on the magnetic field measurements; - communicating 606 the location of the user-worn device 100 to a device driver instantiated in the user environment of the electronic device 10.

[0185] The computer-implemented method is shown schematically in FIG.

[0186] According to one embodiment, the method further provides for moving a displayed cursor in a display 11 displayed by the electronic device 10 based on the location of the user-worn device communicated to the device driver.

[0187] According to one embodiment, the method further provides for generating an input event based on a location of the user-worn device, hi an embodiment, the input event is a keyboard action, a dial movement, or a toy event.

[0188] According to one embodiment, the method comprises: - further providing for generating calibration coefficients corresponding to magnetometers in the plurality of magnetometers, which comprises: - locating at least one known magnet in at least a known position and orientation from a plurality of magnetometers, obtaining at least one set of corresponding magnetic field measurements using the magnetometers, and comparing the magnetic field measurements with a set of expected magnetic field measurements; and - by applying a calibration factor to magnetic field measurements associated with at least one magnetic object and obtained after measurement with a plurality of magnetometers.

[0189] According to one embodiment, the calibration coefficients include the position, orientation of the sensor, sensitivity, and offset.

[0190] According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a computer program element comprising machine-readable instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the steps of the method according to the third aspect.

[0191] According to a fifth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium comprising the computer program element of the fourth aspect.

[0192] Embodiment While the present disclosure has been described above and defined in the accompanying embodiments, it should be understood that the present disclosure can be defined according to the following embodiments. 1. An electronic device comprising: - a housing, the spatial extent of which is characterized by a set of orthogonal dimensions including a length (L), a width (W), and a height (H), and in the housing's reference coordinate system, the housing comprises at least a user interaction portion on a user interaction surface at a reference height above a base of the housing; a first plurality of magnetometers (MA5) defining a first magnetometer plane (MP5), the first plurality of magnetometers (MA5) being surrounded by a housing; An electronic device, wherein a first plurality of magnetometers are disposed in a first magnetometer mounting region of a housing, an upper boundary of the first magnetometer mounting region is provided by a user interaction portion, and lateral boundaries of the first magnetometer mounting region are spaced apart from a plurality of surfaces (e.g., side walls) of the housing by a plurality of distances corresponding to the length and / or width directions. 2. The electronic device - It also has a touchpad, 2. An electronic device as described in embodiment 1, wherein a portion of the touchpad is disposed parallel to or substantially coplanar with the user interaction portion. 3. 3. An electronic device as described in embodiment 2, wherein a lateral boundary of the first magnetometer mounting region is parallel to or substantially aligned with a lateral extent of the touchpad. 4. An electronic device according to any one of embodiments 1 to 3, wherein the lower boundary of the first magnetometer mounting area is the base of the housing or a horizontal plane at a predetermined distance below the user interaction portion in the height direction. 5. 5. The electronic device according to any one of embodiments 1 to 4, wherein the first magnetometer mounting region has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. 6. An electronic device described in any one of embodiments 1 to 5, wherein the first magnetometer mounting region is positioned laterally of the user interaction portion so that the center of gravity of the first magnetometer mounting region is on a line that vertically bisects the user interaction portion in the width and / or length directions of the housing. 7. An electronic device as described in any one of embodiments 1 to 6, wherein a first distance (SD1) measured along a line within the user interaction surface between a first surface (e.g., a front wall) of the housing and a lateral boundary of the first magnetometer mounting area and perpendicular thereto is greater than a distance characterized by the overall width of the housing multiplied by one of the following coefficients: 0.8, 0.7, 0.5, 0.33, 0.25, 0.20, 0.15, 0.10, or 0.05. 7A. 8. An electronic device as described in any one of embodiments 1 to 7, wherein the length of the lateral boundary of the first magnetometer mounting area is within a distance range characterized by the total width of the touchpad (30) multiplied by one of the following factors: 2.0, 1.5, 1.2, 1.0, 0.8, 0.7, 0.5. 7B. 7A. The electronic device of any one of embodiments 1 to 7A, wherein the width of the lateral boundary of the first magnetometer mounting region is within a distance range characterized by the total width of the touchpad (30) multiplied by one of the following factors: 2.0, 1.5, 1.2, 1.0, 0.8, 0.7, 0.5. 8. An electronic device described in any one of embodiments 1 to 7B, wherein a second distance (SD2) measured along a line within the user interaction surface between and perpendicular to a second surface of the housing (e.g., a first side wall) and a lateral boundary of the first magnetometer mounting area is greater than a distance characterized by the overall width of the housing multiplied by one of the following coefficients: 0.8, 0.7, 0.5, 0.33, 0.25, 0.20, 0.15, 0.10, or 0.05. 9. An electronic device described in any one of embodiments 1 to 8, wherein a third distance (SD3) measured along a line within the user interaction surface between a third surface of the housing (e.g., a second side wall) and a lateral boundary of the first magnetometer mounting area and perpendicular thereto is greater than a distance characterized by the overall width of the housing multiplied by one of the following coefficients: 0.8, 0.7, 0.5, 0.33, 0.25, 0.20, 0.15, 0.10, or 0.05. 10. An electronic device as described in any one of embodiments 1 to 9, wherein a fourth distance (SD4) measured along a line within the user interaction surface between and perpendicular to a fourth surface (e.g., a rear sidewall) of the housing and a lateral boundary of the first magnetometer mounting area is greater than a distance characterized by the total length of the housing multiplied by one of the following coefficients: 0.75, 0.70, 0.65, 0.60, 0.55, 0.50, 0.45, 0.40, 0.35, 0.30, 0.25, 0.20, 0.15, 0.10, or 0.05. 10A. 11. An electronic device according to any one of embodiments 1 to 10, wherein a fifth distance measured in a height direction (H) between the bottom wall of the housing and the bottom of the first magnetometer mounting area (MA5) and perpendicular thereto is characterized by the total height of the housing multiplied by one of the following factors: 0.75, 0.70, 0.65, 0.60, 0.55, 0.50, 0.45, 0.40, 0.35, 0.30, 0.25, 0.20, 0.15, 0.10, or 0.05. 11. The length of the housing is within the range of 50mm to 400mm, The width of the housing is within the range of 50mm to 400mm, The electronic device according to any one of embodiments 1 to 10A, wherein the height of the housing is in the range of 5 mm to 50 mm. 12. 12. The electronic device according to any one of embodiments 1 to 11, wherein the first plurality of magnetometers are mounted within a first magnetometer mounting region on a 2D planar member. 13. 12. An electronic device according to any one of embodiments 1 to 11, wherein the first plurality of magnetometers are mounted along a line defined by at least a portion of the lateral boundary of the first magnetometer mounting region. 14. 12. An electronic device as described in any one of embodiments 1 to 11, wherein a first subset of the first plurality of magnetometers is mounted at a different height within the first magnetometer mounting region relative to a second subset of the plurality of magnetometers. 15. An electronic device described in any one of embodiments 1 to 14, wherein the first magnetometer mounting region is arranged to provide a magnetic buffer distance between a first plurality of magnetometers mounted within the first magnetometer mounting region and at least one magnetic material contained within the housing. 16. An electronic device described in any one of embodiments 2 to 15, wherein a first portion of the first magnetometer mounting area is located under the touchpad and a second portion of the first magnetometer mounting area is located under the user interaction portion. 17. An electronic device described in any one of embodiments 1 to 16, wherein the location of the first magnetometer mounting region defines a sensing volume that can sense the location of a user-worn device including at least one magnetic object relative to the housing of the electronic device. 18. - Lid and - An electronic device described in any one of embodiments 1 to 17, further comprising a pivotable joint configured to movably couple the lid to the housing, such that the electronic device is configurable into at least a first, closed state in which the lid is positioned substantially flush with the user interaction surface, and a second, open state. 18A. An electronic device according to any one of embodiments 2 to 18, further comprising a keyboard, preferably arranged on substantially the same surface as the touchpad. 19. An electronic device as described in embodiment 18, wherein the lid comprises at least one magnet, and the first plurality of magnetometers (MA5) are configured to detect movement of the lid relative to the user interaction surface by measuring the magnetic field of the at least one magnet provided in the lid. 20. An electronic device described in any one of embodiments 2 to 19, wherein the first plurality of magnetometers (MA5) is configured to detect at least one user-worn device having at least one magnet in proximity to the first plurality of magnetometers (MA5), and when the electronic device detects that at least one magnet is in proximity to the first plurality of magnetometers (MA5), the electronic device is configured to enable or disable the touchpad. 20A. An electronic device as described in embodiment 19 or 20, wherein the first plurality of magnetometers (MA5) is configured to detect that at least one magnet included in the lid is in proximity to the first plurality of magnetometers (MA5), and the electronic device is configured to disable the display included in the lid, and preferably, the detection of the proximity of at least one magnet included in the lid to the first plurality of magnetometers (MA5) is performed when the first plurality of magnetometers (MA5) detects that the SNR due to at least one magnet included in the lid exceeds a predetermined threshold. 20B. An electronic device as described in embodiment 19 or 20, wherein the first plurality of magnetometers (MA5) is configured to detect that at least one magnet included in the lid is not in proximity to the plurality of magnetometers (MA5), and the electronic device is configured to enable a display included in the lid, and preferably, the detection of at least one magnet included in the lid not being in proximity to the first plurality of magnetometers (MA5) is performed when the first plurality of magnetometers (MA5) detects that the SNR due to at least one magnet included in the lid has fallen below a predetermined threshold. twenty one. An electronic device as described in any one of embodiments 2 to 20, wherein the first plurality of magnetometers (MA5) are configured to detect the position and / or attitude of at least one user-worn device including at least one magnetic object in proximity to the touchpad, and when detecting that the at least one magnetic object is in proximity to the touchpad, the electronic device is configured to enable or disable the touchpad, preferably the proximity to the touchpad is less than 10 mm, 9 mm, 8 mm, 7 mm, 6 mm, 5 mm, 4 mm, 3 mm, 2 mm, or 1 mm. 21A. 22. An electronic device as described in embodiment 21, wherein the electronic device is configured to enable or disable the touchpad upon detecting that at least one magnetic object has contacted the touchpad. twenty two. An electronic device described in any one of embodiments 2 to 21, wherein the first plurality of magnetometers (MA5) are configured to detect whether at least one user-worn device comprising at least one magnetic object is within a first portion of the sensing volume or within a second portion of the sensing volume, and the electronic device is configured to switch between a first user interaction mode and a second user interaction mode based on whether the at least one user-worn device comprising at least one magnetic object is within the first portion of the sensing volume or within the second portion of the sensing volume. twenty three. 23. An electronic device as described in embodiment 22, wherein the first mode is a stylus mode for electronic writing within a software application hosted by the electronic device, and the second mode is a pointing mode within a software application hosted by the electronic device. twenty four. An electronic device according to any one of embodiments 1 to 23, wherein the first plurality of magnetometers (MA5) comprises a network of N magnetometers, more specifically arranged in at least one line or in a matrix. twenty five. 25. The electronic device of embodiment 24, wherein N is greater than 2, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, or 256. 26. 26. The electronic device according to any one of embodiments 1 to 25, wherein the magnetometers of the first plurality of magnetometers (MA5) are mounted on a first printed circuit board. 27. An electronic device described in any one of embodiments 24 to 26, wherein the magnetometers included in the matrix of the first plurality of magnetometers (MA5) are arranged in at least two rows extending along the length of the first magnetometer mounting region. 28. - further comprising a second plurality of magnetometers (MA1) defining a second magnetometer plane relative to the reference frame of the housing, the second plurality of magnetometers being surrounded by the housing; An electronic device described in any one of embodiments 1 to 27, wherein the second plurality of magnetometers are arranged within a first portion of the housing, the location of the first portion being within a first outer boundary surface that shares a boundary with the first surface of the housing and a first inner boundary surface that is parallel to the first outer boundary surface. 29. 29. An electronic device as described in embodiment 28, wherein the spacing distance of the first portions is defined in a direction perpendicular to and between the first surface and the first inner boundary surface of the housing, and the ratio between the spacing distance of the first portions and the width (W) of the housing is less than one of 0.25, 0.2, 0.15, 0.1, or 0.05. 30. 30. The electronic device of embodiment 29, wherein the separation distance of the front portions is less than one of 5 mm, 10 mm, 15 mm, or 20 mm. 31. 31. The electronic device of any one of embodiments 28 to 30, wherein the second plurality of magnetometers is proximate to the front wall of the housing. 32. - a third plurality of magnetometers (MA2) defining a third magnetometer plane relative to the reference frame of the housing, the third plurality of magnetometers being enclosed by the housing; An electronic device described in any one of embodiments 1 to 31, wherein the third plurality of magnetometers are arranged within a first side of the housing, the location of the first side being within a second outer boundary surface that shares a boundary with a second surface of the housing (e.g., a first side wall) and a second inner boundary surface that is parallel to the second outer boundary surface. 33. An electronic device as described in embodiment 32, wherein a separation distance of the first side portions is defined in a direction perpendicular to and between the second surface (e.g., the first side wall) of the housing and the second inner boundary surface, and a ratio between the separation distance of the first side portions and the length (L) of the housing is less than one of 0.25, 0.2, 0.15, 0.1, or 0.05. 34. 34. The electronic device of embodiment 33, wherein the separation distance of the first sides is less than one of 5 mm, 10 mm, 15 mm, or 20 mm. 35. The electronic device of any one of embodiments 29-34, wherein the third plurality of magnetometers is proximate to the second surface (first sidewall) of the housing. 36. 36. The electronic device of any one of embodiments 29 to 35, wherein a magnetometer of the third plurality of magnetometers is attached to a third magnetometer plane, and the angle enclosed by the third magnetometer plane and the first sidewall of the housing is at least 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5, 20, 22.5, 25, 27.5, 30, 32.5, 35, 37.5, 40, 42.5, 45, 47.5, 50, 52.5, 55, 57.5, 60, 62.5, 65, 67.5, 70, 72.5, 75, 77.5, 80, 82.5, 85, 87.5, or 90 degrees. 37. - a fourth plurality of magnetometers (MA3) defining a fourth magnetometer plane relative to the reference frame of the housing, the fourth plurality of magnetometers being surrounded by the housing; An electronic device described in any one of embodiments 1 to 36, wherein the fourth plurality of magnetometers are arranged within a second side of the housing, the location of the second side being within a third outer boundary surface that shares a boundary with a third surface of the housing (e.g., a second side wall) and a third inner boundary surface that is parallel to the third outer boundary surface. 38. An electronic device as described in embodiment 37, wherein the spacing distance of the third portions is defined in a direction perpendicular to and between the third surface (e.g., the second side wall) and the third inner boundary surface of the housing, and the ratio between the spacing distance of the third portions and the length (L) of the housing is less than one of 0.25, 0.2, 0.15, 0.1, or 0.05. 39. 39. The electronic device of embodiment 38, wherein the separation distance of the third portions is less than one of 5 mm, 10 mm, 15 mm, or 20 mm. 40. The electronic device of any one of embodiments 37-39, wherein the fourth plurality of magnetometers is proximate to a third surface (second sidewall) of the housing. 41. 41. The electronic device of any one of embodiments 37 to 40, wherein a magnetometer of the fourth plurality of magnetometers is attached to a fourth magnetometer plane and the angle enclosed by the third magnetometer plane and the third surface (second side wall) of the housing is at least 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5, 20, 22.5, 25, 27.5, 30, 32.5, 35, 37.5, 40, 42.5, 45, 47.5, 50, 52.5, 55, 57.5, 60, 62.5, 65, 67.5, 70, 72.5, 75, 77.5, 80, 82.5, 85, 87.5, or 90 degrees. 42. a processor communicatively coupled to at least the first plurality of magnetometers; a communication interface communicatively coupled to the controller; the controller is configured to obtain, via the communication interface, a plurality of measurements associated with the at least one magnetic object measured by at least a first plurality of magnetometers; An electronic device described in any one of embodiments 1 to 41, wherein the processor is configured to perform signal processing on a plurality of signals, thereby generating coordinates characterizing the location and / or attitude of at least one user accessory comprising at least one magnet relative to at least a first magnetometer plane (MP5). 43. 43. The electronic device of embodiment 42, wherein the communication interface is one or more of a UART, USART, I2C, I3C interface, a USB-C™ interface, a USB-A™ interface, a Thunderbolt™ interface, a Bluetooth™ interface, or a WiFi™ interface. 44. 44. The electronic device of any one of embodiments 1 to 43, wherein the electronic device is one of a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a tablet computer, a smartphone, a keyboard, a smartwatch, a television, an interactive whiteboard, a virtual reality headset, a wireless access point, and / or a display projector. 45. A system comprising: an electronic device according to any one of embodiments 1 to 44; - at least one user-worn device comprising at least one magnetic object and / or magnetic field generator; A system in which the electronic device is configured to obtain magnetic field measurements associated with the user-worn device, determine a location of the user-worn device relative to a peripheral coordinate system of the peripheral device, and communicate the location of the user-worn device from the peripheral device to a host device. 46. 46. ​​The system of embodiment 45, wherein the user-worn device is one of a stylus, a ring, a computer mouse, a dial, or a toy including a magnetic object. 47. A computer-implemented method comprising: - in an electronic device according to any one of embodiments 1 to 44, obtaining magnetic field measurements measured by a plurality of magnetometers associated with at least one magnetic object and included in the electronic device; - determining a location of the user-worn device relative to a frame of reference of the electronic device based on the magnetic field measurements; - communicating the location of the user-worn device to a device driver instantiated in the user environment of the electronic device. 48. - Moving a displayed cursor within a graphical user interface displayed by the electronic device based on the user-worn location communicated to the device. 49. A computer program element comprising machine-readable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method steps of embodiment 47 or 48. 50. A computer-readable medium comprising the computer program element of embodiment 49. [Explanation of symbols]

[0193] X Primary (length) reference axis Y Second (width) reference axis Z vertical (height) reference axis x d First device axis y d Second Device Axis z d Vertical Device Axis L Housing length W Width of the enclosure H Height of the enclosure 1 System 8 Interaction Surface 9 Hinge 9a First Section 9b Second Section 10 Electronic Devices 11 Display 12. Case 14 First surface of the housing 14a First Section 14b First inner boundary surface 14c First outer boundary surface 14d First part separation distance MA5-MA4: Multiple magnetometers 1-5 MP2 Magnetometer plane of the second multiple magnetometer MP3 Third Multiple Magnetometer Magnetometer Plane 16 Second surface of the enclosure 16a Second Part 16b Second inner boundary surface 16c Second outer boundary surface 16d Second part separation distance 18 Third Surface of the Enclosure 18a Third Section 18b Third inner boundary surface 18c Third outer boundary 18d Third part separation distance 20 Fourth surface of the enclosure 20a Fourth Section 20b Fourth inner boundary surface 20c Fourth outer boundary surface 20d Fourth part separation distance 22a Fifth Section 22b Lower boundary of the fifth part 24 Lateral boundary of the fifth part 30 Touchpad 32 individual magnetometers 34 Passive Components S0~S5 Magnetometer mounting pitch 100 User-Worn Devices 110 at least one magnetic object 120 Magnetic Moment Vector 130 Contact surface or contact point 140 at least one interactive feature 150 Housing 160 Translation of magnetic objects 170 First Rotation 180 Second Rotation 200 interaction support 210 Interaction Surface 230 interaction support surface 300 Multiple Magnetometers 310 magnetometer plane 320 Magnetometer body 400 processing units 500 One or more output devices 510 First Output Device 520 Secondary Output Device 530 Third Output Device 600 ways 602 Obtaining magnetic field measurements 604 Determining Location 606 Communicating Location 800 Electronic Devices 802 Printed Circuit Board 804 Controller 806 Communication Interface 808 Power supply 810 processor 812 memory 814 I / O interface 816 Display circuit U User α1 First rotation angle α2 Second rotation angle S k,l magnetometer δ1, δ2, δ3 First set of tilt angles Second set of γ1, γ2, γ3 tilt angles A third set of tilt angles for the β1, β2, β3 interaction surfaces

Claims

1. An electronic device (10), comprising: a housing, the spatial extent of which is characterized by a set of orthogonal dimensions comprising a length (L), a width (W) and a height (H), and in the reference coordinate system of the housing, the housing comprises at least a user interaction portion (8) on a user interaction surface at a reference height above a base of the housing; a first plurality of magnetometers (MA5) defining a first magnetometer plane (MP5), the first plurality of magnetometers (MA5) being surrounded by said housing; The electronic device (10) includes a first plurality of magnetometers (MA5) disposed in a first magnetometer mounting region of the housing, an upper boundary of the first magnetometer mounting region being provided by the user interaction portion (8), and a lateral boundary (24) of the first magnetometer mounting region being spaced apart from a plurality of surfaces (14, 16, 18, 20) of the housing by a plurality of corresponding distances (SD1 to SD4) in a length direction and / or a width direction.

2. The electronic device is - further comprising a touchpad (30); The electronic device (10) of claim 1, wherein a portion of the touchpad is disposed parallel to or substantially coplanar with the user interaction portion.

3. 3. The electronic device (10) of claim 2, wherein the lateral boundary (24) of the first magnetometer mounting area is parallel to or substantially aligned with the lateral extent of the touchpad.

4. 4. The electronic device (10) of claim 1, wherein a lower boundary of the first magnetometer mounting area is the base of the housing or a lateral plane that is a predetermined distance below the user interaction portion in the height direction.

5. The electronic device (10) of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first magnetometer mounting region is positioned laterally of the user interaction portion such that the center of gravity of the first magnetometer mounting region is on a line that perpendicularly bisects the user interaction portion in the width and / or length directions of the housing.

6. 6. The electronic device (10) of claim 1, wherein a first distance (SD1) measured along a line in the user interaction surface (8) between and perpendicular to a first surface (14) of the housing and the lateral boundary of the first magnetometer mounting area is greater than a distance characterized by a total width of the housing multiplied by one of the following factors: 0.8, 0.7, 0.5, 0.33, 0.25, 0.20, 0.15, 0.10, or 0.

05.

7. 7. The electronic device (10) of claim 1, wherein a second distance (SD2) measured along a line in the user interaction surface between and perpendicular to a second surface (16) of the housing and the lateral boundary of the first magnetometer mounting area is greater than a distance characterized by a total width of the housing multiplied by one of the following factors: 0.8, 0.7, 0.5, 0.33, 0.25, 0.20, 0.15, 0.10, or 0.

05.

8. 8. The electronic device (10) of claim 1, wherein a third distance (SD3) measured along a line in the user interaction surface between and perpendicular to a third surface (18) of the housing and the lateral boundary of the first magnetometer mounting area (MA5) is greater than a distance characterized by a total width of the housing multiplied by one of the following factors: 0.8, 0.7, 0.5, 0.33, 0.25, 0.20, 0.15, 0.10, or 0.

05.

9. The length of the housing is within a range of 50 mm to 400 mm, The width of the housing is within a range of 50 mm to 400 mm, The electronic device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the height of the housing is in the range of 5 mm to 50 mm.

10. - The lid and - a pivotable joint (9) configured to movably couple the lid to the housing, so that the electronic device is configurable in at least a first, closed state, in which the lid is positioned substantially flush with the user interaction surface, and a second, open state.

11. 11. The electronic device (10) of claim 10, wherein the lid comprises at least one magnet (112), and the first plurality of magnetometers (MA5) are configured to detect movement of the lid relative to the user interaction surface (8) by measuring the magnetic field of the at least one magnet provided in the lid.

12. The electronic device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first plurality of magnetometers (MA5) comprises a network of N magnetometers, more particularly arranged in at least one line or in a matrix, more particularly where N is 2, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128 or more than 256.

13. a processor communicatively coupled to at least the first plurality of magnetometers; a communication interface communicatively coupled to the controller; the controller is configured to obtain, via the communication interface, a plurality of measurements associated with at least one magnetic object measured by at least the first plurality of magnetometers; The electronic device (10) of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the processor is configured to perform signal processing on a plurality of signals to generate coordinates characterizing a location and / or an attitude of at least one user accessory comprising the at least one magnet relative to at least the first magnetometer plane (MP5).

14. The electronic device (10) of any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the electronic device (10) is one of a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a keyboard, a virtual reality headset, a wireless access point, and / or a display projector.

15. A system (1), an electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 13, at least one user-worn device comprising at least one magnetic object and / or magnetic field generator; The system (1) is configured such that the electronic device acquires magnetic field measurements associated with the user-worn device, determines a location of the user-worn device relative to a peripheral coordinate system of a peripheral device, and communicates the location of the user-worn device from the peripheral device to a host device.

16. A computer-implemented method (600) comprising: An electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that it comprises: - acquiring (602) magnetic field measurements associated with at least one magnetic object and measured by a plurality of magnetometers included in said electronic device; - determining (604) the location of the user-worn device relative to the frame of reference of the electronic device based on the magnetic field measurements; - communicating (606) the location of the user-worn device to a device driver instantiated in the user environment of the electronic device.

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