Electronic device with magnetometer

Abstract

An electronic device (10, 800) configured to acquire user interaction from a user-worn device (100), the electronic device (10, 800) comprising at least one magnetic object (110), the electronic device (10, 800) comprising: a housing (12) having a plurality of surfaces (14, 16, 18, 20), the housing (12) defining mounting regions for a plurality of components; and a first plurality of magnetometers (MA1) relative to a reference coordinate system of the housing (12), the first plurality of magnetometers (MA1) being surrounded by the housing (12). The first plurality of magnetometers (MA1) are disposed within a first portion (14a) of the housing (12), the first portion (14a) being located within a first outer boundary surface that shares a boundary with the first surface (14) of the housing (12) and a first inner boundary surface (14b) that is parallel to the first outer boundary surface.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application claims the benefit of European Patent Application No. 22307014.5, 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 configured to obtain user interaction from a user-worn device comprising at least one magnetic object.

[0006] The electronic device includes a housing including multiple surfaces, the housing defining mounting areas for multiple components, and the spatial extent of the housing characterized by a set of orthogonal dimensions including length, width, and height.

[0007] The electronic device includes a first plurality of magnetometers relative to a reference coordinate system of a housing, the first plurality of magnetometers being enclosed by the housing, the first plurality of magnetometers being disposed within a first portion of the housing, the location of the first portion being within a first outer boundary surface that borders a first surface of the housing and a first inner boundary surface that is parallel to the first outer boundary surface.

[0008] 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 acquire magnetic field measurements associated with the user-worn device, determine a location of the user-worn device relative to a reference coordinate system, and communicate the location of the user-worn device.

[0009] 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 the location of the user-worn device relative to a reference frame relative to 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.

[0010] 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 or an embodiment thereof.

[0011] According to a fifth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable medium including the fourth aspect.

[0012] An effect is that a particular magnetometer configuration within an electronic device is provided that enables improved tracking of one or more magnets within a user-worn device.

[0013] 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.

[0014] This specification discusses a solution 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 a particular configuration, the sensing volume is created to cover the sides, front, and / or rear of the area where the keyboard of a laptop is located. 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.

[0015] 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.

[0016] 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.

[0017] The application of such techniques improves detection accuracy in sensing volumes or sensing surfaces on the sides of electronic devices such as laptops, areas where accessories such as computer mice and styluses are typically used. Generally, the signal-to-noise ratio of magnetometer sensing systems is improved, resulting in a larger possible sensing volume or area. Sensors positioned along the edges of electronic devices such as laptops improve the signal-to-noise ratio, for example, when sensing in a sensing volume located above the user's hand rest or keyboard area of ​​a laptop. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] 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] 1 shows a schematic configuration of an electronic device. [Figure 18] 1 illustrates a computer-implemented method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an electronic device with a user-worn device according to a first embodiment.

[0020] 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, 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.

[0021] The 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 multiple magnetometers MA1-MA6 contained within the housing 12 of the electronic device 10.

[0022] 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.

[0023] The electronic device 10 typically includes a tablet-shaped rectangular envelope that rests on an interaction surface 210. The electronic device 10 shown in FIG. 1 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 typically includes a first surface 14 that faces the user during use. The housing also includes a second surface 16 on the user's left-hand side. 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. 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. The first to fourth surfaces are covered by a surface that includes, for example, a touchpad 30. During use, the surface that includes the touchpad 30 functions, for example, to support the user's wrist.

[0024] 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.

[0025] 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.

[0026] 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.

[0027] 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 fifth plurality of magnetometers MA5 spatially correlated with touchpad 30 can improve resolution in the 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 the sensing volume in front of display 11.

[0028] 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.

[0029] 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.

[0030] 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.

[0031] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a system for controlling the presentation of a user-worn device.

[0032] 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.

[0033] 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 precise location, sensitivity, and offset of each magnetometer's measurement axis 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 system of the multiple magnetometers 300 is 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.

[0034] 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.

[0035] 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 reference 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.

[0036] 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 M1-M3 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.

[0037] 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.

[0038] 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.

[0039] 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.

[0040] 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.

[0041] 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.

[0042] 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.

[0043] 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.

[0044] 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.

[0045] 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.

[0046] The magnetic moment vector 120 and / or the absolute position vector may be determined based on a measurement model and an estimation filter, such as an implementation of 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 may be constructed from physical equations of electromagnetics, more specifically, magnetostatics. To establish this model, the at least one magnetic object 110 may be approximated by a magnetic dipole. Each magnetometer among the plurality of magnetometers 300 may be a vector magnetometer and may be configured to measure magnetic fields in one, two, or three dimensions.

[0047] 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.

[0048] 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.

[0049] 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.

[0050] 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.

[0051] 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.

[0052] According to a first aspect, there is provided an electronic device 10, 800 configured to obtain a user interaction from a user-worn device 100, comprising at least one magnetic object 110, the electronic device 10, 800 comprising: an enclosure 12 including a plurality of surfaces 14, 16, 18, 20 defining mounting areas for a plurality of components, the spatial extent of the enclosure 12 being characterized by a set of orthogonal dimensions including a length L, a width W, and a height H; a first plurality of magnetometers MA1 relative to the reference frame of the housing 12, the first plurality of magnetometers MA1 being enclosed by the housing 12, The first plurality of magnetometers MA1 are arranged within a first portion 14a of the housing 12, the location of the first portion 14a being within a first outer boundary surface that shares a boundary with the first surface 14 of the housing 12 and a first inner boundary surface 14b that is parallel to the first outer boundary surface.

[0053] 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.

[0054] FIG. 1 shows schematically an electronic device 10 according to a first embodiment.

[0055] 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 containing multiple magnetometers within the housing 12 shown in FIG.

[0056] According to configuration embodiment A, a set of magnetometers MA1 is provided in the vicinity of the front wall of the housing 12.

[0057] According to configuration embodiment B, a set of magnetometers MA1 is provided adjacent to the left front corner of the housing 12.

[0058] According to configuration embodiment C, a set of magnetometers MA1 is provided adjacent to the right front corner of the housing 12.

[0059] 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.

[0060] According to configuration embodiment E, the housing comprises a first 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.

[0061] According to configuration embodiment F, the housing comprises a first 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 MA2 arranged adjacent to the right-hand side wall of the housing 12.

[0062] Configuration embodiment G is similar to option A, but emphasizes that the first plurality of magnetometers MA1 is provided close to the front wall of the housing 12, but the ends of the area containing the first plurality of magnetometers MA1 extend close to the left and right side walls of the housing 12.

[0063] Configuration embodiment H provides a first 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.

[0064] Configuration embodiment I shows that the first plurality of magnetometers MA1 can be considered as a continuous U-shape in the XY plane of the housing 12. In other words, parts of the first 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.

[0065] Configuration embodiment J shows a first and second plurality of magnetometers MA1, MA2. The first plurality of magnetometers MA1 are adjacent to the left-hand side and front walls of the housing 12. The second plurality of magnetometers MA2 are adjacent to the right-hand side and front walls of the housing 12.

[0066] 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.

[0067] Configurations K and L illustrate that the magnetometers may be provided separately at 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 a first of the plurality of 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.

[0068] 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.

[0069] Configuration embodiment P shows a variation of option F, in which the first plurality of magnetometers MA1 has a notch for accommodating the antenna portion of the electronic device 10 (in other words, the longitudinal section of the first plurality of magnetometers MA1 is constricted in the XY plane).

[0070] Configuration embodiment Q illustrates a variation of option F that further includes a plurality of magnetometers MA5 located proximate to a touchpad 30 disposed within the housing 12 of the electronic device.

[0071] Configuration embodiment R shows an electronic device 10 with a housing 12 having a plurality of magnetometers MA4 at the rear.

[0072] All of the above configuration embodiments can be combined with other embodiments disclosed throughout this specification.

[0073] According to one embodiment, the first plurality of magnetometers MA1 are proximate to the first surface 14 of the housing 12.

[0074] For example, a printed circuit board or other carrier comprising magnetometers from the first 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 from the first plurality of magnetometers MA1 is bonded to or integrally formed with the first surface 14 of the housing 12.

[0075] For example, a printed circuit board or other carrier carrying magnetometers belonging to the first plurality of magnetometers MA1 abuts, but is not bonded to, the first surface 14 of the housing 12.

[0076] For example, a printed circuit board or other carrier carrying magnetometers belonging to the first plurality of magnetometers MA1 is spaced from the first surface 14 of the 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 the other plurality of magnetometers MA2-MA6, the term "close to" refers to similar separation distances between the other plurality of magnetometers MA2-MA6 and other surfaces of the housing 12.

[0077] 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.

[0078] 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.

[0079] According to one embodiment, the height H of the housing 12 is in the range of 5 mm to 50 mm.

[0080] FIG. 5 shows a schematic plan view of a user interaction surface of an electronic device.

[0081] According to one embodiment, the magnetometers physically located in the first portion 14a include only magnetometers operably coupled to the first plurality of magnetometers MA1, and magnetometers not associated with the first plurality of magnetometers MA1 are not physically located within the first portion 14a.

[0082] 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.

[0083] 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.

[0084] 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.

[0085] According to one embodiment, the magnetometers physically located in fifth portion 22a include only magnetometers operably coupled to fifth plurality of magnetometers MA5. Magnetometers not associated with fifth plurality of magnetometers MA5 are not physically located within fifth portion 22a.

[0086] 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.

[0087] FIG. 6 shows a schematic cross-sectional side view of the electronic device shown in FIG.

[0088] FIG. 7 shows a schematic plan view of a user interaction surface of an electronic device.

[0089] FIG. 8 shows a schematic cross-sectional side view of an electronic device.

[0090] 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.

[0091] The printed circuit board (or electronic circuit assembly) comprising the first plurality of magnetometers MA1 has a length L(MA1) and a width W(MA1). The fact that the printed circuit board comprising the first plurality of magnetometers MA1 is mounted in proximity to the first wall 14 of the housing 12 is indicated using the distance epsilon (ε) shown.

[0092] 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).

[0093] 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).

[0094] 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).

[0095] The printed circuit board (or electronic circuit assembly) comprising the fifth plurality of magnetometers MA5 has a length L(MA5) and a width W(MA5).

[0096] 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.

[0097] 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.

[0098] 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.

[0099] According to one embodiment, the first portion 14a of the housing 12 comprising the first plurality of magnetometers MA1 has a cubic shape defined by a first portion length, a first portion width, and a first portion height.

[0100] 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.

[0101] 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.

[0102] 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.

[0103] According to one embodiment, the first portion 14 a extends along substantially the entire length L of the housing 12 .

[0104] According to one embodiment, the first plurality of magnetometers MA1 comprises a network of N magnetometers arranged in a matrix.

[0105] According to one embodiment, a magnetometer of the first plurality of magnetometers MA1 is mounted in a first magnetometer plane such that the angle A(MA1) enclosed by the first 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.

[0106] 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.

[0107] 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.

[0108] 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.

[0109] According to one embodiment, a second plurality of magnetometers MA2 is proximate to the second surface 16 of the housing 12.

[0110] 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.

[0111] 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.

[0112] 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.

[0113] 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.

[0114] 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.

[0115] According to one embodiment, a third plurality of magnetometers MA3 is proximate to a third surface 18 of the housing 12.

[0116] 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.

[0117] According to one embodiment, the first 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.

[0118] According to one embodiment, the first 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.

[0119] 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.

[0120] 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.

[0121] FIG. 9 shows a schematic plan view of a user interaction surface 8 of an electronic device.

[0122] FIG. 10 shows a schematic cross-sectional side view of an electronic device.

[0123] 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 fifth plurality of magnetometers (MA5) surrounded by the housing 12. The fifth plurality of magnetometers MA5 are disposed in a fifth portion 22a of the housing 12, with an upper boundary of the fifth portion 22a provided by the user interaction portion 8 and side boundaries of the fifth portion 22a spaced a corresponding plurality of distances SD1-SD4 from one or more surfaces of the housing 12.

[0124] 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.

[0125] 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 .

[0126] 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.

[0127] According to one embodiment, the fifth portion 22a has the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped.

[0128] 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.

[0129] 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 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, the second distance SD2 measured along a line on the plane of the user interaction portion 8 between the second surface 16 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 factors: 0.33, 0.25, 0.20, 0.15, 0.10, or 0.05.

[0131] According to one embodiment, a third distance SD3 measured along a line in the plane of the user interaction portion 8 between the third surface 18 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 factors: 0.33, 0.25, 0.20, 0.15, 0.10, or 0.05.

[0132] According to one embodiment, a fourth distance SD4 measured along a line in the plane of the user interaction portion 8 between the fourth surface 20 of the housing 12 and the lateral boundary of the fifth portion 22a and perpendicular thereto is greater than a distance characterized by the length of the housing 12 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 fifth 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.

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

[0136] 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.

[0137] According to one embodiment, N is 5, 16, 32, 64, 128, or 256 or greater.

[0138] According to one embodiment, the magnetometers of the first plurality of magnetometers MA1 are mounted on a first printed circuit board.

[0139] According to one embodiment, the magnetometers included in the matrix of the first plurality of magnetometers MA1 are arranged in at least two rows separated by a separation distance D extending along the longitudinal direction L(MA1) of the first plurality of magnetometers MA1.

[0140] 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.

[0141] According to one embodiment, the electronic device 10, 800: a processor 804 communicatively coupled to at least the first plurality of magnetometers; a communication interface 806 communicatively coupled to the processor 804.

[0142] 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 first plurality of magnetometers MA1.

[0143] The processor 804 is configured to perform signal processing on the plurality of signals to thereby generate coordinates characterizing the location and / or orientation of at least one user accessory comprising at least one magnet relative to at least a first magnetometer plane.

[0144] 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.

[0145] According to one embodiment, the first 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.

[0146] According to one embodiment, the first 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 fifth plurality of magnetometers MA5 are mounted on a flexible printed circuit board.

[0147] According to one embodiment, the interior of the housing 12 is divided into a first compartment 9a containing at least a first of the plurality of magnetometers MA1 and a second compartment 9b containing no magnetometers. According to one embodiment, the first compartment 9a does not contain a substantial amount of magnetic material.

[0148] Figure 11 shows a schematic representation of a variation of multiple magnetometers, which in examples may be referred to as a magnetometer cluster or magnetometer array.

[0149] 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.

[0150] 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.

[0151] FIG. 11b) shows a variant of FIG. 11a), in which the linear magnetometers MA1#2 are arranged in a single row.

[0152] 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.

[0153] 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.

[0154] Figure 11d) shows multiple magnetometers arranged in a single line on a printed circuit board.

[0155] 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.

[0156] 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.

[0157] In a particular example, touchpad 30 may have dimensions of 70 x 60 mm and include a magnetometer array with eight magnetometer sensors.

[0158] 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 the plurality of 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 the first plurality of magnetometers MA1. A second sensing volume SV2 is provided on the left-hand side of second surface 16 and is primarily monitored by the second plurality of magnetometers MA2. A third sensing volume SV3 is provided on the right-hand side of third surface 18 and is primarily monitored by the third plurality of magnetometers MA3. A fourth sensing volume SV4 is provided at the rear of electronic device 10 and is primarily monitored by the fourth plurality of 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.

[0159] 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.

[0160] 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.

[0161] 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.

[0162] 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.

[0163] 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.

[0164] 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.

[0165] 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.

[0166] 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.

[0167] Fig. 15 schematically shows 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.

[0168] Fig. 16 shows a schematic diagram of the experimental results using the layout shown in Fig. 13. For example, Fig. 16 shows the SNRs along the lines L4, L5, and L6 shown in Fig. 14.

[0169] FIG. 17 shows a schematic configuration of the electronic device.

[0170] 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.

[0171] 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.

[0172] 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.

[0173] According to a third aspect, there is provided a computer-implemented method, the method comprising: - obtaining 602 magnetic field measurements associated with at least one magnetic object and measured by a plurality of magnetometers included in the electronic device 10 according to the first aspect or an embodiment thereof; - 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.

[0174] The computer-implemented method is shown schematically in FIG.

[0175] 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.

[0176] 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.

[0177] According to one embodiment, the method comprises: generating calibration coefficients corresponding to the magnetometers in the plurality of magnetometers, which includes: - 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 being measured by a plurality of magnetometers.

[0178] According to one embodiment, the calibration coefficients include the position, orientation of the sensor, sensitivity, and offset.

[0179] 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.

[0180] According to a fifth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium comprising the computer program element of the fourth aspect.

[0181] Embodiment While the present disclosure has been described above and is defined in the appended claims, it should be understood that the present disclosure can also be defined according to the following embodiments. 1. An electronic device (10, 800) configured to obtain user interaction from a user-worn device (100), the electronic device (10, 800) comprising at least one magnetic object (110), the electronic device (10, 800) comprising: an enclosure (12) including a plurality of surfaces (14, 16, 18, 20) defining mounting areas for a plurality of components, the spatial extent of the enclosure (12) being characterized by a set of orthogonal dimensions including a length (L), a width (W), and a height (H); a first plurality of magnetometers (MA1) relative to a reference coordinate system of the housing (12), the first plurality of magnetometers (MA1) being surrounded by the housing (12), An electronic device, wherein a first plurality of magnetometers (MA1) are disposed within a first portion (14a) of a housing (12), the location of the first portion (14a) being within a first outer boundary surface that shares a boundary with a first surface (14) of the housing (12) and a first inner boundary surface (14b) that is parallel to the first outer boundary surface. 2. 2. The electronic device (10, 800) of embodiment 1, wherein 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 a 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. 3. 3. The electronic device of embodiment 2, wherein the separation distance of the first portions is less than one of 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm, 15 mm, or 20 mm. 4. An electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 1 to 3, wherein the first plurality of magnetometers (MA1) is proximate to a first surface of the housing (12). 5. An electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 1 to 4, wherein the interior of the housing (12) is divided into a first compartment (9a) containing at least a first plurality of magnetometers (MA1) and a second compartment (9b) not containing a magnetometer. 6. 6. The electronic device (10, 800) of embodiment 5, wherein the first compartment (9a) does not contain a substantial amount of magnetic material. 7. An electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 1 to 6, wherein the first portion (14a) of the housing (12) comprising the first plurality of magnetometers (MA1) has a cubic shape defined by the length of the first portion, the width of the first portion, and the height of the first portion. 8. An electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 1 to 7, wherein the first surface of the housing (12) is closest to and faces a user of the electronic device (10) during operation. 9. 9. The electronic device (10, 800) of any one of embodiments 1 to 8, wherein 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). 10. An electronic device (10, 800) as described in embodiment 9, wherein 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) that are respectively perpendicular to the first surface (14) of the housing (12). 11. An electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 1 to 10, wherein the first portion (14a) extends substantially along the entire length (L) of the housing (12) minus the thickness of the wall of the housing (12) that provides the second and third surfaces. 12. 12. The electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the first plurality of magnetometers (MA1) comprises a network of N magnetometers arranged in a matrix. 13. 13. The electronic device (10, 800) of embodiment 12, wherein N is 5, 16, 32, 64, 128, or 256 or more. 14. 14. An electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 12 or 13, wherein the magnetometers of the first plurality of magnetometers (MA1) are mounted on a first printed circuit board. 15. An electronic device (10, 800) described in any one of embodiments 12 to 14, wherein the magnetometers included in the matrix of the first plurality 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 first plurality of magnetometers (MA1), or the magnetometers included in the first plurality of magnetometers (MA1) are arranged in one row extending along the length direction (L(MA1)) of the first plurality of magnetometers (MA1). 16. 16. The electronic device (10, 800) of any one of embodiments 12 to 15, wherein a magnetometer of the first plurality of magnetometers (MA1) is attached to a magnetometer plane, and an angle A (MA1) enclosed by the first 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. 17. An electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 1 to 16, wherein the first printed circuit board has a maximum length dimension (L(MA1)) of 310 mm and a maximum width dimension (W(MA1)) of 220 mm. 18. a second plurality of magnetometers (MA2) relative to a reference coordinate system of the housing (12), the second plurality of magnetometers (MA2) being surrounded by the housing (12); An electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 1 to 17, wherein the second plurality of magnetometers (MA2) are arranged within a second portion (16a) of the housing (12), and the location of the second portion (16a) is within a second outer boundary surface (16c) that is bounded by a second surface of the housing (12) and within a second inner boundary surface (16b) that is parallel to the second outer boundary surface (16c). 19. An electronic device (10, 800) as described in embodiment 18, wherein a line perpendicular to and separating the second surface 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. 20. 20. The electronic device (10, 800) of embodiment 19, wherein the separation distance (16d) of the second portions is less than one of 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm, 15 mm, or 20 mm. 21. An electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 18 to 20, wherein the second plurality of magnetometers (MA2) is proximate to the second surface (16) of the housing (12). twenty two. 22. The electronic device (10, 800) of any one of embodiments 18 to 21, wherein a magnetometer of the second plurality of magnetometers (MA2) is attached to 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. twenty three. An electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 18 to 22, wherein the second plurality of magnetometers (MA2) comprises a network of N magnetometers arranged in a matrix, more specifically, N is greater than 5, 16, 32, 64, 128, or 256. twenty four. a third plurality of magnetometers (MA3) relative to the reference frame of the housing (12), the third plurality of magnetometers (MA3) being surrounded by the housing (12); An electronic device (10, 800) described in any one of embodiments 18 to 23, wherein the third plurality of magnetometers (MA3) are arranged within a third portion (18a) of the housing (12), and the location of the third portion (18a) is within a third outer boundary surface (18c) that borders the third surface (18) of the housing (12) and within a third inner boundary surface (18b) that is parallel to the third outer boundary surface (18c). twenty five. 25. An electronic device (10, 800) as described in embodiment 24, wherein a 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 a 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. 26. 26. The electronic device (10, 800) of embodiment 25, wherein the separation distance (18d) of the third portions is less than one of 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm, 15 mm, or 20 mm. 27. An electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 24-25, wherein the third plurality of magnetometers (MA3) is proximate to the third surface (18) of the housing (12). 28. 28. The electronic device (10, 800) of any one of embodiments 24 to 27, wherein a magnetometer of the third plurality of magnetometers (MA3) is attached to 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. 29. An electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 18 to 28, wherein the first plurality of magnetometers (MA1) and the second plurality of magnetometers (MA2) are mounted on a single member or a single printed circuit board in proximity to corners of the second surface (16) and the first surface (14) of the housing (12). 30. An electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 18 to 29, wherein the first plurality of magnetometers (MA1) and the third plurality of magnetometers (MA3) are mounted on a single member or a single printed circuit board in proximity to corners of the third surface (18) and the first surface (14) of the housing (12). 31. a fourth plurality of magnetometers (MA4) relative to the reference frame of the housing (12), the fourth plurality of magnetometers (MA4) being surrounded by the housing (12); An electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 24 to 30, wherein the fourth plurality of magnetometers (MA4) are arranged within a fourth portion (20a) of the housing (12), and the location of the fourth portion (20a) is within a fourth outer boundary surface (20c) that is bounded by the fourth surface (20) of the housing (12) and within a fourth inner boundary surface (20b) that is parallel to the fourth outer boundary surface. 32. An electronic device (10, 800) as described in embodiment 31, wherein the fourth surface (20) of the housing (12) is furthest from a user of the electronic device (10, 800) and faces away from the user during operation. 33. a housing (12) having at least a user interaction portion (8) on a user interaction surface at a reference height above a base of the housing (12); a fifth plurality of magnetometers (MA5) enclosed by a housing (12); An electronic device (10, 800) described in any one of embodiments 1 to 32, wherein the fifth plurality of magnetometers (MA5) are arranged in a fifth portion (22a) of the housing (12), the upper boundary of the fifth portion (22a) is provided by the user interaction portion (8), and the side boundaries of the fifth portion (22a) are separated from one or more surfaces of the housing (12) by a corresponding plurality of distances (SD1 to SD4). 34. Electronic devices (10,800) -further comprising a touchpad (30); 34. An electronic device (10, 800) as described in embodiment 33, wherein a portion of the touchpad (31) is arranged parallel to or substantially coplanar with the user interaction portion (8). 35. An electronic device (10, 800) as described in embodiment 33 or 34, wherein the lateral boundary of the fifth portion (22a) is parallel to or substantially aligned with the lateral extent of the touchpad (30). 36. An electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 33 to 35, wherein the lower boundary (22b) of the fifth portion (22a) is the base of the housing (12) or a horizontal plane at a predetermined distance below the user interaction portion in the height (H) direction. 37. The electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 33 to 36, wherein the fifth portion (22a) has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. 38. An electronic device (10, 800) described in any one of embodiments 33 to 37, wherein the fifth portion (22a) is positioned so that the center of gravity of the fifth portion (22a) is on a line that vertically bisects the user interaction portion in the width direction and / or length direction of the housing (12). 39. An electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 33 to 38, wherein a first distance (SD1) measured along a line on the plane of the user interaction portion (8) between the first surface (14) of the housing (12) and the lateral boundary of the fifth portion and perpendicular thereto is greater than a distance characterized by the width (W) of the housing (12) multiplied by one of the following coefficients: 0.8, 0.7, 0.6, 0.5, 0.33, 0.25, 0.20, 0.15, 0.10, or 0.05. 40. An electronic device (10, 800) as described in embodiment 39, wherein a second distance (SD2) measured along a line on the plane of the user interaction portion (8) between the second surface (16) 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: 0.8, 0.7, 0.6, 0.5, 0.33, 0.25, 0.20, 0.15, 0.10, or 0.05. 41. An electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 33 to 40, wherein a third distance (SD3) measured along a line on the plane of the user interaction portion (8) between the third surface (18) 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: 0.8, 0.7, 0.6, 0.5, 0.33, 0.25, 0.20, 0.15, 0.10, or 0.05. 42. An electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 33 to 41, wherein a fourth distance (SD4) measured along a line in the plane of the user interaction portion (8) between the fourth surface (20) of the housing (12) and the lateral boundary of the fifth portion (22a) and perpendicular thereto 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. 43. An electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 33 to 42, wherein a fifth plurality of magnetometers (MA5) are mounted along a line defined by at least a portion of the lateral boundary of the fifth portion (22a). 44. An electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 1 to 43, wherein one or more of the first to fifth plurality of magnetometers are mounted within respective magnetometer mounting regions on a corresponding 2D planar member. 45. An electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 33 to 44, wherein a first subset of the fifth plurality of magnetometers (MA5) is mounted at a different height (H) of the housing (12) within the fifth portion (22a) relative to a second subset of the fifth plurality of magnetometers (MA5). 46. The electronic device (10, 800) of any one of embodiments 1 to 45, wherein 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. 47. The electronic device (10, 800) of embodiment 46, wherein the magnetometers included in the first to fifth plurality of magnetometers are not mounted within or around the laptop display (11). 48. 48. An electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 1 to 47, wherein the first surface of the housing (12) is closest to and faces a user of the electronic device (10, 800) during operation. 49. 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; and / or 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; and / or The electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 1 to 48, wherein the height (H) of the housing (12) is in the range of 5 mm to 50 mm. 50. a processor (804) communicatively coupled to at least the first plurality of magnetometers; a communication interface (806) communicatively coupled to the processor (804); 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 first plurality of magnetometers (MA1); a processor (804) configured to perform signal processing on the plurality of signals to generate a location characterizing a position and / or orientation of the at least one user-worn device comprising the at least one magnet relative to a reference coordinate system, more particularly relative to at least a first magnetometer plane; and An electronic device (10, 800) described in any one of embodiments 1 to 49, wherein the processor (804) is configured to transmit a location characterizing the position and / or attitude of at least one user-worn device via the communication interface (806). 51. An electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 1 to 50, wherein the first plurality of magnetometers (MA1), the second plurality of magnetometers (MA2), and the third plurality of magnetometers (MA3) are mounted on an integral member or an integral printed circuit board, or the integral printed circuit board comprises at least two sets of the plurality of magnetometers. 52. An electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 1 to 51, wherein the first 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 fifth plurality of magnetometers (MA5) are mounted on a flexible printed circuit board. 53. A system (1) comprising: an electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of embodiments 1 to 52; - at least one user-worn device (100) comprising at least one magnetic object (110) and / or magnetic field generator, The system, wherein the electronic device (10) is configured to obtain magnetic field measurements associated with the user-worn device (100), determine the location of the user-worn device relative to a reference coordinate system, and communicate the location of the user-worn device (100). 54. The system of embodiment 53, wherein the user-worn device (100) is one of a stylus, a ring, a computer mouse including a scroll wheel in particular, a dial, or a toy including at least one magnetic object (110). 55. A computer-implemented method (600) comprising: In an electronic device (10) according to any one of embodiments 1 to 52, obtaining (602) 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). 56. - The computer-implemented method of embodiment 56, further comprising: moving a displayed cursor in a display (11) displayed by the electronic device (10) based on the user-mounted location communicated to the device driver. 57. generating calibration coefficients corresponding to the magnetometers in the plurality of magnetometers, which includes: positioning at least one known magnet at a known distance from a plurality of magnetometers, obtaining a corresponding set of magnetic field measurements using the magnetometers, and comparing the magnetic field measurements to an expected set of magnetic field measurements; and - A computer-implemented method (600) described in any one of embodiments 55 or 56, performed by applying a calibration coefficient to magnetic field measurements associated with at least one magnetic object and obtained after being measured by multiple magnetometers. 58. A computer program element comprising machine-readable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method steps described in embodiments 55 to 57. 59. A computer-readable medium comprising the computer program element of embodiment 58. [Explanation of symbols]

[0182] 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 Part 14b First inner boundary surface 14c First outer boundary surface 14d First part separation distance MA1-MA5: 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, 800) configured to obtain a user interaction from a user-worn device (100), the user-worn device (100) comprising at least one magnetic object (110), the electronic device (10, 800) comprising: an enclosure (12) including a plurality of surfaces (14, 16, 18, 20) defining mounting areas for a plurality of components, the spatial extent of said enclosure (12) being characterized by a set of orthogonal dimensions including a length (L), a width (W) and a height (H); a first plurality of magnetometers (MA1) relative to the reference frame of said housing (12), said first plurality of magnetometers (MA1) being surrounded by said housing (12); The electronic device (10, 800) has the first plurality of magnetometers (MA1) disposed within a first portion (14a) of the housing (12), the location of the first portion (14a) being within a first outer boundary surface that shares a boundary with a first surface (14) of the housing (12) and a first inner boundary surface (14b) that is parallel to the first outer boundary surface.

2. 2. The electronic device (10, 800) of claim 1, wherein 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 a 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.

3. 3. The electronic device (10, 800) of claim 2, wherein the separation distance (14d) of the first portions is less than one of 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm, 15 mm, or 20 mm.

4. The electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the interior of the housing (12) is divided into a first compartment (9a) containing at least the first plurality of magnetometers (MA1) and a second compartment (9b) not containing any magnetometers.

5. 5. The electronic device (10, 800) of claim 4, wherein the first section (9a) does not contain a substantial amount of magnetic material.

6. The electronic device (10, 800) of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first portion (14a) of the housing (12) has a length that exceeds 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).

7. The electronic device (10, 800) of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first plurality of magnetometers (MA1) comprises a network of N magnetometers arranged in a matrix, preferably N being 5, 16, 32, 64, 128, or 256 or more.

8. a second plurality of magnetometers (MA2) relative to a reference coordinate system of the housing (12), the second plurality of magnetometers (MA2) being surrounded by the housing (12); The electronic device (10, 800) of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the second plurality of magnetometers (MA2) are arranged within a second portion (16a) of the housing (12), and the location of the second portion is within a second outer boundary surface (16c) that borders a second surface of the housing (12) and within a second inner boundary surface (16b) that is parallel to the second outer boundary surface (16c).

9. a third plurality of magnetometers (MA3) relative to the reference frame of said housing (12), said third plurality of magnetometers (MA3) being surrounded by said housing (12); The electronic device (10, 800) of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the third plurality of magnetometers (MA3) are arranged within a third portion of the housing (12), the location of the third portion being within a third outer boundary surface (18c) that borders on a third surface (18) of the housing (12) and within a third inner boundary surface (18b) that is parallel to the third outer boundary surface (18c).

10. a fourth plurality of magnetometers (MA4) relative to the reference frame of said housing (12), said fourth plurality of magnetometers (MA4) being surrounded by said housing (12); The electronic device (10, 800) of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the fourth plurality of magnetometers (MA4) are arranged within a fourth portion of the housing (12), the location of the fourth portion being within a fourth outer boundary surface (20c) that borders on a fourth surface (20) of the housing (12) and within a fourth inner boundary surface (20b) that is parallel to the fourth outer boundary surface.

11. The electronic device (10, 800) of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein 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.

12. a processor (804) communicatively coupled to at least the first plurality of magnetometers; a communication interface (806) communicatively coupled to said processor (804); the processor (804) is configured to acquire, via the communication interface, a plurality of measurements related to at least one magnetic object measured by at least the first plurality of magnetometers (MA1); the processor (804) is configured to perform signal processing on the plurality of signals to generate coordinates characterizing a location and / or orientation of at least one user accessory comprising at least one magnet relative to at least a first magnetometer plane; and The electronic device (10, 800) of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the processor (804) is configured to transmit, via the communication interface (806), the coordinates characterizing the location and / or attitude of at least one user accessory.

13. A system (1), - an electronic device (10, 800) according to any one of claims 1 to 12, - 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 acquire magnetic field measurements associated with the user-worn device (100), determine the location of the user-worn device relative to a reference coordinate system, and communicate the location of the user-worn device (100).

14. A computer-implemented method (600) for determining a location of a user-worn device, comprising: The electronic device (10) of any one of claims 1 to 13, comprising: acquiring (602) magnetic field measurements measured by a plurality of magnetometers associated with at least one magnetic object of the user-worn device and 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).

15. The computer-implemented method (600) of claim 14, further comprising: moving a displayed cursor in a display (11) displayed by the electronic device (10) based on the location of the user attachment communicated to the device driver.

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