Alps Electric Co., Ltd.

Masahiro Tanaka

Junichi Saito

Yuichi Umeda

Masatoshi Uchio

Tomomitsu Muta

Ichiro Morishita

Masaru Nakayama

Arao Sato

Yuichi Yasuda

Kazuhiro Katagiri

A remote coordinate designating device has a remote control with a light emitting device for emitting light, and a controller for detecting a designated position by receiving light from the remote control at a distance from the remote control. One cycle of a light signal from the light emitting device is composed of switch data and a coordinate detection timing header at the head, and a coordinate detection carrier. The switch data and the coordinate detection timing header use the same frequency as the normal remote control frequency band, and the frequency of the coordinate detection carrier is lower than the frequency of the switch data and the coordinate detection timing header. The switch data contains on-off information about a switch for pointing, and coordinate detection is started when a predetermined time has passed from the rise of a burst portion in the switch data.

Remote coordinate designating device

According to the present invention there is provided a space coordinates detecting device wherein a detecting section for detecting light emitted from a light source is provided, thereby permitting detection of a relative angle between a light emitting sections and the detecting section and hence permitting application of the detecting device to an input apparatus. The detecting section is provided with a light sensing element 23 having quartered light sensing portions. In the light emitting section, distinguishable lights are emitted from two light sources. The lights thus emitted are throttled through apertures and applied as separate square light spots S16 and S17 to the light-sensitive surface of the light sensing element 23. By calculating a difference in the detected output among the quartered light sensing portions, it is possible to determine the center I1 of the square light spot S16 and the center I2 of the square light spot S17. A relative rotational angle of the light emitting section and the detecting section with respect to Z axis can be determined by calculating an inclination angle .alpha. on X-Y orthogonal coordinates of a line x connecting both centers I1 and I2.

Space coordinates detecting device and input apparatus using same

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Iwaki, Japan

Masahiro Tanaka