Method of operating an optical mouse

1. A method of tracking movement of a hand operated pointing device for use with a computer, comprising:

providing a source of non-coherent light, in a movable housing, for illuminating a work surface; and

providing circuitry in the movable housing for—

producing a plurality of two dimensional arrays of data related to light reflected by surface irregularities on the illuminated work surface,

processing at least a portion of a first array of the plurality of arrays with at least a portion of a second array of the plurality of arrays to track movement of the housing relative to the illuminated work surface, and

deriving a prediction of a subsequent movement of the movable housing.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein providing a source of non-coherent light further comprises:

illuminating the work surface at an angle of incidence low enough to produce arrays of data in the plurality of arrays of data suitable for tracking movement of the movable housing with respect to the illuminated work surface from highlights and shadows of the surface irregularities.

3. The invention of claim 1 or 2 wherein providing circuitry further comprises: providing circuitry for—

determining the validity of the tracked movement, and providing a signal to a computer related to the tracked movement unless the tracked movement is determined not to be a valid movement.

4. The invention of claim 1 wherein providing circuitry further comprises: providing circuitry for—

selecting a different portion of the first array in accordance with the prediction for processing with at least a portion of a third array to track the subsequent movement.

5. The invention of claim 4 wherein providing circuitry further comprises: providing circuitry for—

determining validity of a movement to be tracked in accordance with the prediction, and processing at least a portion of a fourth array with at least a portion of a fifth array to track subsequent movement of the housing relative to the illuminated work surface if the prediction is not valid.

6. The invention of claim 5 wherein providing circuitry further comprises: providing circuitry for—

deriving a second prediction of further movement of the movable housing, and selecting a different portion of the fourth array in accordance with the second Prediction for processing with at least a portion of a sixth array to track the further movement.

7. The invention of claim 6 wherein providing circuitry further comprises:

providing circuitry for processing at least a portion of a seventh array with at least a portion of an eighth array to track further movement if the previously tracked movement is determined to not be a valid movement.

8. A method of tracking movement of a hand operated pointing device for use with a computer, comprising:

providing a source of non-coherent light in a movable housing for illuminating a work surface at a low angle of incidence to illuminate surface irregularities thereon; and

providing circuitry in the movable housing for—

producing a plurality of two dimensional arrays of data related to light reflected by surface irregularities on the illuminated work surface,

processing at least a portion of a first array of the plurality of arrays with at least a portion of a second array of the plurality of arrays to derive a predicted further movement of the housing relative to the illuminated work surface, and

comparing the at least a portion of the first array with the at least a portion of the second array to track the movement of the housing if the predicted further movement is determined to be a valid movement.

9. The invention of claim 8 wherein providing circuitry further comprises: providing circuitry for—

predicting a second movement in accordance with the first movement, and

selecting a different portion of the first array, in accordance with the prediction of the second movement, for comparison with a third array to track the second movement.

10. The invention of claim 8 wherein providing circuitry further comprises: providing circuitry for—

predicting a second movement in accordance with the first movement, and

comparing a portion of a fourth array with a portion of a fifth array to track further movement if the predicted movement is not a valid movement.

11. The invention of claims 8 , 9 , or 10 wherein providing circuitry further comprises: providing circuitry for

determining if a tracked movement is valid and

for sending a signal to the computer related to the tracked movement unless the tracked movement is determined not to be valid.

12. The invention of claim 11 wherein providing circuitry further comprises:

providing circuitry for inhibiting the sending of the signal to the computer if the tracked movement is determined not to be valid.

13. The invention of claim 11 wherein providing circuitry further comprises:

providing circuitry for sending a different signal to the computer if the tracked movement is determined not to be valid.

14. A method of tracking movement of a hand operated pointing device for use with a computer, comprising:

providing a source of non-coherent light in a movable housing for illuminating surface irregularities on a work surface at a low angle of incidence; and

providing circuitry in the movable housing for—

producing a plurality of two dimensional arrays of data related to light reflected by surface irregularities on the illuminated work surface,

processing at least a portion of a first array of the plurality of arrays with at least a portion of a second array to track farther movement of the housing relative to the illuminated work surface,

selecting a different portion of the first array with at least a portion of a third array to track further movement of the housing, and

selecting the different portion of the first array in accordance with a prediction of a subsequent movement of the housing.

15. The invention of claim 14 wherein providing circuitry further comprises: providing circuitry for—

processing the selected different portion of the first array with the at least a portion of the third array to track further movement of the housing, and

providing a signal to a computer related to the further movement of the housing unless the further movement is determined to not be valid.

16. The inventions of claims 1 , 8 , or 14 wherein each of the plurality of arrays is formed of data elements, each data element representing light reflected from a different portion of the work surface, and wherein providing circuitry further comprises: providing circuitry for

determining the relative uniformity of the data elements of the first array before processing to track movement, and

processing at least a portion of the second array with at least a portion of another array if at least the majority of the data elements of the first array are uniform or nearly uniform.

17. A method of tracking movement of a hand operated pointing device for use with a computer, comprising:

providing a source of non-coherent light in a movable housing for illuminating surface irregularities on a work surface at a low angle of incidence; and

providing circuitry in the movable housing for—

producing a plurality of two dimensional arrays of data related to light reflected by the surface irregularities on the illuminated work surface,

determining validity of the tracked movement, and

sending a signal to a computer related to the tracked movement unless the tracked movement is determined not to be valid,

wherein each of the plurality of arrays is formed of data elements, each data element representing light reflected from a different portion of the work surface, and wherein providing circuitry further comprises: providing circuitry for—

determining the relative uniformity of the data elements of the first array before processing to track movement, and

processing at least a portion of the second array with at least a portion of another array if at least the majority of the data elements of the first array are uniform or nearly uniform.

18. The inventions of claims 1 , 8 , 14 or 17 wherein the portions of the arrays are processed by correlation to form an array of correlation products to track movement and wherein providing circuitry further comprises:

providing circuitry for—

analyzing a characteristic of the array of the correlation products to determine validity of the movement tracked thereby, and

providing a signal to a computer related to tracked movement unless the movement is determined not to be valid.

19. The inventions of claims 1 , 8 , 14 or 17 wherein providing circuitry further comprises:

providing circuitry for

predicting validity of the tracked movement by comparison with a predetermined value, and

providing a signal to a computer related to tracked movement unless the movement is determined to not be valid.

20. The invention of claim 19 wherein the predetermined value is related to valid motions of the housing.

21. The invention of claim 19 , wherein providing circuitry further comprises: providing circuitry for—

processing at least portions of two other arrays to track movement if the different portion of the first array to be selected in accordance with the predicted movement indicates that the movement tracked may be not be valid.

22. The inventions of claims 1 , 8 , 14 or 17 wherein providing circuitry further comprises:

providing circuitry for—

predicting movement of the housing to select a different portion of the first array for processing with at least a portion of another array to track subsequent movement unless the predicted movement is not valid.

23. The inventions of claims 1 , 8 , 14 or 17 wherein providing a source of non-coherent light further comprises:

illuminating the work surface at an angled of incidence between about 5° and about 20 °.

24. A method of tracking movement of a hand operated pointing device for use with a computer, comprising:

providing a source of non-coherent light, in a movable housing, for illuminating a work surface; and

providing circuitry in the movable housing for—

producing a plurality of two dimensional arrays of data related to light reflected by surface irregularities on the illuminated work surface, and

processing at least a portion of a first array of the plurality of arrays with at least a portion of a second array of the plurality of arrays to track movement of the housing relative to the illuminated work surface,

wherein each of the plurality of arrays is formed of data elements, each data element representing light reflected from a different portion of the work surface, and wherein providing circuitry further comprises:

providing circuitry for—

determining the relative uniformity of the data elements of the first array before processing to track movement, and

processing at least a portion of the second array with at least a portion of another array if at least the majority of the data elements of the first array are uniform or nearly uniform.

25. A method of tracking movement of a hand operated pointing device for use with a computer, comprising:

providing a source of non-coherent light, in a movable housing, for illuminating a work surface; and

providing circuitry in the movable housing for—

producing a plurality of two dimensional arrays of data related to light reflected by surface irregularities on the illuminated work surface,

processing at least a portion of a first array of the plurality of arrays with at least a portion of a second array of the plurality of arrays to track movement of the housing relative to the illuminated work surface,

predicting validity of the tracked movement by comparison with a predetermined value, and

providing a signal to a computer related to tracked movement unless the movement is determined to not be valid.

26. A method of tracking movement of a hand operated pointing device for use with a computer, comprising:

providing a source of non-coherent light, in a movable housing, for illuminating a work surface; and

providing circuitry in the movable housing for—

producing a plurality of two dimensional arrays of data related to light reflected by surface irregularities on the illuminated work surface,

processing at least a portion of a first array of the plurality of arrays with at least a portion of a second array of the plurality of arrays to track movement of the housing relative to the illuminated work surface,

predicting movement of the housing to select a different portion of the first array for processing with at least a portion of another array to track subsequent movement unless the predicted movement is not valid.

27. A method of tracking movement of a hand operated pointing device for use with a computer, comprising:

providing a source of non-coherent light in a movable housing for illuminating a work surface at a low angle of incidence to illuminate surface irregularities thereon; and

providing circuitry in the movable housing for—

producing a plurality of two dimensional arrays of data related to light reflected by surface irregularities on the illuminated work surface, and

processing at least a portion of a first array of the plurality of arrays with at least a portion of a second array of the plurality of arrays to predict further movement of the housing relative to the illuminated work surface,

wherein each of the plurality of arrays is formed of data elements, each data element representing light reflected from a different portion of the work surface, and wherein providing circuitry further comprises: providing circuitry for—

determining the relative uniformity of the data elements of the first array before processing to track movement, and

processing at least a portion of the second array with at least a portion of another array if at least the majority of the data elements of the first array are uniform or nearly uniform.

28. A method of tracking movement of a hand operated pointing device for use with a computer, comprising:

providing a source of non-coherent light in a movable housing for illuminating a work surface at a low angle of incidence to illuminate surface irregularities thereon; and

providing circuitry in the movable housing for—

producing a plurality of two dimensional arrays of data related to light reflected by surface irregularities on the illuminated work surface,

processing at least a portion of a first array of the plurality of arrays with at least a portion of a second array of the plurality of arrays to predict further movement of the housing relative to the illuminated work surface,

predicting validity of the tracked movement by comparison with a predetermined value, and

providing a signal to a computer related to tracked movement unless the movement is determined to not be valid.

29. A method of tracking movement of a hand operated pointing device for use with a computer, comprising:

providing a source of non-coherent light in a movable housing for illuminating a work surface at a low angle of incidence to illuminate surface irregularities thereon; and

providing circuitry in the movable housing for—

producing a plurality of two dimensional arrays of data related to light reflected by surface irregularities on the illuminated work surface, and

processing at least a portion of a first array of the plurality of arrays with at least a portion of a second array of the plurality of arrays to predict further movement of the housing relative to the illuminated work surface,

predicting movement of the housing to select a different portion of the first array for processing with at least a portion of another array to track subsequent movement unless the predicted movement is not valid.

30. A method of tracking movement of a hand operated pointing device for use with a computer, comprising:

providing a source of non-coherent light in a movable housing for illuminating surface irregularities on a work surface at a low angle of incidence; and

providing circuitry in the movable housing for—

producing a plurality of two dimensional arrays of data related to light reflected by surface irregularities on the illuminated work surface,

processing at least a portion of a first array of the plurality of arrays with at least a portion of a second array to track farther movement of the housing relative to the illuminated work surface, and

selecting a different portion of the first array with at least a portion of a third array to track further movement of the housing,

wherein each of the plurality of arrays is formed of data elements, each data element representing light reflected from a different portion of the work surface, and wherein providing circuitry further comprises:

providing circuitry for—

determining the relative uniformity of the data elements of the first array before processing to track movement, and

processing at least a portion of the second array with at least a portion of another array if at least the majority of the data elements of the first array are uniform or nearly uniform.

31. A method of tracking movement of a hand operated pointing device for use with a computer, comprising:

providing a source of non-coherent light in a movable housing for illuminating surface irregularities on a work surface at a low angle of incidence; and

providing circuitry in the movable housing for—

producing a plurality of two dimensional arrays of data related to light reflected by surface irregularities on the illuminated work surface,

processing at least a portion of a first array of the plurality of arrays with at least a portion of a second array to track farther movement of the housing relative to the illuminated work surface,

selecting a different portion of the first array with at least a portion of a third array to track further movement of the housing,

predicting validity of the tracked movement by comparison with a predetermined value, and

providing a signal to a computer related to tracked movement unless the movement is determined to not be valid.

32. A method of tracking movement of a hand operated pointing device for use with a computer, comprising:

providing a source of non-coherent light in a movable housing for illuminating surface irregularities on a work surface at a low angle of incidence; and

providing circuitry in the movable housing for—

producing a plurality of two dimensional arrays of data related to light reflected by surface irregularities on the illuminated work surface,

processing at least a portion of a first array of the plurality of arrays with at least a portion of a second array to track further movement of the housing relative to the illuminated work surface,

selecting a different portion of the first array with at least a portion of a third array to track further movement of the housing, and

predicting movement of the housing to select a different portion of the first array for processing with at least a portion of another array to track subsequent movement unless the predicted movement is not valid.

33. A method of tracking movement of a hand operated pointing device for use with a computer, comprising:

providing a source of non-coherent light in a movable housing for illuminating surface irregularities on a work surface at a low angle of incidence; and

providing circuitry in the movable housing for—

producing a plurality of two dimensional arrays of data related to light reflected by the surface irregularities on the illuminated work surface,

determining validity of the tracked movement,

sending a signal to a computer related to the tracked movement unless the tracked movement is determined not to be valid,

predicting validity of the tracked movement by comparison with a predetermined value, and

providing a signal to a computer related to tracked movement unless the movement is determined to not be valid.

34. A method of tracking movement of a hand operated pointing device for use with a computer, comprising:

providing a source of non-coherent light in a movable housing for illuminating surface irregularities on a work surface at a low angle of incidence; and

providing circuitry in the movable housing for—

producing a plurality of two dimensional arrays of data related to light reflected by the surface irregularities on the illuminated work surface,

determining validity of the tracked movement,

sending a signal to a computer related to the tracked movement unless the tracked movement is determined not to be valid,

predicting movement of the housing to select a different portion of the first array for processing with at least a portion of another array to track subsequent movement unless the predicted movement is not valid.