Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display peripheral interface input device – Cursor mark position control device
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-20
2001-12-04
Wu, Xiao (Department: 2778)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display peripheral interface input device
Cursor mark position control device
C345S164000, C345S165000, C345S156000, C345S157000, C345S173000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06326950
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pointing device, and more particularly, to a pointing device using two linear sensors and fingerprints to generate displacement signals.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A pointing device such as a mouse is used to generate pointing signals to control movements of a cursor on a display device. A prior art pointing device commonly comprises two or three buttons installed in its housing to input button signals. The pointing device is commonly used to scroll a window in the display device. The scrolling of the window in the display device can be performed by moving a scroll square of a scroll bar on the window to another position. This is done by using the pointing device to move the cursor to the scroll square and then depressing one of the buttons on the pointing device. This action grabs the scroll square, permitting it be moved along the direction of the scroll bar by moving the cursor. The direction in which the scroll square moves indicates the direction in which the window will be scrolled: left, right, up or down.
Please refer to FIG.
1
and FIG.
2
.
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of a prior art pointing device
10
.
FIG. 2
is a functional block diagram of the point device
10
. The mouse
10
is electrically connected to a computer system
20
, and the computer system
20
is electrically connected to a display device
22
. The mouse
10
comprises a housing
12
, two buttons
14
positioned on an upper side of the housing
12
to input button signals, and a roller ball (not shown) installed on a bottom side of the housing
12
for controlling movements of a cursor on the display device
22
.
The computer system
20
comprises a memory
24
for storing programs and data, a processor
26
for executing the programs stored in the memory
24
, a button control program
28
stored in the memory
24
for receiving and processing the button signals generated by the buttons
14
, and a display control program
30
(such as Microsoft Word) stored in the memory
24
which controls the scrolling of a window
32
displayed on the display device
22
according to the button signals.
Many users find the action of scrolling a window inconvenient as it requires fine positioning of the pointing device and button manipulation to grab the scroll square. This action also involves changing the position of the cursor, which can cause inconvenience if the cursor must afterwards be returned to another location on the display device, or is moved from a preferred position.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a primary objective of the present invention to provide a pointing device using two linear sensors and fingerprints to generate displacement signals to solve the above mentioned problems.
In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a pointing device comprising:
a housing;
a linear image input device having first and second linear sensors parallel to each other and installed in the top of the housing for sensing a linear image and generating corresponding first and second linear image signals; and
an image processing circuit installed inside the housing and connected to the two linear sensors for receiving and processing the first and second linear image signals generated by the two linear sensors;
wherein when a picture passes by the image input device along a predetermined direction, each of the first and second linear sensors will generate a series of linear image signals, and the image processing circuit will record the two series of the linear image signals respectively, calculate the displacement of the picture according to the two series of linear image signals and generate a displacement signal according to the two series of linear image signals.
It is an advantage of the present invention that the pointing device can generate displacement signals by using two linear sensors and fingerprints. These displacement signals can be used as scrolling information. This greatly simplifies the task of scrolling a window and also eliminates the need to change the position of the cursor on the display device.
These and other objectives and advantages of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after having read the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4936683 (1990-06-01), Purcell
patent: 5355146 (1994-10-01), Chiu et al.
patent: 5644126 (1997-07-01), Ogawa
patent: 5909209 (1999-06-01), Dickinson
Hsu Winston
Lesperance Jean
Primax Electronics Ltd.
Wu Xiao
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