Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display peripheral interface input device – Cursor mark position control device
Patent
1998-02-11
2000-02-29
Hjerpe, Richard A.
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display peripheral interface input device
Cursor mark position control device
345160, 345162, 345163, G09G 508
Patent
active
060315210
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to improvements in pointer devices for operating computers, in computer operation processes and in apparatus comprising computers and pointer devices. It also relates to apparatus comprising computers and, in general, serial devices, and to interfaces between computers and serial devices.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A large percentage of personal computers presently produced are operated by means of pointer devices. A pointer device consists of a hardware element and a software element. The hardware element is a device which generally is movable or includes a movable component, or which comprises other means for generating a motion, and the software element comprises an index or cursor generated and controlled by a program, which index moves over the computer display or screen in response to the displacements of the movable hardware element device or of a movable component thereof or to other motion generating commands of the hardware element--hereinafter "mechanical control displacements" or, briefly, "the control displacements". Said response, however, exists only as far as the index displacements are contained within a certain field, which can be called "the pointer active field", the dimensions of which are generally determined by those of the computer display or screen or of the part thereof within which the index is visible. Thus, when the control displacements in a certain direction have brought the index to the border line of the computer display, any further displacement of the movable device or component of the hardware element in the same direction causes no further response of the index. Hereinafter, when mention is made of index (or cursor) displacements or of control displacements, it should be understood that they are displacements within the pointer active field, unless otherwise specified. Further, it should be kept in mind that only the index displacements are directly relevant to the computer functions, and, for instance, determine what operation should be carried out or where it should be carried out. Therefore, whenever mention is made of pointer displacements, it should be understood that displacements of the pointer index (or cursor) are meant, unless otherwise specified.
Many kinds of pointer devices are known in the art and the present invention applies to all, although it will be particularly described with reference to a most common pointer device, viz. to a mouse. A mouse is a device which can be displaced by sliding it over a plane surface. Each displacement causes a rolling of a sphere, mounted in the mouse, over said plane surface, and therefore a rotation of the sphere with respect to the body of the mouse, which rotation, through a mechanism provided in the mouse, measures the mouse displacements along two different coordinates, viz. X- and Y-displacements. Digital signals representing displacements are sent to the computer by means of a conductor connected to an input port of this latter. An index (or cursor), which represents the mouse, is visualized by the computer software on the computer display. It appears, when the computer is switched on, in an initial or origin position, which may be called "the mouse origin point", and subsequently moves from it, synchronously with the motions of the mouse. The positions of the mouse index are defined by Cartesian coordinates--hereinafter "X and Y mouse index coordinates", or, briefly, "X and Y mouse coordinates", and its displacements by changes in the value of those coordinates. The minimum such changes to which the computer is sensitive and which will cause an actual motion of the mouse index, as small as it may be, will be called "elementary X and Y coordinate displacements". A pair (X,Y) of elementary coordinate displacements, occurring concurrently, define an elementary vector displacement. The computer applies each elementary X and Y displacement to initial or origin coordinates X.sub.0 and Y.sub.0 of the mouse index to calculate the present or actual mouse index coordinates
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Hjerpe Richard A.
Lieberstein Eugene
Meller Michael N.
Tran Henry N.
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