Optical-mechanical roller with ratchet

Details Optical-mechanical roller with ratchet Optical-mechanical roller with ratchet

2000-12-01

2002-08-06

Hjerpe, Richard (Department: 2674)

Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system

Display peripheral interface input device

Cursor mark position control device

C345S165000, C345S166000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06429848

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to computer mice or track balls, and in particular to those including a roller.
In one type of computer mouse, a ball protrudes from the bottom of the mouse housing, and rolls across a supporting surface. The movement of the ball is typically detected by shafts which are in contact with the ball and turn an encoder wheel having a number of slots. An LED is on one side of the encoder wheel, and a detector on the other, so that the turning of a encoder wheel, corresponding to the movement of the ball in one direction, can be detected by the intensity of light when it shines through a slot, and is subsequently blocked between slots. Track balls will have a ball mounted on the top with the housing being stationary, but similarly operate with two encoder wheels at 90° angles to detect X and Y movement. optical mice and trackballs have also been developed.
Such mice and track balls typically also have buttons which can be depressed or clicked by a user, and which depress a microswitch. These provide additional inputs to the computer, in addition to the position of the mouse or trackball. Some mouse designs have added a roller which can be used for such functions as scrolling or zooming. The roller is operated by a user finger much like a dial on a radio.
One roller design is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,298,919 assigned to Multipoint Technology Corporation. This has a user operable roller which has a shaft extending out from it, and an encoder wheel attached to the shaft. The encoder wheel is like the optical encoders used on the mice or trackball balls. Microsoft U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,344 shows a design similar to the Multipoint one in which a shaft from the roller is connected to a separate optical encoder wheel.
Another design is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,230 assigned to Apple Computer. This shows two finger rollers with a shaft which drives a belt which is connected to a pulley on a separate encoder. A similar pulley system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,455 assigned to Mouse Systems.
Yet another design is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,446,481 assigned to Mouse Systems. In this design, the roller has a shaft attached to a gear outside the roller, which drives an optical encoder wheel with the gear.
In addition to the rollers being turnable, a number of designs allow the roller itself to actuate a switch. In Microsoft U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,344, this is done with a roller which pivots inward under pressure from the finger, in addition to rolling about its axis. When pivoted inward, it will depress a microswitch to send an activation signal to the computer. Mouse Systems U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,455 shows a design in which the entire housing for the roller is depressed against supporting springs, and when depressed actuates an underlying microswitch,
FIG. 5
is a drawing of the mouse of the Mouse Systems patent showing the housing
92
and roller
90
.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,303 to Apple Computer shows a graphic controller with three dials, with at least one of the dials shown with an encoder ring and detectors, with the detectors being shown on either side of the dial in one drawing. However, unlike some of the designs discussed above, the dials are on a fixed axis and cannot be depressed to actuate a microswitch and provide another input signal.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a pointing device, such as a mouse, track ball or joystick, having a roller. The roller itself has either a plurality of slits or reflective strips for optical detection. A photoemitter and photodetector are positioned to detect rotation of the roller. Thus, the present invention eliminates the need for coupling to a separate optical encoder.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, the roller design provides a mechanical, ratchet feel as feedback to the user. This is done by providing an undulating or sawtooth-type surface inside the rim of the roller. A second roller is biased against this surface with a spring, so that when the larger roller rotates, it clicks from one depression to the next against the inside roller. In a preferred embodiment, the same spring both biases the roller against the inside surface, thus supporting the larger roller, and also is used to activate a microswitch when the entire roller is depressed.
For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of the invention, reference should be made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4464652 (1984-08-01), Lapson et al.
patent: 4712101 (1987-12-01), Culver
patent: 4928093 (1990-05-01), Rahman
patent: 4952919 (1990-08-01), Nippoldt
patent: 5095302 (1992-03-01), McLean et al.
patent: 5095303 (1992-03-01), Clark et al.
patent: 5132672 (1992-07-01), Clark
patent: 5161313 (1992-11-01), Rijlaarsadarm
patent: 5298919 (1994-03-01), Chang
patent: 5313229 (1994-05-01), Gilligan et al.
patent: 5313230 (1994-05-01), Venolia et al.
patent: 5374942 (1994-12-01), Gilligan et al.
patent: 5446481 (1995-08-01), Gillick et al.
patent: 5457479 (1995-10-01), Cheng
patent: 5473344 (1995-12-01), Bacon et al.
patent: 5479192 (1995-12-01), Carroll, Jr. et al.
patent: 5488392 (1996-01-01), Harris
patent: 5493314 (1996-02-01), Rowe
patent: 5530455 (1996-06-01), Gillick et al.
patent: 5557440 (1996-09-01), Hanson et al.
patent: 5694153 (1997-12-01), Aoyagi et al.
patent: 5699083 (1997-12-01), Lo
patent: 5712725 (1998-01-01), Faltermeier et al.
patent: 5717427 (1998-02-01), Lin
patent: 5771038 (1998-06-01), Wang
patent: 5790098 (1998-08-01), Lin
patent: 5808568 (1998-09-01), Wu
patent: 5828364 (1998-10-01), Siddiqui
patent: 5912661 (1999-06-01), Siddiqui
patent: 6157369 (2000-12-01), Merminod et al.
patent: 3610501 (1986-10-01), None
patent: 44 05 314 (1995-06-01), None
patent: 296 17 123 (1996-10-01), None
patent: 297 01 466 (1997-01-01), None
patent: 297 16 864 (1997-09-01), None
patent: 0531829 (1993-03-01), None
patent: 2 309 507 (1996-01-01), None
patent: 2 321 692 (1997-01-01), None
patent: 60-175137 (1985-09-01), None
patent: 63-199335 (1988-12-01), None
patent: 3-90338 (1991-09-01), None
patent: 4-186417 (1992-07-01), None
patent: 5-113852 (1993-05-01), None
patent: 5-55431 (1993-07-01), None
patent: 6-250781 (1994-09-01), None
patent: 10-149745 (1996-11-01), None
patent: 10-177831 (1996-12-01), None
patent: 3039992 (1997-01-01), None
patent: 10-326144 (1997-05-01), None
patent: 10-340158 (1997-06-01), None
patent: 3050051 (1997-12-01), None
patent: 63-216224 (1998-09-01), None
patent: 095299 (1988-01-01), None
patent: 148492 (1990-12-01), None
patent: 220410 (1991-10-01), None
patent: 210764 (1993-08-01), None
patent: 220410 (1994-02-01), None
patent: 264074 (1995-11-01), None
patent: 308680 (1996-03-01), None
patent: 278078 (1996-06-01), None
patent: 281325 (1996-07-01), None
patent: 315011 (1996-12-01), None
patent: 207518 (1997-02-01), None
patent: 316696 (1997-03-01), None

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Optical-mechanical roller with ratchet does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Optical-mechanical roller with ratchet, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Optical-mechanical roller with ratchet will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2885958