Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display peripheral interface input device
Reexamination Certificate
1997-05-29
2001-07-24
Jankus, Almis R. (Department: 2674)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display peripheral interface input device
C345S157000, C345S161000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06266046
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pointing device for moving a pointer or a cursor on a display of a computer to a desired position. In particular, the present invention relates to a pointing device which produces no positioning error of the pointer even though mechanical vibration or shock is added to the pointing device after determining a designated position of the pointer, so that the pointer is moved back to the designated position after the vibration or shock is over.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, data for operating a computer or carrying out application programs of the computer are processed by operating a keyboard of the computer. Recently, a pointing device such as a mouse or a digitizer comes into existence and its usefulness has been widely approved because of convenience of performing dialog operation between an operator and the computer.
The pointing device, which will be called a separated type pointing device hereinafter, such as the mouse or the digitizer is usually applied to a desk-type computer. However, when a portable computer such as a laptop type or a notebook type computer comes into existence, the separated type pointing device becomes inconvenient of use, because, it is hard to find a space for placing the separated type pointing device around the portable computer.
Then, a new type pointing device, which will be called an attached type pointing device hereinafter, such as a track-ball type, a tilting lever (or joystick) type or a sliding head type pointing device has been developed for the portable computer.
The attached type pointing device is mechanically attached to the keyboard, and does not require a space for operating the attached type pointing device around the portable computer. The attached type pointing device is also applied to an amusement computer generally called “game machine”. In case of the amusement computer, a terminal box is usually used for remotely controlling the amusement computer. The attached type pointing device is mounted on the terminal box so that the attached type pointing device can be easily handled by anyone from a child to a man in any posture, sitting on a sofa or lying on a floor. The attached type pointing device consists of a supporting member and a manually actuating movable member, which will be simply called “movable member” hereinafter, mounted on the supporting member. The supporting member is for supporting the movable member and fixing the attached type pointing device to the keyboard or the terminal box. The movable member is provided for moving the pointer on the display by touching the movable member with a finger of the operator. The movable member can be moved freely in a limited zone. When the movable member is freed from the operator's touch, the movable member returns to a center position of the limited zone and stays there, and when the movable member is moved, the pointer is moved on the display in the same direction as the movable member at a speed proportional to a distance of the movable member moved from the center position.
In either case of the portable computer or the amusement computer, when the movable member is freed from operator's touch after the pointer has been positioned to a designated position on the display, it is desired that the pointer is fixed to the designated position and not affected by vibration or shock added to the pointing device and/or a change of a supporting posture of the pointing device against gravity.
In short, the attached type pointing device has been required to have a high return accuracy, producing no pointing error when the vibration or shock is added to the pointing device and/or the supporting posture of the pointing device is changed.
Typical pointing devices of the prior art are shown in
FIGS. 1
,
2
,
3
A,
3
B and
3
C.
FIG. 1
is a schematic side view of a joystick type pointing device (
100
) of the prior art,
FIG. 2
is a schematic side view of a sliding head type pointing device (
200
) of the prior art, and
FIGS. 3A
,
3
B and
3
C illustrate typical returning mechanisms of the prior art, applied to the movable member of the sliding head type pointing device
200
shown in FIG.
2
.
The joystick type pointing device
100
shown in
FIG. 1
is a typical attached type pointing device of the prior art applied to the amusement computer. The joystick type pointing device
100
consists of a lever (marked LEVER in the figure) (
11
), a close-coiled helical spring (SPRING) (
13
) inserted between a root of the LEVER
11
and a frame (FRAME) (
12
) on which the LEVER
11
is mounted, and a pointer coordinate detecting part (DET PART) (
14
) consisting of a light emitter (LIGHT EMITTER) (
15
) provided at a bottom tip of the LEVER
11
and a light receiver (LIGHT REC) (
16
) arranged on a printed circuit board (PCB) (
17
) located beneath the FRAME
12
directly opposite to the LIGHT EMITTER
15
. The LIGHT REC
16
consists of a plurality of light detecting elements arranged in a matrix. For example, a Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) is used for the LIGHT REC
16
. When the LEVER
11
is leaned against the force of the SPRING
13
, the shaft of the LEVER
11
inclines, so that a direction of light radiated from the LIGHT EMITTER
15
is changed. Then, the light radiated from the LIGHT EMITTER
15
comes into designated light detecting elements. As a result, the designated light detecting elements produce electrical signals having information on a direction and a moving speed of the pointer.
However, when the joystick type pointing device is applied to the terminal box, there have been problems as follows.
1) Because of that the joystick type pointing device cannot be made small in size, the size of the terminal box becomes large. As a result, the terminal box must be held by both hands, causing a problem that the terminal box is hard to be held by children.
2) When the LEVER
11
is freed from the operator's hand, a gravity center of the LEVER
11
is moved upward because of the characteristics of the SPRING
13
. Therefore, there is a problem that when a supporting posture of the terminal equipment is changed, the LEVER
11
tends to incline due to terrestrial gravitation and vibrate due to a mechanical shock given to the terminal box.
3) When the LEVER
11
having inclined is freed from the operator's hold, the LEVER
11
is going to return to a center position by the force of the SPRING
13
. However, because of the characteristics of the SPRING
13
, the LEVER
11
does not completely return to the center position, particularly when the inclination of the LEVER
11
is little. This produces a problem of decreasing the returning accuracy of the pointer, so that the pointer does not stay at the designated position and drifts inch by inch.
In order to solve the above problems, a new attached type pointing device called “sliding head type pointing device” has been developed. Regarding the sliding head type pointing device, Japanese Patent Publication 7-117876 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,504,502 are given to the same inventor Takashi Arita and others in Dec. 18, 1995 and Apr. 2, 1996 respectably.
FIG. 2
is a cross-sectional side view of the sliding head type pointing device
200
of the prior art. The sliding head type pointing device
200
consists of a sliding head (SLIDING HEAD) (
21
) as the movable member and a housing (HOUSING) (
22
) as the supporting member.
The SLIDING HEAD
21
has a round domed configuration consisting of a domed rubber part (RUBBER) (
23
) and a domed slider (SLIDER) (
24
) provided on an inner surface of the RUBBER
23
. At a center of the RUBBER
23
, there is an inward depressed portion into which a finger tip is inserted for sliding the SLIDING HEAD
21
on the HOUSING
22
. At the inward depressed portion, there is a magnet holding part (
25
) in which a permanent magnet (MAGNET) (
26
) is buried so as to be placed at the center of the SLIDING HEAD
21
. The SLIDING HEAD
21
is set on the HOUSING
22
so that the MAGNET
26
is broug
Fujitsu Takamisawa Component Ltd.
Jankus Almis R.
Staas & Halsey , LLP
Tran Henry N.
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