Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display peripheral interface input device – Cursor mark position control device
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-15
2001-10-23
Hjerpe, Richard (Department: 2674)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display peripheral interface input device
Cursor mark position control device
C345S156000, C345S158000, C345S163000, C345S168000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06307535
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a pointing device or cursor control device such as a mouse, which controls movement of the cursor on a computer display by entering positional information into a computer.
2. Related Art
Because it is very difficult for users to interact with a computer system using a large keyboard, a mouse used as a pointing device has been developed to control the movement of the cursor on the computer display. Moreover, if the user wants to control the cursor on the display of a computer system operated in a graphic user interface, it is very inconvenient for him to enter positional information into the computer. The mouse generally comprises a small housing with two or three buttons on the top used to indicate that desired positions have been reached, and a sensor built into the underside of the housing which is rolled around on any flat surface. Its direction of movement is sensed and transmitted to the computer, which translates the movement into cursor movement on the display screen.
Conventional pointing devices suffer various drawbacks including the fact that it is very difficult to achieve a precise cursor movement, especially in drawing a straight line. This means that the conventional pointing devices are not adequate to effectively manage the entering of positional information into the computer. Furthermore, their size serves as a limitation in reducing the size of the notebook computer.
The following patents each disclose features in common with the present invention: U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,101 to Culver, entitled CONTROL MECHANISM FOR ELECTRONIC APPARATUS, U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,634 to Culver, entitled MULTIFUNCTION TACTILE MANIPULATABLE CONTROL, U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,715 to Culver, entitled CONTROL MECHANISM FOR COMPUTER KEYBOARD AND THE LIKE, U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,554 to Culver, entitled MULTIFUNCTION TACTILE MANIPULATABLE CONTROL, U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,618 to Culver, entitled MULTIFUNCTION TACTILE MANIPULATABLE CONTROL, U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,138 to Culver, entitled INTERFACE CONTROL, U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,116 to Eichholz, entitled INPUT APPARATUS FOR DESIGN WORK ON AN IMAGE-BEARING SCREEN, U.S. Pat. No. 5,563,631 TO Masunaga, entitled PORTABLE INFORMATION APPARATUS, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,644,337 to Stacy, entitled TRACKBALL HAVING SINGLE EMITTER-DETECTOR DETECTING CHOPPER WHEEL DIRECTION.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a pointing device by which the cursor movement is easily and precisely controlled.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a pointing device which may be compactly mounted in a notebook computer, thus considerably reducing its size.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a pointing device for controlling cursor movement on a computer display by entering positional information into the computer comprises: a housing having an upper opening and a lower inside base directly facing the upper opening; a cylindrical bar mounted on the lower inside base so as to rotate around and slide along its central axis in the upper opening; a plurality of first marking lines disposed around a part of the periphery of the cylindrical bar adjacent to one end thereof, the first marking lines being in parallel with the central axis and having a constant interval between adjacent marking lines, the first marking lines being extended to a given length from the one end; a plurality of second marking lines disposed around another part of the periphery of the cylindrical bar adjacent to another end thereof, the second marking line being perpendicular to the first marking lines and having a constant interval between adjacent marking lines, the second marking lines being extended to a given length from the another end; a detection circuit for respectively measuring the rotational and sliding movements of the cylindrical bar by sensing the movements of the first and second marking lines, and a microcomputer for analyzing the detection signal produced by the detection circuit to obtain the positional information.
The present invention will now described more specifically with reference to the drawings attached only by way of example.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4712101 (1987-12-01), Culver
patent: 4724715 (1988-02-01), Culver
patent: 4763116 (1988-08-01), Eichholz
patent: 4799049 (1989-01-01), Avila
patent: 4823634 (1989-04-01), Culver
patent: 4896554 (1990-01-01), Culver
patent: 4928093 (1990-05-01), Rahman
patent: 4937564 (1990-06-01), Oberg
patent: 4982618 (1991-01-01), Culver
patent: 5126723 (1992-06-01), Long et al.
patent: 5235868 (1993-08-01), Culver
patent: 5270690 (1993-12-01), Oberg
patent: 5563631 (1996-10-01), Masunaga
patent: 5644337 (1997-07-01), Stacy
patent: 5666138 (1997-09-01), Culver
Kim Kyoung-Jin
Song Kwang-Ho
Bushnell , Esq. Robert E.
Hjerpe Richard
Nguyen Keon M.
Samsung Electronics Co,. Ltd.
LandOfFree
Pointing device for use in a computer system does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Pointing device for use in a computer system, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Pointing device for use in a computer system will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2614767