Three dimensional track ball systems
First Claim
1. A 3D track ball system comprising:
- i) a housing defining a bottom wall, and a top wall, said top wall being in spaced apart relationship above said bottom wall and defining therebetween an inner space of said housing, a circular aperture being provided in said top wall;
ii) a track ball rotably mounted in the housing so as to protrude through the aperture, the track ball having a selected coefficient of surface friction and a diameter no smaller than the diameter of said aperture;
iii) a set of three supporting balls in the housing rotatably supporting said track ball thereon, said supporting balls having a coefficient of surface friction less than the coefficient of surface friction of said track ball, and being mounted and journalled to be freely rotatable within said housing in positions in which the respectve centers of the three supporting balls are positioned in a plane parallel with said top wall and constituting an equilateral triangle, said equilateral triangle being coaxially aligned in relation to said aperture in said top wall, said supporting balls further being positioned having their centers positioned in relation to the center of said tracking ball in an orthogonal coordinate system, and including three orthogonal coordinate axes; and
iv) a motion detection system including three motion detectors for detecting the motion of a respective ball of said set of three supporting balls along a respective axis of said orthogonal coordinate system, and for generating signals representing the motion of said balls along said respective axes.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A three dimensional (3D) track ball system includes a housing having top wall with a circular aperture. A track ball is rotatably mounted in the housing so as to protrude through the aperture. In a preferred embodiment, three supporting elements in the housing rotatably support the track ball. The supporting balls are mounted and journalled in positions in which their respective centers are located in a plane that is parallel with the top wall of the housing, and define an equilateral triangle that is coaxially aligned with the aperture. The centers of the supporting balls are located relative to the center of the track ball so as to define an orthogonal coordinate system, including three orthogonal coordinate axes. The system further includes a motion detection system having three motion detectors, preferably optical detectors, for detecting the motion of each supporting ball along a respective axis of the orthogonal coordinate system, and for generating signals representing the motion of the supporting balls along their respective coordinate axes.
48 Citations
47 Claims
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1. A 3D track ball system comprising:
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i) a housing defining a bottom wall, and a top wall, said top wall being in spaced apart relationship above said bottom wall and defining therebetween an inner space of said housing, a circular aperture being provided in said top wall;
ii) a track ball rotably mounted in the housing so as to protrude through the aperture, the track ball having a selected coefficient of surface friction and a diameter no smaller than the diameter of said aperture;
iii) a set of three supporting balls in the housing rotatably supporting said track ball thereon, said supporting balls having a coefficient of surface friction less than the coefficient of surface friction of said track ball, and being mounted and journalled to be freely rotatable within said housing in positions in which the respectve centers of the three supporting balls are positioned in a plane parallel with said top wall and constituting an equilateral triangle, said equilateral triangle being coaxially aligned in relation to said aperture in said top wall, said supporting balls further being positioned having their centers positioned in relation to the center of said tracking ball in an orthogonal coordinate system, and including three orthogonal coordinate axes; and
iv) a motion detection system including three motion detectors for detecting the motion of a respective ball of said set of three supporting balls along a respective axis of said orthogonal coordinate system, and for generating signals representing the motion of said balls along said respective axes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 26)
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15. A 3D track ball system, comprising:
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i) a housing having a top wall with an aperture therein;
ii) a track ball rotably mounted in the hosuing so as to protrude through the aperture;
iii) a set of three supporting balls in the housing rotatably supporting the track ball, the supporting balls being mounted and journalled within the housing so as to be freely rotatable in positions in which the respective centers of the supporting balls are positioned in a plane parallel with the top wall and constituting an equilateral triangle coaxially aligned with the aperture; and
iv) a motion detection system comprising three optical motion detectors that detect the motion of the track ball, and that generate output signals representing the motion of the track ball, the motion detectors being juxtaposed relative to the track ball in positions defining an orthogonal motion detection system having its center positioned at the center of the track ball and defining three orthogonal coordinate axes, wherein the motion detectors detect the motion of the track ball along the coordinate axes of the motion detection system. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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27. A 3D track ball system comprising:
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i) a housing defining a top wall and a bottom wall spaced from the top wall so as to define an inner space therebetween, said top wall being provided with an aperture;
ii) a track ball rotatably mounted in the housing so as to protrude through the aperture;
iii) a set of supporting elements in the housing and supporting said track ball, said supporting elements being rotated within said housing in positions in a plane parallel with said bottom wall and providing a stable and self-centering support of said track ball in relation to said housing; and
iv) a motion detection system including a plurality of optical motion detectors that detect the motion of said track ball and that generate output signals representing the motion of said track ball, each of said plurality of optical motion detectors being juxtaposed relative to said track ball in positions defining an orthogonal motion detection system having its center positioned at the center of said track ball, said plurality of optical motion detectors detecting the motion of said track ball in relation to axes of said orthogonal motion detection system. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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Specification