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NUMERICAL COMPUTER PERIPHERAL INTERACTIVE DEVICE WITH MANUAL CONTROLS

  • US 3,729,129 A
  • Filed: 06/22/1971
  • Issued: 04/24/1973
  • Est. Priority Date: 06/22/1971
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. For use with a computer, a computer peripheral device for manually updating the numerical content of the computer, comprising:

  • a joystick defining a quiescent reference position and being manually pivotable from said reference position so as to be displaced in either first or second opposite directions along each of first and second orthogonal axes;

    sensing means coupled to said joystick for providing at four distinct output terminals of said sensing means first, second, third and fourth control signals, whose amplitudes are respectively functions of the magnitudes of displacement of said joystick in said first and second directions along said first axis and in said first and second directions along said second axis;

    a first source responsive to either of said first and second control signals for providing pulses at a rate which is a function of the magnitude of the displacement of said joystick in said first axis;

    a second source responsive to either of said third and fourth control signals, for providing pulses at a rate which is a function of the magnitude of the displacement of said joystick in said second axis;

    a first reversible counter for counting the pulses received from said first source;

    a second reversible counter for counting the pulses received from said second source;

    control means responsive to said control signals for controlling said first counter to respectively increment and decrement the count therein with the pulses from said first source when said joystick is displaced in said first and second directions along said first axis, and for controlling said second counter to respectively increment and decrement the count therein with the pulse from said second source when said joystick is displaced in said first and second directions along said second axis, whereby the numerical contents of said first and second counters are functions of the manual displacements of said joystick;

    means for supplying the numerical contents of said first and second counters to said computer; and

    display means for visually displaying the numerical contents of said first and second counters.

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