Ball and transducer mounting arrangement for mouse
First Claim
1. Position indicating control apparatus for electronically representing position and movement along a support surface, said apparatus comprising:
- a housing having an apertured base member, spherical means for supporting said housing on the support surface and transporting said housing over the support surface, frame means discrete from and disposed entirely within said housing and defining a recess receiving said spherical means therein, means for mounting said frame means substantially immovably with respect to said housing, said frame means cooperating with said base for loosely encompassing said spherical means and constraining it in a mounted condition in said housing, said spherical means in its mounted condition being universally rotatable and having a portion thereof extending through said aperture in said base member so that contact between said spherical means and the support surface provides rotation of said spherical means indicative of movement of said housing with respect to the support surface, and transducer means coupled to said spherical means and responsive to rotation thereof for producing electrical signals indicative of the movement and position of said housing.
7 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A "mouse"-type position indicating control apparatus has a two-part housing comprising an apertured base and a cover which contains a ball, a portion of which projects through the aperture in the base to support and transport the housing along a support surface. A one-piece molded mounting block rests on the base for holding the ball in position over the aperture while accommodating universal rotation thereof. Code wheel shafts have the opposite ends thereof journaled in bearing grooves in the support block for frictional engagement with the ball for indicating orthogonal components of rotation. Photoelectric transducer elements are mounted on the mounting block. A cap plate covers the mounting block and retains the shafts and photoelectric elements in place. Retaining members on the cover engage the plate for clamping the mounting block against the base. The apparatus is assembled without the use of fasteners or tools except for securing the base to the cover.
20 Citations
18 Claims
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1. Position indicating control apparatus for electronically representing position and movement along a support surface, said apparatus comprising:
- a housing having an apertured base member, spherical means for supporting said housing on the support surface and transporting said housing over the support surface, frame means discrete from and disposed entirely within said housing and defining a recess receiving said spherical means therein, means for mounting said frame means substantially immovably with respect to said housing, said frame means cooperating with said base for loosely encompassing said spherical means and constraining it in a mounted condition in said housing, said spherical means in its mounted condition being universally rotatable and having a portion thereof extending through said aperture in said base member so that contact between said spherical means and the support surface provides rotation of said spherical means indicative of movement of said housing with respect to the support surface, and transducer means coupled to said spherical means and responsive to rotation thereof for producing electrical signals indicative of the movement and position of said housing.
- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. Position indicating control apparatus for electronically representing position and movement along a support surface, said apparatus comprising:
- a housing having an apertured base member, spherical means for supporting said housing on the support surface and transporting said housing over the support surface, frame means discrete from and disposed entirely within said housing and defining a recess receiving said spherical means therein, means for mounting said frame means substantially immovably with respect to said housing, said frame means cooperating with said base for loosely encompassing said spherical means and constraining it in a mounted condition in said housing, said spherical means in its mounted condition being universally rotatable and having a portion thereof extending through said aperture in said base member so that contact between said spherical means and the support surface provides rotation of said spherical means indicative of movement of said housing with respect to the support surface, and a pair of rotatable members supported by said frame means for rotation respectively about orthogonal axes, each of said rotatable members being frictionally coupled with said spherical means such that each of said rotatable members rotates as a function of one of two orthogonal components of the rotation of said spherical means, and transducer means responsive to rotation of each of said rotatable means for delivering signals indicative of the movement and position of said housing.
- View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. Position indicating control apparatus for electronically representing position and movement along a support surface, said apparatus comprising:
- a housing having an apertured base and a cover cooperating to define an enclosure, spherical means for supporting said housing on the support surface and transporting said housing over the support surface, frame means discrete from and disposed entirely within said housing and defining a recess receiving said spherical means therein, said frame means cooperating with said base for loosely encompassing said spherical means and constraining it in a mounted condition in said housing, said spherical means in its mounted condition being universally rotatable and having a portion thereof extending through said aperture in said base so that contact between said spherical means and the support surface provides rotation of said spherical means indicative of movement of said housing with respect to the support surface, a pair of rotatable members supported by said frame means for rotation respectively about orthogonal axes, each of said rotatable members being frictionally coupled with said spherical means such that each of said rotatable members rotates as a function of one of two orthogonal components of the rotation of said spherical means, retaining means carried by said cover and cooperating with said base for securely holding said frame means substantially immovably therebetween, and transducer means responsive to rotation of each of said rotatable members for delivering signals indicative of the movement and position of said housing.
- View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
Specification