Touch-control computer house

• US 4,977,397 A
• Filed: 10/13/1989
• Issued: 12/11/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sysgration Limited
• Original Assignee: Sysgration Limited
• Inventors: Lin, Chia-Hui, Kuo, Wen-Chieh, Chou, Te-Chang, Liang, Yuan-Hsiung
• Primary Examiner(s): Oberley, Alvin E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): WU, XIAO MIN
• Application Number:
  US07/427,681
• Time in Patent Office: 424 Days
• Field of Search: 340/710, 340/712, 340/706, 340/709, 178/18, 338/128, 341/34
• US Class Current: 345/163
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/045 using resistive elements, e.g. a single continuous surface or two parallel surfaces put in contact

Abstract

A touch-control mouse provides rapid and accurate control of the positioning of a cursor on a computer display screen, and includes a laminated touch-control film assembly, an aluminum supporting board, a press button switch set, a signal processing circuit board, and a dust-protective hanging case. Drawing using a finger on x-axis and y-axis resistance planes of the laminated touch-control film assembly results in variable potential value for x, y coordinates. The value of potential variation is calculated through a single-chip microprocessor to indicate relative direction, speed and amount of displacement on x, y coordinates. The signal of the relative direction, speed and amount of displacement is further is further sent by the single-chip microprocessor through a standard RS-232 connector to one of the serial communications ports of a PC to rapidly and accurately control the positioning of the cursor on the computer display screen.

Claims

1. (Amended). A touch-control computer mouse, including:

an upper cover defining therein a touch-control space and comprising one set of press button slots;

a casing comprising one of hanging slots for hanging of the casing and supporting stands internally disposed around an inner side wall;

a fastening element;

a laminated touch-control film assembly comprised, from the top to the bottom in proper sequence, of a plastic film face panel, a plate of silver coating, a y-axis resistance plane, a division layer, a x-axis resistance plane and an aluminum supporting board, said laminated touch-control film assembly being mounted on said supporting stands of said casing at the top and using a flexible ribbon line for signal output to a signal processing circuit;

a signal processing circuit board being internally mounted in said casing and comprising a contact detector circuit coupled to said flexible ribbon line of said laminated touch-control film assembly, a power saving type constant voltage supply and ramp generator coupled to said contact detector circuit for supplying a constant voltage to said contact detector circuit, a high-low speed averager coupled to an output of said contact detector circuit, a voltage reader coupled to an output of said high-low speed averager, a single-chip microprocessor coupled to an output of said voltage reader, and a function select switch set and series input-output and power circuit each coupled to said single-chip microprocessor;

wherein said upper cover is mounted on said casing to cover said signal processing circuit board and said laminated touch-control film assembly therein with said laminated touch-control film assembly disposed in said touch-control space of said upper cover;

characterized in that drawing on said laminated touch-control film assembly by a finger triggers to provide x-axis, y-axis reference potential to said contact detector circuit of said signal processing circuit board for processing, said signal processing circuit board further sending x-axis, y-axis coordinates corresponding to the contact signals detected and processed to a PC or communicating equipment for position display on the display screen of the monitor of the PC or communicating equipment such that computer mouse function can be achieved through said function select switch set.

2. The touch-control computer mouse according to claim 1, wherein said fastening element is attached to a PC or communicating equipment for hanging thereon of the touch-control computer mouse through said hanging slots of said casing permitting the touch-control computer mouse to be carried with a PC or communicating equipment for convenient operation everywhere in transportation vehicle or narrow space.

3. The touch-control computer mouse according to claim 1, wherein said x-axis and y-axis resistance planes comprise silver glue conductors respectively extended for deriving reference potential therefrom, said plane of silver coating being to eliminate noise and static electricity and comprising a silver glue conductor for grounding, the silver glue conductor of said x-axis and y-axis resistance planes and the silver glue conductor of said plane of silver coating being connected together through heat pressing process to form a flexible ribbon line for signal output.

4. The touch-control computer mouse according to claim 1, wherein said signal processing circuit board alternatively receives x-axis input reference potential through said contact detector circuit and informs said single-chip microprocessor of the operation of the touch-control computer mouse, said single-chip microprocessor being to control high-low speed averager and said contact circuit to alternatively switch to x-axis or y-axis through software operation, said high-low speed averager utilizing a wave form rectifier circuit to eliminate noise resulted from shaking of finger during drawing of the finger on the computer mouse and to provide said single-chip microprocessor with an acceptable wave form.

5. The touch-control computer mouse according to claim 1, wherein said power saving type constant voltage and ramp generator of said signal processing circuit board directly utilizes the power supply from a PC or communicating equipment, and comprises a transistor circuit stabilizer diode and a starting resistance forming a constant voltage source to provide a reference potential to said contact detector circuit and to charge said ramp generator.

6. The touch-control computer mouse according to claim 1, wherein said single-chip microprocessor of said signal processing circuit is to control the select switch of said voltage reader to select x-axis or y-axis reference potential and to control the switch of the capacitor of said power saving type voltage supply and ramp generator to be charged or discharge, and wherein the capacitor of said ramp generator is charged, when voltage reader selects x-axis, y-axis or any point of the reference potential, to send the potential of the selected two points to said voltage reader for comparison, until output potential controls the counter of said single-chip microprocessor to stop counting, so as to obtain corresponding coordinates for x-axis, y-axis.

7. The touch-control computer mouse according to claim 1, wherein said function select switch set of said signal processing circuit board comprises a lock key for drawing lines.