Combination mouse/trackball input device
First Claim
1. An input device for an electronic computer, comprising:
- an enclosure having a top face and a bottom face, the top face and bottom face each having a circular aperture;
a tracking ball having a smooth surface and being positioned inside said enclosure for vertical movement therein, and having an upper position in which it projects through the aperture in the top face of said enclosure and having a lower position in which it projects through the aperture in the bottom face of said enclosure;
support means for said tracking ball, coupled to said tracking ball;
adjusting means coupled to support means to raise and lower said support means to cause said tracking ball to project through the bottom aperture when in the lower position and to project through the aperture in the top face when in the upper position;
said support means including a bearing holder, supported by said adjusting means, comprising a disk having an aperture of diameter less than the diameter of said tracking ball to permit said tracking ball to project through the aperture when supported by the support means, and including a plurality of bearings, attached to said bearing holder around the circumference of the aperture in said bearing holder for supporting said tracking ball thereon without restricting the rotation of said tracking ball; and
first and second means, each coupled to the tracking ball, for generating a series of electrical pulses representing the rotation of said tracking ball about one of two orthogonal axes.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A combination mouse/trackball input device for an electronic computer functions as either a mouse or a trackball, depending on which of two operating modes the user selects. The user selects the desired mode by moving a selector handle to one of two positions, which causes a tracking ball to be raised to trackball mode or lowered to mouse mode. In mouse mode, the tracking ball makes contact with the mouse pad or other flat surface on which the device rests so that the ball rotates when the device is moved. This mode is suitable for general purpose use. In trackball mode, the tracking ball is elevated so that it does not make contact with the mouse pad, but it projects through an aperture in the top face of the enclosure. In this mode, which is preferred for applications requiring fine control over the cursor position, the user rotates the ball directly with his or her fingers. The device permits easy switching between the two modes with minimal interruption of the user'"'"'s work. In both modes, rollers sense the rotation of the tracking ball along two axes and a photo detector mechanism converts this rotation into electrical pulses which are sent to the attached computer. The computer uses the pulses to calculate the movement of the tracking ball along two axes and to move an on-screen cursor accordingly.
121 Citations
16 Claims
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1. An input device for an electronic computer, comprising:
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an enclosure having a top face and a bottom face, the top face and bottom face each having a circular aperture; a tracking ball having a smooth surface and being positioned inside said enclosure for vertical movement therein, and having an upper position in which it projects through the aperture in the top face of said enclosure and having a lower position in which it projects through the aperture in the bottom face of said enclosure; support means for said tracking ball, coupled to said tracking ball; adjusting means coupled to support means to raise and lower said support means to cause said tracking ball to project through the bottom aperture when in the lower position and to project through the aperture in the top face when in the upper position;
said support means including a bearing holder, supported by said adjusting means, comprising a disk having an aperture of diameter less than the diameter of said tracking ball to permit said tracking ball to project through the aperture when supported by the support means, and including a plurality of bearings, attached to said bearing holder around the circumference of the aperture in said bearing holder for supporting said tracking ball thereon without restricting the rotation of said tracking ball; andfirst and second means, each coupled to the tracking ball, for generating a series of electrical pulses representing the rotation of said tracking ball about one of two orthogonal axes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An input device for an electronic computer, comprising:
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an enclosure having a top face and a bottom face, the top face and bottom face each having an aperture; a tracking ball having a smooth surface and being positioned inside said enclosure for vertical movement therein, and having a lower position in which it projects through the aperture in the bottom face of said enclosure for contacting a supporting surface, and having an upper position in which it projects only through the aperture in the top face of said enclosure without projecting through the aperture in the bottom face of said enclosure to avoid contacting the supporting surface; adjustable support means coupled to said tracking ball for selectively raising and lowering said trackball to project through the bottom aperture when in the lower position and to project only through the aperture in the top face when in the upper position; and first and second means, each coupled to the tracking ball, for generating a series of electrical pulses representing the rotation of said tracking ball about one of two orthogonal axes.
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Specification