Pointing device with integral microphone
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A multimode computer input device comprising:
- a housing sized to be hand held and having an Underside adapted for placement on a horizontal surface;
a pointing device disposed within said housing having mechanism for sensing changes in position of the pointing device with respect to a reference frame and for providing position change signals to a computer;
a microphone disposed within said housing and positioned on said underside for providing audio signals to said computer; and
mechanism coupled to said microphone for automatically inhibiting the providing of said audio signal to said computer when said device is positioned on a substantially horizontal surface for providing position change signals to said computer;
wherein said automatic inhibiting mechanism includes a switch for sensing the angular position of said housing with respect to a fixed reference frame.
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Abstract
The pointing device or mouse is provided with a microphone for speech input. The microphone can be muted when the device serves as a pointing device by manually activating a push button or by automatically activating a circuit responsive to the position of the device.
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Citations
62 Claims
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1. A multimode computer input device comprising:
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a housing sized to be hand held and having an Underside adapted for placement on a horizontal surface; a pointing device disposed within said housing having mechanism for sensing changes in position of the pointing device with respect to a reference frame and for providing position change signals to a computer; a microphone disposed within said housing and positioned on said underside for providing audio signals to said computer; and mechanism coupled to said microphone for automatically inhibiting the providing of said audio signal to said computer when said device is positioned on a substantially horizontal surface for providing position change signals to said computer; wherein said automatic inhibiting mechanism includes a switch for sensing the angular position of said housing with respect to a fixed reference frame. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A multi mode computer input device comprising:
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a housing sized to be hand held and having an underside adapted for placement on a horizontal surface; a pointing device disposed within said housing having mechanism for sensing changes in position of the pointing device with respect to a reference frame and for providing position change signals to a computer; a microphone disposed within said housing and positioned on said underside for providing audio signals to said computer; and mechanism coupled to said microphone for automatically inhibiting the providing of said audio signal to said computer when said device is positioned on a substantially horizontal surface for providing position change signals to said computer; wherein said automatic inhibiting mechanism includes a switch for sensing when said housing is in resting contact with a substantially horizontal surface. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. The input device of 13 further comprising cable system having a first end attached to said input device and having a second end for attaching to said computer, said cable system having at least one first signal conductor coupled to said pointing device for communicating said position change signals to said computer and having at least one second signal conductor for communicating said audio signals to said computer.
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23. A multimode computer input device comprising:
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a housing sized to be hand held and having an underside adapted for placement on a horizontal surface; a pointing device disposed within said housing having mechanism for sensing changes in position of the pointing device with respect to a reference frame and for providing position change signals to a computer; a microphone disposed within said housing for providing audio signals to said computer; mechanism coupled to said microphone for automatically inhibiting the providing of said audio signal to said computer when said device is positioned on a substantially horizontal surface for providing position changes signals to said computer; and push button disposed on said underside of said housing and coupled to said microphone for selectively inhibiting the providing of said audio signal; wherein said automatic inhibiting mechanism includes a switch for sensing the angular position of said housing with respect to a fixed reference frame. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A multimode computer input device comprising:
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a housing sized to be hand held and having an underside adapted for placement on a horizontal surface; a pointing device disposed within said housing having mechanism for sensing changes in position of the pointing device with respect to a reference frame and for providing position change signals to a computer; a microphone disposed within said housing for providing audio signal s to said computer; mechanism coupled to said microphone for automatically inhibiting the providing of said audio signal to said computer when said device is positioned on a substantially horizontal surface for providing position changes signals to said computer; and push button disposed on said underside of said housing and coupled to said microphone for selectively permitting the providing of said audio signal; wherein said automatic inhibiting mechanism includes a switch for sensing the angular position of said housing with respect to a fixed reference frame. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A multimode computer input device comprising:
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a housing sized to be hand held and having an underside adapted for placement on a horizontal surface; a pointing device disposed within said housing having mechanism for sensing changes in position of the pointing device with respect to a reference frame and for providing position change signals to a computer; a microphone disposed within said housing for providing audio signals to said computer; mechanism coupled to said microphone for automatically inhibiting the providing of said audio signal to said computer when said device is positioned on a substantially horizontal surface for providing position changes signals to said computer; and push button disposed on said underside of said housing and coupled to said microphone for selectively inhibiting the providing of said audio signal; wherein said automatic inhibiting mechanism includes a switch for sensing when said housing is in resting contact with a substantially horizontal surface. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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47. A multimode computer input device comprising:
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a housing sized to be hand held and having an underside adapted for placement on a horizontal surface; a pointing device disposed within said housing having mechanism for sensing changes in position of the pointing device with respect to a reference frame and for providing position change signals to a computer; a microphone disposed within said housing for providing audio signals to said computer; mechanism coupled to said microphone for automatically inhibiting the providing of said audio signal to said computer when said device is positioned on a substantially horizontal surface for providing position changes signals to said computer; and push button disposed on said underside of said housing and coupled to said microphone for selectively inhibiting the providing of said audio signal; wherein said automatic inhibiting mechanism includes a switch for sensing when said housing is in resting contact with a substantially horizontal surface. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
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55. A multimode computer input device comprising:
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a housing sized to be hand held and having an underside adapted for placement on a horizontal surface; a pointing device disposed within said housing having mechanism for sensing changes in position of the pointing device with respect to a reference frame and for providing position change signals to a computer; a microphone disposed within said housing for providing audio signals to said computer; mechanism coupled to said microphone for automatically inhibiting the providing of said audio signal to said computer when said device is positioned on a substantially horizontal surface for providing position changes signal s to said computer; and push button disposed on said underside of said housing and coupled to said microphone for selectively permitting the providing of said audio signal; wherein said automatic inhibiting mechanism includes a switch for sensing when said housing is in resting contact with a substantially horizontal surface. - View Dependent Claims (56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62)
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Specification