Temporal data control system

• US 5,973,669 A
• Filed: 08/22/1996
• Issued: 10/26/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Autodesk, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Silicon Graphics Incorporated (Graphics Properties Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Buxton, William A. S., Fitzmaurice, George W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Luu, Matthew
• Application Number:
  US08/701,667
• Time in Patent Office: 1,160 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/157, 345/159, 345/163, 345/164, 345/167, 345/173, 345/179, 386/52, 386/68
• US Class Current: 345/157
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03544 having dual sensing arrangement, e.g. two balls or two coils used to track rotation of the pointing device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0362 with detection of 1D translations or rotations of an operating part of the device, e.g. scroll wheels, sliders, knobs, rollers or belts
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning

Abstract

A temporal data control system that uses a hand held, mobile scrubwheel that includes two position indicators and an activation switch. As a user moves the scrubwheel about on a surface of a position sensing tablet a computer controls the movement of a cursor on a display. The computer also displays one or more temporal sequences, such as video sequences, on the display. Movement of the scrubwheel is detected by the computer allowing the user to position the cursor on a sequence to be controlled which the computer interprets as selecting the sequence. The computer detects rotation of the scrubwheel and controls the forward and backward motion (and speed) of the sequence responsive to the rotation. By moving the device to another location on the surface the user can select another sequence to control. The user can "point-and-scrub" temporal sequences.

Claims

1. A computer system having a program displaying a data sequence, allowing a user to translate a mobile input device in an input plane to move a cursor onto the sequence to select the sequence and allowing the user to rotate the device around an axis substantially orthogonal to the input plane to control the sequence.

2. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the device is transparent and the user moves the device onto the sequence to select the sequence.

3. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the user moves a cursor onto the sequence by moving the device to select the sequence.

4. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein rotating the device does not move the cursor.

5. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein a rotational direction controls sequence direction.

6. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein when the sequence is playing, the rotation controls a speed of the playing.

7. A system as recited in claim 4, wherein the cursor remains positioned on the sequence during the control.

12. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the input device is a disk rotating in a plane oriented parallel to a surface upon which the input device rests.

14. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein said input device comprises a disk with a circumferential side surface parallel to the axis and a top surface orthogonal to the axis allowing fingers to be positioned on the side and top surfaces during sequence control.

15. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein said input device comprises a control surface adapted such that finger contact with the control surface does not have to be broken to control an entire range of the sequence.

8. An apparatus, comprising:

a display displaying a temporal sequence and a cursor;

a mobile rotatable input device mobile within an input plane and rotatable about an axis orthogonal to the input plane; and

a computer coupled to said display and said device, translating the cursor responsive to a position of said device in the input plane to move a cursor onto the sequence to select the sequence and controlling the temporal sequence responsive to rotation of said device.

9. A temporal data sequence control system, comprising:

a display displaying at least two temporal data sequences in separate windows and displaying a cursor;

an input device, comprising;

a hand held, mobile scrubwheel movable by a user, comprising;

a disk shaped core having a ring shaped first position indicator located in a center of said core, having a screw hole in the center of said core and a bearing mounted around the screw hole; and

a rotatable disk resting on the bearing, having a stick shaped second position indicator located in a periphery of said disk, and a switch connected to the second indicator and switchable by a finger of the user; and

a tablet on which the scrubwheel rests and can be moved, detecting the positions of the first and second position indicators and detecting a switched condition of the switch; and

a computer connected to said tablet and said display, controlling a position of the cursor on said display responsive to a position of the first position indicator to select one of the temporal data sequences when the cursor is in the window of one of the temporal data sequences and controlling the one of the temporal data sequences responsive to a position of the second position indicator as the second position indicator rotates about said core when said disk rotates and to the switched condition of the switch.

10. A storage media storing a process for displaying a temporal sequence, allowing a user to translate an input device in an input plane to move a cursor on the temporal sequence using the input device to select the sequence and allowing the user to control the sequence with the input device by rotating the device about an axis orthogonal to the input plane.

11. A sequence data control process, comprising:

allowing a user to translate a cursor to move the cursor onto a sequence to select the sequence to be controlled using an input device in an input plane; and

allowing a user to control the sequence by rotating the device about an axis orthogonal to the input plane.

13. A computer system having a program displaying a temporal data sequence, allowing a user to translate a mobile input device within an input plane to move a cursor onto the temporal sequence to select the temporal sequence and allowing the user to rotate the device about an axis orthogonal to the input plane to directly control the temporal sequence.

16. A computer system having a program displaying a data sequence, allowing a user to translate a mobile input device in a horizontal input plane to move a cursor onto the sequence to select the sequence and allowing the user to rotate the device around an axis substantially orthogonal to the input plane to control the sequence.

17. A computer system having a program displaying a data sequence, allowing a user to translate a mobile input device in an electromagnetic field sensor input plane to move a cursor onto the sequence to select the sequence and allowing the user to rotate the device around an axis substantially orthogonal to the input plane to control the sequence.

18. A computer system having a program displaying a data sequence, allowing a user to translate a mobile input device in a substantially horizontal, electromagnetic field sensor tablet input plane to move a cursor onto the sequence to select the sequence and allowing the user to rotate the device around an axis substantially orthogonal to the input plane to control the sequence.