Controlling scrolls of a screen image

• US 6,204,838 B1
• Filed: 05/21/1998
• Issued: 03/20/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hanger Solutions, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Primax Electronics Limited
• Inventors: Wang, Han Che, Yen, Hong-Che, Liu, Shu-Ming, Chang, Chen-Ming
• Primary Examiner(s): Shankar, Vijay
• Application Number:
  US09/082,757
• Time in Patent Office: 1,034 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/157, 345/159, 345/161, 345/163, 345/164, 345/167, 345/168
• US Class Current: 345/161
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03543 Mice or pucks G06F3/03541 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning

Abstract

The present invention discloses a pointing device for scrolling a screen image. The pointing device comprises a chassis, a housing having an opening on its top mounted on the chassis, a vertical sensor installed on the chassis below the opening, a plurality of horizontal sensors installed on the chassis beside the vertical sensor, and a control stick vertically installed inside the opening of the housing comprising a top end and a bottom end. The bottom end of the control stick is in contact with the vertical sensor whereas the top end of the control stick protrudes from the opening of the housing and can be horizontally moved within a predetermined angle with respect to the bottom end of the control stick serving as its center. The pointing device further comprises a plate horizontally installed at the bottom end of the control stick with its bottom side positioned above the horizontal sensors. Horizontal movement of the top end of the control stick will cause corresponding movement of the plate which then causes the bottom surface of the plate to trigger at least one horizontal sensor. The pointing device also comprises a control device electrically connected to the vertical and horizontal sensors for detecting vertical movements of the control stick using the vertical sensor and generating correspondent vertical signals, and detecting horizontal movements of the control stick using the horizontal sensors and generating correspondent horizontal signals.

Claims

1. A pointing device comprising:

a chassis;

a housing having an opening on its top mounted on the chassis;

a vertical sensor installed on the chassis below the opening;

a plurality of horizontal sensors installed on the chassis beside the vertical sensor;

a control stick vertically installed inside the opening of the housing having a top end and a bottom end wherein the bottom end is in contact with the vertical sensor and the top end protruding from the opening of the housing can be horizontally moved within a predetermined angle with respect to the bottom end of the control stick as its center;

a plate horizontally installed at the bottom end of the control stick having a bottom side positioned above the horizontal sensors and a vertical sliding channel installed at its middle portion wherein the bottom end of the control stick is slidable and vertically mounted in the vertical sliding channel of the plate, and wherein when the top end of the control stick is horizontally moved, the control stick will move the plate allowing the bottom side of the plate to trigger at least one horizontal sensor, and when the control stick is depressed downward substantially at a vertical angle, the bottom end of the control stick will trigger the vertical sensor and the bottom side of the plate will not trigger the plurality of horizontal sensors; and

a control device electrically connected to the vertical and horizontal sensors for detecting vertical movements of the control stick by using the vertical sensor and generating correspondent vertical signals, and detecting horizontal movements of the control stick by using the horizontal sensors and generating correspondent horizontal signals.

2. The pointing device of claim 1 wherein the plate is a circular plate with the vertical sliding channel installed at its center.

3. The pointing device of claim 2 wherein the circular plate comprises a half spherical shaped protruding button installed above its center, with an upper opening of the sliding channel positioned at a top end of the protruding button, and wherein the housing comprises a half spherical shaped recess below its opening slidably in contact with the protruding button of the circular plate, and horizontal movements of the top end of the control stick will cause movements of the circular plate such that the protruding button of the circular plate will make correspondent movements at the half spherical shaped recess below the opening of the housing.

4. The pointing device of claim 3 wherein the plate is constrained between the opening of the housing and the horizontal sensors to prevent the plate from moving up and down with the control stick.

5. The pointing device of claim 4 wherein the control stick further comprises a circular base installed at the bottom end of the control stick, and wherein the circular plate comprises a correspondent circular recess installed below its center and mounted on the circular base of the control stick such that horizontal movements of the top end of the control stick will move the circular plate through the circular base of the control stick.

6. The pointing device of claim 1 wherein the vertical sensor or the horizontal sensor is an on and off switch which, when triggered, causes the control device to generate vertical or horizontal signals according to changes in its present state.

7. The pointing device of claim 1 wherein the horizontal or vertical sensor can be a strain gauge which, when triggered, causes the control device to generate a correspondent horizontal or vertical signal in proportion to the force sensed by the strain gauge.

8. The pointing device of claim 1 comprising four horizontal sensors installed on the chassis in four mutually perpendicular directions of the vertical sensor for detecting horizontal movements of the control stick.

9. The pointing device of claim 8 wherein when the top end of the control stick is moved horizontally, the bottom side of the plate will trigger at most two horizontal sensors.

10. The pointing device of claim 1 wherein the housing comprises a guiding device installed at its opening for guiding horizontal movement directions of the control stick.

11. The pointing device of claim 10 wherein the guiding device guides the control stick to make horizontal movements in eight symmetrical directions.

12. The pointing device of claim 1 wherein the control device is electrically connected to a computer which comprises a displaying device for displaying a screen image and a processor electrically connected between the displaying device and the control device for controlling displays of the screen image, and wherein the processor can control scrolling directions of the screen image according to the horizontal signals generated by the control device.

13. The pointing device of claim 1 wherein the pointing device is installed on a computer mouse which comprises a rotatable ball and two optical sensors electrically connected to the control device for detecting movements of the ball in two mutually perpendicular directions, and the control device will generate two-dimensional pointing signals according to outputs of the two optical sensors.

14. A pointing device for controlling scrolls of a screen image of a computer, the computer comprising a displaying device for displaying the screen image and a processor for controlling displays of the screen image, the pointing device comprising:

a housing having an opening on its top;

a control stick movably installed inside the opening of the housing comprising a top end and a bottom end, the bottom end of the control stick comprising a horizontal plate;

a vertical sensor installed inside the housing and below the control stick;

a plurality of horizontal sensors installed inside the housing below the horizontal plate of the control stick; and

a control device electrically connected between the vertical sensor, the plurality of horizontal sensors, and the computer for detecting vertical and horizontal movements of the control stick according to the vertical sensor and the plurality of horizontal sensors, and generating correspondent vertical and horizontal signals;

wherein the processor of the computer can control the scrolls of the screen image according to the vertical and horizontal signals generated by the control device.

15. The pointing device of claim 14 wherein the pointing device comprises four horizontal sensors installed in four mutually perpendicular directions of the bottom end of the control stick, when the processor receives a horizontal signal generated by the four horizontal sensors, the processor will detect a movement direction of the control stick according the horizontal signal and control the image screen to scroll toward the movement direction.

16. The pointing device of claim 15 wherein the plate further comprises a vertical sliding channel installed in a middle portion of the plate, and wherein the bottom end of the control stick is vertically installed inside the vertical sliding channel of the plate in a slidable manner, a vertical depression of the control stick will cause the bottom end of the control stick to slide downward inside the vertical sliding channel of the plate and cause triggering of the vertical sensor, and the control device can detect the depressed state of the control stick by using the vertical sensor and generate a correspondent vertical signal.

17. The pointing device of claim 16 wherein when the processor receives the vertical signal and the horizontal signal generated by the four horizontal sensors at the same time, the processor can determine a movement direction of the control stick according to the horizontal signal and control the image screen to scroll toward the movement direction at an increased speed.