Portable computer system with ergonomic input device

• US 6,567,079 B1
• Filed: 09/13/1999
• Issued: 05/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Carnegie Mellon University
• Original Assignee: Carnegie Mellon University
• Inventors: Anderson, Drew, Siewiorek, Daniel P., Smailagic, Asim, Stivoric, John M., Casciola, Randall W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hjerpe, Richard
• Assistant Examiner(s): Eisen, Alexander
• Application Number:
  US09/394,778
• Time in Patent Office: 1,345 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/157, 345/184, 704/270, 704/271, 704/275, 707/500, 707/501, 707/513, 341/20-22
• US Class Current: 345/184
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• 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 3/04892 Arrangements for controlling cursor position based on codes indicative of cursor displacements from one discrete location to another, e.g. using cursor control keys associated to different directions or using the tab key arrangements for controlling cursor position based on coordinate signals G06F3/038

Abstract

A portable computer system with an ergonomic input device is comprised of a housing having a top surface. A central processing unit is carried in the housing. A heads-up display is provided for displaying information to a user, with certain of the information being selectable by the user. The display is under the control of the central processing unit. A first rotary switch produces a first input signal for identifying the information to be selected. A second input switch produces a second input signal for selecting the identified information. Both the first and second input switches are carried on the top surface of the housing. An input interface receives the first and second input signals and encodes the information therein into an eight bit byte for input to the central processing unit. In one embodiment, the housing may be carried in a case which is worn by the user while the heads-up display is positioned proximate to the user'"'"'s eye by a headband. The portable computer system can be used to browse hypertext documents, browse World Wide Web pages on the Internet and access interactive electronic technical manuals (IETMs).

Claims

1. A portable computer system, comprising:

a housing having a surface;

a processing unit in said housing;

a two-dimensional display having information displayed thereon, certain of the information being hot spots which include hypertext links, said display being connected to said processing unit;

a first input rotary switch in said housing and having a single degree of freedom;

a second input switch in said housing, said first and second input switches carried on said surface of said housing; and

an input interface connected between said first and second input switches and to said processing unit.

2. The computer system of claim 1 further comprising a third input device.

3. The computer system of claim 1 wherein said second input switch includes a plurality of pushbutton switches.

4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein said display includes a headband carrying said display.

5. The computer system of claim 2, wherein said third input device is an audio recognition device.

6. The computer system of claim 1, wherein said interface includes a microcontroller.

7. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the hypertext links direct the user to World Wide Web pages on the Internet.

8. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the hypertext links direct the user to an interactive electronic manual.

9. A portable computer system having an ergonomic input device, comprising:

a housing having a surface;

a central processing unit in said housing;

a two dimensional display having information, wherein certain of the information is selectable by the user and said selectable information includes hypertext links, said display being is connected to said central processing unit;

a first input rotary switch in said housing and having a single degree of freedom for producing a first signal;

a second input switch in said housing for producing a second signal, said first and second input switches being carried on said surface of said housing; and

software running on said central processing unit, said software for receiving said first and second signals and for mapping said first signal to one of a number of positions on said display, in a predetermined sequence, without moving all of said information being selectable by the user, and for selecting certain information in response to said second signal, and in the case that the certain information is a hypertext link, said software reads the hypertext mark up language and displays the hypertext page on the display.

10. The computer system of claim 9, further comprising a third input device being an audio recognition device.

11. The computer system of claim 9, wherein said hypertext links are connected to an interactive electronic manual.

12. The computer system of claim 9, wherein said hypertext links are connected to World Wide Web pages on the Internet.

13. The computer system of claim 9, wherein said second signal causes said central processing unit to perform a function that is related to the displayed information.

14. A computer system, comprising:

a housing having a surface;

a central processing unit in said housing;

a two-dimensional display connected to said central processing unit, said display having a plurality of information items, wherein the information items include hypertext links;

a first input rotary switch in said housing and having a single degree of freedom;

a second input switch in said housing, said first and second switches being carried on said surface of said housing; and

means for cycling through a predetermined order of information items in a first direction, without moving all of said information items, in response to rotation of said rotary switch in a first direction and for cycling through said predetermined order of information items in an opposite direction, without moving all of said information items, in response to rotation of said rotary switch in a direction opposite to said first direction, and for selecting an information item in response to said second signal, wherein if the information item is a hypertext link the associated hypertext page will be displayed on said display.

15. The computer system of claim 14, further comprising a third input device comprising an audio recognition device.

16. The computer system of claim 15, wherein said hypertext links are connected to World Wide Web pages on the Internet.

17. The computer system of claim 14 wherein said hypertext links are connected to an interactive electronic manual.

18. A method of navigating World Wide Web pages on the Internet using a portable computer system having a display, a first input device, a second input device and a processor, comprising:

providing information including a sequence of hot spots of hypertext links to World Wide Web pages found on the Internet on the display;

moving, in a predetermined order, through said sequence of hot spots on the display in one of a first direction and a second direction, without moving all of said hot spots, wherein the movement from each said hot spot to the adjacent hot spot in said sequence coincides with the displacement in one of a first clockwise direction and a second counterclockwise direction, respectively, of a first rotary input switch having a single degree of freedom; and

selecting a hot spot in response to a second input signal from a second input switch, wherein when the selected hot spot is a hypertext link, the World Wide Web page will be displayed on the display.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the portable computer further comprising a third input device being an audio recognition device and the method further comprises selecting a predetermined region on display by speaking into the audio recognition device.

20. A method of navigating hypertext links using a portable computer system having a display, a first input device, a second input device and a processor, comprising:

providing information including a sequence of hot spots of hypertext links to hypertext pages on the display;

moving, in a predetermined order, through said sequence of hot spots on the display in one of first and second directions, without moving all of said hot spots, the movement from each said hot spot to the adjacent hot spot in said sequence coincides with the displacement in one of a first clockwise direction and a second counterclockwise direction, respectively, of a first rotary input switch having a single degree of freedom; and

selecting a hot spot in response to a second input signal from a second input switch, wherein when the selected hot spot is a hypertext link, the hypertext page will be displayed on the display.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein providing that the information on the display is an interactive electronic manual for servicing a machine and includes hypertext links.

22. The method according to claim 20, wherein the portable computer has a third input device which is an audio recognition device and the method further comprises speaking the command into the audio recognition device to select a hot spot in response to a second input signal.

23. A portable computer system, comprising:

a housing having a surface;

a processing unit in said housing;

a two-dimensional display having information displayed thereon, certain of the information being hot spots that include hypertext links, said display being connected to said processing unit;

a first input rotary switch in said housing and having a single degree of freedom for producing a first signal for identifying the information to be selected;

at least one second input switch in said housing positioned at a periphery of said first input rotary switch for producing a second signal for selecting the identified information, said first and second input switches carried on said surface of said housing; and

an input interface connected between said first and second input switches and said processing unit for communicating said first and second signals to said processing unit.

24. The computer system of claim 23 further comprising a third input device.

25. The computer system of claim 23 wherein said second input switch includes a plurality of pushbutton switches.

26. The computer system of claim 23, wherein said display includes a headband carrying said display.

27. The computer system of claim 24, wherein said third input device is an audio recognition device.

28. The computer system of claim 23, wherein said interface includes a microcontroller.

29. The computer system of claim 23, wherein the hypertext links direct the user to World Wide Web pages on the Internet.

30. The computer system of claim 23, wherein the hypertext links direct the user to an interactive electronic manual.

31. A portable computer system having an ergonomic input device, comprising:

a housing having a surface;

a central processing unit in said housing;

a two dimensional display having information, wherein certain of the information is selectable by the user and said selectable information includes hypertext links, said display being connected to said central processing unit;

a first input rotary switch in said housing and having a single degree of freedom for producing a first signal;

at least one second input switch in said housing positioned at a periphery of said first input rotary switch for producing a second signal, said first and second input switches being carried on said surface of said housing; and

software running on said central processing unit, said software for receiving said first and second signals and for mapping said first signal to one of a number of positions on said display, in a predetermined sequence, without moving all of said information being selectable by the user, and for selecting certain information in response to said second signal, and in the case that the certain information is a hypertext link, said software reads the hypertext mark up language and displays the hypertext page on the display.

32. The computer system of claim 31 further comprising a third input device comprised of an audio recognition device.

33. The computer system of claim 31 wherein said hypertext links are connected to an interactive electronic manual.

34. The computer system of claim 31 wherein said hypertext links are connected to World Wide Web pages on the Internet.

35. The computer system of claim 31 wherein said second signal causes said central processing unit to perform a function that is related to the displayed information.

36. A computer system, comprising:

a housing having a surface;

a central processing unit in said housing;

a two-dimensional display connected to said central processing unit, said display having a plurality of information items, wherein the information items include hypertext links;

a first input rotary switch in said housing and having a single degree of freedom;

at least one second input switch in said housing positioned at a periphery of said first input rotary switch, said first and second switches being carried on said surface of said housing; and

means for cycling through a predetermined order of information items in a first direction, without moving all of said information items, in response to rotation of said rotary switch in a first direction and for cycling through said predetermined order of information items in an opposite direction, without moving all of said information items, in response to rotation of said rotary switch in a direction opposite to said first direction, and for selecting an information item in response to said second signal, wherein if the information item is a hypertext link the associated hypertext page will be displayed on said display.

37. The computer system of claim 36 further comprising a third input device comprising an audio recognition device.

38. The computer system of claim 36 wherein said hypertext links are connected to World Wide Web pages on the Internet.

39. The computer system of claim 36 wherein said hypertext links are connected to an interactive electronic manual.