Mouse device with tactile feedback applied to housing
First Claim
1. An apparatus, comprising:
- a housing having a base, a casing and a button, said casing and said button being movable with respect to said base;
a tracking element disposed within said housing, said tracking element configured to track a motion of said housing in a first direction and a second direction different from the first direction;
a movement generator disposed within and coupled to said housing, said movement generator configured to deliver a tactile sensation to the casing in response to a sensory feedback signal received over a signal channel; and
a resilient material disposed between said casing and said base, said resilient material configured to store and release energy.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A computer mouse device for tracking user input and providing tactile feedback. A housing includes a lower portion designed to move over a flat surface, and a casing portion engaged by a palm of a user'"'"'s hand. A sensor is provided within the housing for tracking the motion of the housing with repect to the flat surface, where motion data from the sensor is transmitted to a host computer for updating the status of a cursor on a graphical display displaying one or more graphical details. The mouse device receives over signal lines a sensory feedback signal from the host computer when the displayed cursor interacts with a graphical detail in response to the motion data. An actuator is included within and coupled to the housing and generates motion of the casing in a direction substantially orthogonal to the flat surface, delivering a tactile sensation to the user'"'"'s palm in response to the sensory feedback signal received over the signal lines.
195 Citations
34 Claims
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1. An apparatus, comprising:
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a housing having a base, a casing and a button, said casing and said button being movable with respect to said base;
a tracking element disposed within said housing, said tracking element configured to track a motion of said housing in a first direction and a second direction different from the first direction;
a movement generator disposed within and coupled to said housing, said movement generator configured to deliver a tactile sensation to the casing in response to a sensory feedback signal received over a signal channel; and
a resilient material disposed between said casing and said base, said resilient material configured to store and release energy. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus, comprising:
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a housing including a lower portion and an upper portion, said lower portion movable over a substantially flat surface, said upper portion being movable with respect to said lower portion;
a tracking element disposed within said housing, said tracking element configured to track movement of said housing with respect to the substantially flat surface;
a movement generator disposed within and couple to said housing, said movement generator configured to output a tactile sensation through said upper portion of said housing in response to a sensory feedback signal received over a signal channel; and
a resilient material disposed between said lower portion and said upper portion , said resilient material configured to store and release energy. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method, comprising:
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receiving at a mouse device a sensory feedback signal, the mouse device having a button, a casing portion and a bottom portion, the button and the casing portion being movable with respect to the bottom portion, a resilient material being disposed between the casing portion and the bottom portion; and
generating a movement of the casing portion of said mouse device with respect to the bottom portion of said mouse device in response to said received sensory feedback signal. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification