Scrolling apparatus providing multi-directional movement of an image
First Claim
1. An apparatus for scrolling an image in multiple directions relative to a display screen, said apparatus comprising:
- a housing having at least one aperture therein;
a tracking assembly at least partially located within the housing for detecting movement of the housing relative to a support surface;
a rotatable member at least partially located within the housing, a portion of the rotatable member protruding outward through the aperture;
at least one depressible actuator extending around the rotatable member and positioned immediately adjacent to the rotatable member; and
a directional switch located within the housing for detecting depressions of the actuator.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The invention is a scrolling apparatus may be incorporated into an input device, such as a pointing device or a keyboard, for example, and operatively connected to a host computer to scroll an image along multiple axes relative to a display screen. The scrolling apparatus includes a rotatable member with the configuration of a wheel or a ball. In addition, the scrolling apparatus includes a depressible actuator located around the rotatable member. Both the rotatable member and the actuator, which scroll the image in different scrolling directions or at different scrolling velocities, for example, may be utilized for scrolling the image.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1. An apparatus for scrolling an image in multiple directions relative to a display screen, said apparatus comprising:
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a housing having at least one aperture therein; a tracking assembly at least partially located within the housing for detecting movement of the housing relative to a support surface; a rotatable member at least partially located within the housing, a portion of the rotatable member protruding outward through the aperture; at least one depressible actuator extending around the rotatable member and positioned immediately adjacent to the rotatable member; and a directional switch located within the housing for detecting depressions of the actuator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An apparatus for scrolling an image in multiple directions relative to a display screen, said apparatus comprising:
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a housing having at least one aperture therein; a tracking assembly at least partially located within the housing for detecting movement of the housing relative to a support surface; a rotatable member at least partially located within the housing, a portion of the rotatable member protruding outward through the aperture; and a depressible and ring-shaped actuator extending around the rotatable member and positioned adjacent to the rotatable member. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus for scrolling an image in multiple directions relative to a display screen, said apparatus comprising:
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a housing having at least one aperture therein; a tracking assembly at least partially located within the housing for detecting movement of the housing relative to a support surface; a rotatable member at least partially located within the housing a portion of the rotatable member protruding outward through the aperture; and a pair of depressible actuators extending around opposite sides of the rotatable member and positioned adjacent to the rotatable member. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An apparatus for scrolling an image in multiple directions relative to a display screen, said apparatus comprising:
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a housing having at least one aperture therein; a tracking assembly at least partially located within the housing for detecting movement of the housing relative to a support surface; a rotatable member at least partially located within the housing, a portion of the rotatable member protruding outward trough the aperture; at least one depressible actuator extending around the rotatable member; and indicia located on to actuator and pointing radially outward relative to the rotatable member. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. An input device for moving a cursor relative to a display screen, the input device comprising:
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a housing having at least one aperture therein; a tracking assembly at least partially located within the housing for detecting movement of the housing relative to a support surface; a rotatable member at least partially located within the housing, a portion of the rotatable member protruding outward through the aperture; at least one depressible actuator extending around the rotatable member and positioned adjacent to the rotatable member; and a primary key and a secondary key located on opposite sides of the actuator. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26)
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27. A method of scrolling an image in relation to a display screen, the method comprising steps of:
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providing an input device having a rotatable member and an actuator; configuring the input device to transmit a first signal to a host computer when the rotatable member is rotated and to transmit a second signal to the host computer when the actuator is depressed; incorporating first data into the first signal that directs the host computer to scroll the image independent of movement of a cursor or a pointer rendered on the display screen; and incorporating second data into the second signal that directs the host the image independent of the movement of the cursor or the pointer. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. An apparatus for scrolling an image in multiple directions relative to a display screen, said apparatus comprising:
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a housing having at least one aperture therein; a rotatable member at least partially located within the housing, a portion of the rotatable member protruding outward through the aperture; and a depressible and ring-shaped actuator extending around the rotatable member and positioned adjacent to the rotatable member, wherein the rotatable member and the actuator scroll the image independent of movement of a cursor or a pointer rendered on the display screen. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36)
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Specification