Input device with forward/backward control

• US 7,639,235 B2
• Filed: 12/04/2001
• Issued: 12/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Plank, Robert Scott, Kaneko, Steven T., Adan, Manolito E., Holmdahl, Todd E., Lipscomb, Terry M., Hooning, Michael R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hjerpe; Richard
• Assistant Examiner(s): Said; Mansour M
• Application Number:
  US10/004,663
• Publication Number:
  US 20020054023A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,947 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-173, 345/175, 345/179, 345/531, 345/684, 345/856, 715700-701, 715/767
• US Class Current: 345/163
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0312 for tracking the rotation of a spherical or circular member, e.g. optical rotary encoders used in mice or trackballs using a tracking ball or in mouse scroll wheels tracking relative movement in co-operation with a regularly or irregularly patterned surface, e.g. as in optical mice G06F3/0317; constructional details of scroll or thumb-wheels G06F3/0362; optical rotary encoders G01D5/3473
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03543 Mice or pucks G06F3/03541 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry

Abstract

In a computer system having a display and a keyboard, a computer readable medium includes instructions for invoking a message hook procedure based on a mouse message indicative of a mouse event.

Instructions also provide for identifying at least one focus application that has a current keyboard focus and of converting the mouse message into a command for the focus application. The command is then sent to the focus application and the mouse message is prevented from being routed to any other applications. In one embodiment, the commands include the command to page forward or backward through pages of Internet documents. In other embodiments, instead of converting the mouse message into a command, the message hook procedure displays a graphical user interface based on the focus application and the mouse message. The graphical user interface includes one or more commands that the user may select. Based on the selection made by the user, the message hook procedure sends a corresponding command to the focus application.

Claims

1. In a computer system capable of executing instructions and generating images on a display, a mouse having a palm rest area and a computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing steps comprising:

generating at least one of five mouse input values, each mouse input value capable of having one of only two states;

executing an application that displays document pages in a temporally serial manner on a display;

identifying when a first mouse input value is in a first state and when the first mouse input is in a second state; and

causing the application to display a previously displayed document page based on the first mouse input value being in the first state followed by the second state regardless of the position of a cursor on the display and regardless of other mouse input values.

2. The mouse and computer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein the first mouse input value represents the state of a switch and the first state indicates that the switch is closed.

3. The mouse and computer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein the first mouse input value represents the state of a switch and the second state indicates that the switch is open.

4. The mouse and computer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein each of the five mouse input values represents the state of a separate switch.

5. The mouse and computer-readable medium of claim 1 having further computer-executable instructions for performing further steps comprising:

generating a second mouse input value;

identifying when the second mouse input value is in the first state; and

causing the application to replace a currently displayed document page with a second previously displayed document page based in part on the second mouse input value being in the first state, the second previously displayed document page originally displayed after a currently displayed document page.

6. A computer mouse for use with a computer, the computer running software, said mouse comprising:

a housing; and

at least one user depressible surface exposed on the housing for communicating a first command signal to the computer, the first command signal associated with a paging back function of the software, whereby depression of the user depressible surface regardless of other manipulations of the mouse causes the software to page backward even when a displayed cursor is not positioned over a back button displayed by the software.

7. The computer mouse of claim 6 further comprising a second user depressible surface for communicating a second command signal to the computer, the second command signal associated with a paging forward function of the software, whereby depression of the second user depressible surface causes the software to page forward even when the displayed cursor is not positioned over a forward button displayed by the software.

8. The computer mouse of claim 6 wherein the user depressible surface is located on a side of the housing.

9. The computer mouse of claim 7 wherein the user depressible surfaces are located on a side of the housing.

10. A computer mouse including a housing, electronic circuitry located within the housing, a mouse cursor position control arrangement coupled to the electronic circuitry for allowing a user to control the mouse cursor position on a computer monitor, the electronic circuitry in communication with devices for communicating output control signals from the electronic circuitry to a computer, a plurality of finger-depressible buttons exposed on the housing and interfacing with switches, the switches electrically coupled with the electronic circuitry for allowing user selection of output control signals communicated to the computer, wherein:

one of the buttons is associated with a page-back function such that depression of the button alone causes software to receive a page-back message that initiates a page-back function executed by the software; and

the software receiving the page-back message without the mouse cursor being located on a back button displayed on the monitor.

11. The computer mouse of claim 10 wherein:

at least one of the buttons is associated with a page-forward function such that depression of the at least one button causes software to receive a page-forward message that initiates a page-forward function executed by the software; and

the software receiving the page-forward message without the mouse cursor being located on a forward button displayed on the monitor.

12. A method of using a computer mouse, the mouse having a cursor position control arrangement for controlling a cursor position on a display, and user-activatable buttons, wherein the method comprises:

activating one of the buttons to send a page-back signal to software, regardless of the cursor position on the display and regardless of other manipulations of the computer mouse, for execution of a page-back function.

13. The method of using a computer mouse of claim 12 wherein the method further comprises activating one of the buttons to send a page-forward signal to software, regardless of the cursor position on the display, for execution of a page-forward function.

14. A method of operating software using a computer mouse, the mouse having a cursor position control arrangement for controlling a cursor position on a display, and user activatable buttons, wherein the method comprises:

depressing at least one of the buttons to send a page-back signal to software for execution of a page-back function regardless of the cursor position on the display and regardless of other manipulations of the computer mouse.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

depressing at least one of the buttons to send a page-forward signal to software for execution of a page-forward function regardless of the cursor position on the display.