Inertial mouse

• US 7,821,494 B2
• Filed: 07/27/2005
• Issued: 10/26/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Inventors: Chang, Shyang-Jye, Yu, Ren-Yuan, Tsai, Ming-Jye, Huang, Hsiang-Yu, Liou, Shun-Nan, Hsieh, Chin-Lin
• Primary Examiner(s): Eisen; Alexander
• Assistant Examiner(s): MCCOMMAS, STUART S
• Application Number:
  US11/189,861
• Publication Number:
  US 20060256085A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,917 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/158, 345163-166
• US Class Current: 345/158
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03543 Mice or pucks G06F3/03541 takes precedence

Abstract

An inertial mouse is disclosed in the invention, comprising: a housing; a first inertial part, coupled to a circuit substrate received in the housing, for detecting a motion measured with respect to a second axis and a third axis of a space and also for detecting a motion measured along a first axis of a plane; a second inertial part, coupled to the circuit substrate, for detecting a motion measured with respect to a first axis of the space and also for optionally detecting a motion measured along a second axis of the plane; and a micro-controller, coupled to the circuit substrate, capable of converting electrical signals received from the first and the second inertial parts or cells into a displacement signal while transmitting the displacement signal to an electronic display device by a means of transmission.

Claims

1. An inertial mouse, comprising:

a housing;

a circuit substrate enclosed within the housing;

a first accelerometer, coupled to a micro-controller and the circuit substrate, for measuring a first linear movement along a first axis and for measuring a first rotational movement around a second axis, and transmitting information corresponding to said measured first linear movement and said measured first rotational movement to the micro-controller;

an auxiliary accelerometer, coupled to the micro-controller and the circuit substrate, for measuring a second linear movement along the first axis, wherein said auxiliary accelerometer is distanced away from said first accelerometer by a first distance, and transmitting information corresponding to said measured second linear movement to the micro-controller;

a second accelerometer, coupled to the micro-controller and the circuit substrate, for measuring a third linear movement along said second axis and for measuring a second rotational movement around said first axis, and transmitting information corresponding to said measured third linear movement and said measured second rotational movement to the micro-controller; and

the micro-controller, coupled to the circuit substrate, for calculating a rotational movement value reflecting movement on around a third axis based on the magnitude of said first linear movement, the magnitude of said second linear movement, and the magnitude of said first distance, and transmitting said rotational movement value to an electronic device to effect movement of a display cursor.

2. The inertial mouse of claim 1,

wherein said micro-controller transmits a wired signal to an electronic display device.

3. The inertial mouse of claim 1,

wherein said micro-controller transmits a wireless signal to an electronic display device.

4. The inertial mouse of claim 1,

further comprising a mode switch, coupled to the circuit substrate, for controlling the micro-controller to perform an operation selected from the group consisting of a two-dimensional displacement calculation and a three-dimensional displacement calculation.

5. The inertial mouse of claim 4,

wherein the first accelerometer detects said first linear movement along the first axis in said two-dimensional displacement calculation.

6. The inertial mouse of claim 4,

wherein the second accelerometer detects said third linear movement along the second axis in said two-dimensional displacement calculation.

7. The inertial mouse of claim 4,

wherein the first accelerometer and said auxiliary accelerometer effect determination of said rotational movement around the third axis in the three-dimensional displacement calculation.

8. The inertial mouse of claim 4,

wherein the second accelerometer detects said first rotation movement around the first axis in said three-dimensional displacement calculation.

9. The inertial mouse of claim 4,

wherein the first accelerometer detects said second rotational movement around the second axis in said three-dimensional displacement calculation.

10. The inertial mouse of claim 4, wherein the mode switch further comprising:

a switch control, coupled to the micro-controller; and

a control button, electrically connected to the switch control.

11. The inertial mouse of claim 4,

further comprising a return switch, coupled to the circuit substrate, for controlling the micro-controller to proceed with a process selected from the group consisting of deactivating the calculation of two-dimensional displacement and activating the calculation of two-dimensional displacement, while the micro-controller is controlled to perform the calculation of two-dimensional displacement.

12. The inertial mouse of claim 11,

wherein the return switch is arranged at the bottom of the housing while electrically connected to the circuit substrate.