User input device
First Claim
1. A hand-held user input device comprising:
- a sensing strip arranged to detect one-dimensional motion of a user'"'"'s thumb or finger relative to the strip and to detect position of a user'"'"'s thumb or finger on the strip in use;
the sensing strip being sized and shaped such that a user'"'"'s thumb or finger may slide along the strip in use;
a housing supporting the sensing strip and sized and shaped to be held in a user'"'"'s hand in use;
a processor supported in the housing and arranged to receive sensed data from the sensing strip and to control a communication unit supported in the housing;
the communication unit being connected to the processor and arranged to send the sensed data to a master device in order to control movement and position of a cursor at a user interface of the master device in use, the user interface displaying the cursor and a direction beam extending at least forward from the cursor in a direction associated with the orientation of the input device, forward being the direction toward which the cursor is pointed.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A user input device is described. In an embodiment the user input device is hand held and comprises a sensing strip to detect one-dimensional motion of a user'"'"'s finger or thumb along the sensing strip and to detect position of a user'"'"'s finger or thumb on the sensing strip. In an embodiment the sensed data is used for cursor movement and/or text input at a master device. In an example the user input device has an orientation sensor and orientation of the device influences orientation of a cursor. For example, a user may move the cursor in a straight line in the pointing direction of the cursor by sliding a finger or thumb along the sensing strip. In an example, an alphabetical scale is displayed and a user is able to zoom into the scale and select letters for text input using the sensing strip.
26 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A hand-held user input device comprising:
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a sensing strip arranged to detect one-dimensional motion of a user'"'"'s thumb or finger relative to the strip and to detect position of a user'"'"'s thumb or finger on the strip in use;
the sensing strip being sized and shaped such that a user'"'"'s thumb or finger may slide along the strip in use;a housing supporting the sensing strip and sized and shaped to be held in a user'"'"'s hand in use; a processor supported in the housing and arranged to receive sensed data from the sensing strip and to control a communication unit supported in the housing; the communication unit being connected to the processor and arranged to send the sensed data to a master device in order to control movement and position of a cursor at a user interface of the master device in use, the user interface displaying the cursor and a direction beam extending at least forward from the cursor in a direction associated with the orientation of the input device, forward being the direction toward which the cursor is pointed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method at a master device having a graphical user interface comprising:
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receiving data from a user input device, the data indicating one-dimensional motion of a user'"'"'s thumb or finger relative to a sensing strip and the detected position of a user'"'"'s thumb or finger on the sensing strip; receiving orientation data from the user input device indicating an orientation of the device; displaying a cursor at the graphical user interface such that it points in a direction related to the orientation data; displaying a direction beam extending at least forward from the cursor in the direction associated with the orientation of the input device, forward being the direction toward which the cursor is pointed; displaying the cursor at the graphical user interface such that the one-dimensional motion of the user'"'"'s thumb or finger maps to motion of the cursor in a straight line extending from the cursor in its pointing direction and such that the detected position of the user'"'"'s thumb or finger on the sensing strip maps to a position of the cursor which is on the straight line; receiving an instruction to display an alphabetical scale and, responsive to the instruction, displaying the alphabetical scale at an orientation associated with the orientation of the input device; and receiving motion data from the user input device, the motion data comprising at least one pre-defined gesture, and inserting at least one special character at the cursor location in response to receiving the motion data, the at least one special character being associated with the at least one pre-defined gesture. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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16. A method at a master device having a graphical user interface comprising:
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receiving data from a user input device, the data indicating one-dimensional motion of a user'"'"'s thumb or finger relative to a sensing strip and the detected position of a user'"'"'s thumb or finger on the sensing strip; receiving orientation data from the user input device indicating an orientation of the user input device; receiving movement data from the user input device indicating movement of the user input device; displaying a cursor at the graphical user interface such that it points in a direction related to the orientation data; displaying a direction beam extending at least forward from the cursor in the direction associated with the orientation of the input device, forward being the direction toward which the cursor is pointed; displaying the cursor at the graphical user interface such that the one-dimensional motion of the user'"'"'s thumb or finger maps to motion of the cursor in a straight line extending from the cursor in its pointing direction and such that the detected position of the user'"'"'s thumb or finger on the sensing strip maps to a position of the cursor which is on the straight line; and in response to receiving movement data from the user input device, the movement data being associated with a user shaking the user input device, displaying an alphabetical scale at the graphical user interface, the orientation of the alphabetical scale being related to the orientation data, and displaying an indicator at a location on the scale selected according to the detected position of the user'"'"'s thumb or finger on the sensing strip. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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Specification