Low-profile pointing stick
First Claim
1. A pointing device comprising:
- a gel-based portion to interface with an optical lens and receive a tactile interaction, the gel-based portion including;
a gel-based body that allows controlled displacement during the tactile interaction and retains a default shape absent the tactile interaction, wherein the gel-based body is at least partially transparent;
a tactile surface directly affixed to a first side of the gel-based body, the tactile surface configured to receive the tactile interaction from a finger of a user that causes the controlled displacement of at least a portion of the gel-based body; and
a base surface directly affixed to a second side of the gel-based body that is opposite the first side, wherein the base surface is at least partially transparent and adheres the gel-based body to the optical lens; and
an optical sensor component that includes the optical lens and an image sensor, wherein the optical lens separates the base surface from the image sensor, the image sensor to detect the tactile interaction by detecting lateral displacement of the tactile surface relative to the base surface.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A low-profile, small-footprint gel-based pointing device is described herein. The gel-based pointing device described herein includes a gel-based body, a tactile surface affixed to a first side of the gel-based body, and a base surface affixed to a second side of the gel-based body that is opposite the first side. The tactile surface is configured to receive an input from a user and the base surface couples the gel-based body to a sensor surface. In at least one embodiment, the gel-based pointing device described herein further includes a sensor for receiving the gel-based pointing device and a detector for detecting changes in at least one of resistance, capacity, pressure, or lateral or vertical position of the gel-based pointing device.
101 Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A pointing device comprising:
-
a gel-based portion to interface with an optical lens and receive a tactile interaction, the gel-based portion including; a gel-based body that allows controlled displacement during the tactile interaction and retains a default shape absent the tactile interaction, wherein the gel-based body is at least partially transparent; a tactile surface directly affixed to a first side of the gel-based body, the tactile surface configured to receive the tactile interaction from a finger of a user that causes the controlled displacement of at least a portion of the gel-based body; and a base surface directly affixed to a second side of the gel-based body that is opposite the first side, wherein the base surface is at least partially transparent and adheres the gel-based body to the optical lens; and an optical sensor component that includes the optical lens and an image sensor, wherein the optical lens separates the base surface from the image sensor, the image sensor to detect the tactile interaction by detecting lateral displacement of the tactile surface relative to the base surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A pointing device comprising:
-
a gel-based body to provide at least controlled lateral displacement during a tactile interaction with the pointing device and to retain a default shape absent the tactile interaction, wherein the gel-based body is at least partially transparent; a tactile surface directly affixed to a first side of the gel-based body, the tactile surface configured to receive the tactile interaction; and a base surface directly affixed to a second side of the gel-based body that is opposite the first side, wherein the base surface is at least partially transparent and adheres the gel-based body to a surface associated with an optical sensor component. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
-
18. An apparatus comprising:
-
a gel-based body to provide at least lateral displacement during a touch input and to retain a default shape absent the touch input, wherein the gel-based body is at least partially transparent; a top surface directly coupled to a first side of the gel-based body, the top surface configured to receive the touch input; and a base surface directly coupled to a second side of the gel-based body that is opposite the first side, wherein the base surface couples the gel-based body to an optical lens and is at least partially transparent. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
-
Specification