AMBIDEXTROUS MOUSE

• US 20180032158A1
• Filed: 10/06/2017
• Published: 02/01/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: HOTELLING, Steven P., HUPPI, Brian Q.
• Granted Patent: US 10,156,914 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0332 Ergonomic shaped mouse adjustable to suit one of both hands
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03544 having dual sensing arrangement, e.g. two balls or two coils used to track rotation of the pointing device

Abstract

An ambidextrous mouse is disclosed. The ambidextrous mouse is configured for both left and right handed use. The mouse may include right handed buttons on the front side of the mouse and left handed buttons on the back side of the mouse. The user may change the handedness of the mouse by rotating the mouse about a vertical axis of the mouse such that the left hand can use the left hand buttons and the right hand can use the right hand buttons. The mouse may include a handedness selection system for configuring the mouse for right handed or left handed use even though the mouse has the capability for both right and left hands.

Claims

1. A user input device, comprising:

a touch sensitive surface divided into an array of buttonless sensing points, each buttonless sensing point being configured to generate a signal when the buttonless sensing point detects that an object is touching the buttonless sensing point, the signal including information identifying the particular location of the buttonless sensing point, wherein signals from one or more buttonless sensing points of the array of buttonless sensing points are combined to form a buttonless hand signal that defines a two-dimensional image of an object in contact with the touch sensitive surface of the user input device; and

a processor configured to;

receive the buttonless hand signal;

determine from the buttonless hand signal which touch zone amongst one or more touch zones in the touch sensitive surface was selected, wherein each of the one or more touch zones is associated with a plurality of buttonless sensing points; and

generate a function signal based on the selected touch zone, wherein each touch zone corresponds to a particular function.

2. The user input device of claim 1, further comprising a wheel cap and a wheel configured to rotate relative to the wheel cap, wherein the touch sensitive surface is a surface of the wheel cap.

3. The user input device of claim 2, wherein rotating the wheel presents audible and tactile feedback to the user.

4. The user input device of claim 2, wherein rotating the wheel generates a control function corresponding to a scrolling feature.

5. The user input device of claim 1, wherein the user input device comprises a unibody housing and the touch sensitive surface is a surface of the unibody housing.

6. The user input device as recited in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to compare the buttonless hand signal to a plurality of baseline hand signals, determine a handedness of a user touching the user input device based on the comparison, and configure the touch zones of the user input device in accordance with the determined handedness of the user.

7. The user input device of claim 1, wherein the buttonless hand signal is compared to a plurality of baseline hand signals to determine an identity of a user touching the user input device, each baseline hand signal associated with a unique user profile.

8. The user input device as recited in claim 1, wherein the buttonless sensing points are capacitive buttonless sensing points.

9. The user input device as recited claim 1, wherein the user input device is configured to pivot in a first direction about a first axis and in a second direction about a second axis.

10. A user input device, comprising:

a touch sensitive surface divided into an array of buttonless sensing points, each buttonless sensing point being configured to generate a signal when the buttonless sensing point detects that a user is touching the buttonless sensing point, the signal including information identifying the particular location of the buttonless sensing point, wherein signals from one or more buttonless sensing points of the array of buttonless sensing points are combined to form a buttonless touch signal that defines a two-dimensional image of a user in contact with the touch sensitive surface of the user input device; and

a processor configured to;

receive the buttonless touch signal;

determine from the buttonless touch signal which touch zone amongst one or more touch zones in the touch sensitive surface was selected, wherein each of the one or more touch zones is associated with a plurality of buttonless sensing points; and

generate a function signal based on the selected touch zone, wherein each touch zone corresponds to a particular function.

11. The user input device of claim 10, wherein the user input device comprises a wheel and the touch sensitive surface is a surface of the wheel.

12. The user input device of claim 10, wherein the buttonless sensing points are capacitive buttonless sensing points.

13. A method for operating a user input device having a touch sensitive surface divided into an array of buttonless sensing points, the method comprising:

receiving two or more signals from the array of buttonless sensing points, each buttonless sensing point configured to generate a signal when the buttonless sensing point detects that an object is touching the buttonless sensing point, each signal including information identifying the particular location of the buttonless sensing point;

combining two or more signals received from the array of buttonless sensing points to form a buttonless touch signal that defines a two-dimensional image of an object in contact with the touch sensitive surface of the user input device;

determining from the buttonless touch signal which touch zone amongst one or more touch zones in the touch sensitive surface was selected, wherein each of the one or more touch zones is associated with a plurality of buttonless sensing points; and

generating a function signal based on the selected touch zone, wherein each touch zone corresponds to a particular function.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

comparing the buttonless touch signal to a plurality of baseline touch signals;

determining a handedness of a user touching the user input device based on the comparison; and

configuring the touch zones of the user input device in accordance with the determined handedness of the user.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising comparing the buttonless touch signal to a plurality of baseline tough signals to determine an identity of a user touching the user input device, each baseline touch signal associated with a unique user profile.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising configuring the touch zones in accordance with the determined identity of the user.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the buttonless sensing points are capacitive buttonless sensing points.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the user input device comprises a wheel cap and a wheel configured to rotate relative to the wheel cap, and the touch sensitive surface is a surface of the wheel cap.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein rotating the wheel generates a control function corresponding to a scrolling feature.

20. The method of claim 13, wherein the user input device comprises a unibody housing and the touch sensitive surface is a surface of the unibody housing.