Adjustable pointing stick assembly
First Claim
1. An adjustable pointing stick assembly including:
- a pointing stick having a substantially flat bottom surface and a longitudinal axis;
support means for supporting said pointing stick while enabling movement of said pointing stick in a plurality of degrees of freedom relative to said support means including axial movement of said pointing stick;
force sensing means including means fixed with respect to said support means and means movable by said pointing stick relative to said fixed means when said pointing stick is moved relative to said support means;
said force sensing means producing electrical signals responsive to movement of said movable means by said pointing stick to cause controlled movement of a cursor of a computer monitor in response to motion of said pointing stick;
.adjusting means for adjusting the axial position of said pointing stick along the longitudinal axis of said pointing stick relative to said support means;
said adjusting means including cooperating means on said pointing stick and said support means for changing the axial position of said pointing stick relative to said support means during assembly;
and said cooperating means producing adjustment of the axial position of said pointing stick through rotation of said pointing stick relative to said support means.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A pointing stick, which is used to control the position of a cursor on a computer monitor, has its axial longitudinal position relative to its fixed cover adjusted so that a flat bottom surface of a pad on the bottom of the pointing stick does not exert a force on a flat sensing surface, which produces electrical signals in accordance with where the flat bottom surface of the pad engages it when the pointing stick is moved and the force with which it is engaged, unless a user moves the pointing stick. This adjustment is accomplished during assembly through four equally spaced angularly groups of teeth on the pointing stick cooperating with four equally angularly spaced detents on a fixed support cover for the pointing stick. The teeth of each group are of varying length in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pointing stick from a minimum at one end to a maximum at the other so that a tooth of the same length of each group engages one of the detents at the same time. This varying length of each tooth of a group enables the pointing stick to be moved axially by rotation until an assembler determines by the absence of the electrical signals that no force is exerted on the force sensor by the pointing stick when the pointing stick is at rest.
31 Citations
13 Claims
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1. An adjustable pointing stick assembly including:
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a pointing stick having a substantially flat bottom surface and a longitudinal axis; support means for supporting said pointing stick while enabling movement of said pointing stick in a plurality of degrees of freedom relative to said support means including axial movement of said pointing stick; force sensing means including means fixed with respect to said support means and means movable by said pointing stick relative to said fixed means when said pointing stick is moved relative to said support means; said force sensing means producing electrical signals responsive to movement of said movable means by said pointing stick to cause controlled movement of a cursor of a computer monitor in response to motion of said pointing stick;
.adjusting means for adjusting the axial position of said pointing stick along the longitudinal axis of said pointing stick relative to said support means; said adjusting means including cooperating means on said pointing stick and said support means for changing the axial position of said pointing stick relative to said support means during assembly; and said cooperating means producing adjustment of the axial position of said pointing stick through rotation of said pointing stick relative to said support means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An adjustable pointing stick assembly including:
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a pointing stick having a substantially flat bottom surface and a longitudinal axis; support means for supporting said pointing stick while enabling movement of said pointing stick in a plurality of degrees of freedom relative to said support means including axial movement of said pointing stick; force sensing means including means fixed with respect to said support means and means movable by said pointing stick relative to said fixed means when said pointing stick is moved relative to said support means; said force sensing means producing electrical signals responsive to movement of said movable means by said pointing stick to cause controlled movement of a cursor of a computer monitor in response to motion of said pointing stick; adjusting means for adjusting the axial position of said pointing stick along the longitudinal axis of said pointing stick relative to said support means; said adjusting means including cooperating means on said pointing stick and said support means for changing the axial position of said pointing stick relative to said support means; and said cooperating means producing adjustment of the axial position of said pointing stick through rotation of said pointing stick relative to said support means.
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Specification