Method and adapter for performing assistive motion data processing and/or button data processing external to a computer

• US 6,650,313 B2
• Filed: 04/26/2001
• Issued: 11/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Schappert, Michael Alan, Levine, James Lewis
• Primary Examiner(s): WU, XIAO MIN
• Application Number:
  US09/843,122
• Publication Number:
  US 20020158843A1
• Time in Patent Office: 936 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/157, 345/158, 345/159, 345/160, 345/161, 345/163, 345/167, 345/168, 345/173, 345/700, 345/701, 345/702
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0383 Signal control means within the pointing device

Abstract

Assistive motion data processing and/or button data processing is performed in an adapter on user inputted variable data produced by a pointing device prior to communication to a computer. This processing may include one or more of processing to filter coordinate deviations from a desired path caused by unintended movements of the pointing device; removal of unintentional rapid button transitions of the pointing device; look-back processing to correct for unintentional pointer coordinate motion induced by operation of buttons on the pointing device; and detection of button double-clicks using relaxed requirements on motion and timing. The adapter'"'"'s processing is transparent to the computer. Provision for user input of selected parameters is provided, as well as switching to allow for user deactivation of the adapter for conventional use of the pointing device.

Claims

1. A method of processing variable data produced by a pointing device for input to a computer, said method comprising:

ascertaining user inputted variable data produced by the pointing device;

performing external to the computer at least one of motion data processing or button data processing on the user inputted variable data to obtain modified user inputted variable data;

formatting, if necessary, the modified user inputted variable data to a standard format used for communicating data from the pointing device to the computer; and

transmitting the formatted, modified user inputted variable data to the computer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said performing is transparent to the computer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the variable data comprises variable motion data or button data.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said performing and said formatting are performed external to the pointing device in an adapter in communication with the pointing device and the computer.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said performing and said formatting are performed within the pointing device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one of motion data processing or button data processing comprises processing to accomplish at least one of:

filtering to reduce coordinate deviations from a desired path caused by unintended movements of said pointing device imparted by a user thereof;

removal of unintentional rapid button transitions of said pointing device imparted by a user thereof;

look-back processing to correct for unintentional pointer coordinate motion induced by operation of buttons of said pointing device by a user thereof; and

detection of button double-clicks using relaxed requirements on motion and timing, and transmission of acceptable double-clicks to said computer.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said at least one of motion data processing or button data processing comprises processing to accomplish at least some of:

filtering to reduce coordinate deviations from a desired path caused by unintended movements of said pointing device imparted by a user thereof;

removal of unintentional rapid button transitions of said pointing device imparted by a user thereof;

look-back processing to correct for unintentional pointer coordinate motion induced by operation of buttons of said pointing device by a user thereof; and

detection of button double-clicks using relaxed requirements on motion and timing, and transmission of acceptable double-clicks to said computer.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein said at least one of motion data processing or button data processing comprises smoothing processing, and wherein said variable data comprises coordinate data, said smoothing processing comprising processing to smooth the coordinate data by one of recursive or non-recursive filtering operations applied to incremental coordinates produced by the pointing device, and wherein said formatting includes converting increments to be sent to the computer by correcting for roundoff thereof using accumulated roundoff errors.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein said look-back processing comprises storing a record of coordinate increments in at least one circular stack, checking said at least one circular stack for a region of minimal coordinate motion after a button change, and correcting for unintended motion by transmission of corrected increments to said computer based on increments stored in said at least one circular stack.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein said detection of button double-clicks processing includes using a record of coordinate increments in at least one linear stack recorded between a first button click and a second button click, checking time and distance between said first button click and said second button click to detect a valid double-click, restoring cursor location at the time of the second button click to its position at the time of the first button click if a valid double-click is detected, using data from the at least one stack, and transmitting a correct double-click to the computer.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one of motion data processing or button data processing employs at least one user selected parameter, and wherein said method further comprises allowing the user to input said user selected parameter.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said allowing comprises adjusting said at least one user selected parameter via the computer, said adjusting including communicating said at least one user selected parameter from the computer to an adapter disposed external to the computer, wherein said method of claim 1 is implemented within the adapter.

13. The method of claim 1, further in combination with providing a user with the ability to deselect the processing of claim 1, thereby allowing unmodified user inputted variable data to be transmitted to the computer.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein said allowing comprises adjusting said at least one user selected parameter via the computer, said adjusting including communicating said at least one user selected parameter from the computer to an adapter disposed external to the computer, wherein said method of claim 1 is implemented within the adapter.

22. The method of claim 21, further in combination with providing a user with the ability to deselect the processing of claim 1, thereby allowing unmodified user inputted variable data to be transmitted to the computer.

34. The system of claim 23, further in combination with means for providing a user with the ability to deselect the processing of claim 1, thereby allowing unmodified user inputted variable data to be transmitted to the computer.

14. A method of processing variable data produced by a pointing device for input to a computer, said method comprising:

receiving user inputted variable data produced by the pointing device;

performing external and transparent to the computer at least one of motion data processing or button data processing on the user inputted variable data to obtain modified user inputted variable data, wherein said at least one of motion data processing or button data processing comprises processing to accomplish at least one of;

filtering to reduce coordinate deviations from a desired path caused by unintended movements of said pointing device imparted by a user thereof;

removal of unintentional rapid button transitions of said pointing device imparted by a user thereof;

look-back processing to correct for unintentional pointer coordinate motion induced by operation of buttons of said pointing device by a user thereof; and

detection of button double-clicks using relaxed requirements on motion and timing, and transmission of acceptable double-clicks to said computer;

formatting, if necessary, the modified user inputted variable data to a standard format used for communicating data from the pointing device to the computer; and

transmitting the formatted, modified user inputted variable data to the computer.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising performing said method of processing within an adapter disposed in a communication path between the pointing device and the computer.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising performing said method of processing within the pointing device prior to transfer of data to the computer.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein said at least one of motion data processing or button data processing comprises smoothing processing, and wherein said variable data comprises coordinate data, said smoothing processing comprising processing to smooth the coordinate data by one of recursive or non-recursive filtering operations applied to incremental coordinates produced by the pointing device, and wherein said formatting includes converting increments to be sent to the computer by correcting for roundoff thereof using accumulated roundoff errors.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein said look-back processing comprises storing a record of coordinate increments in at least one circular stack, checking said at least one circular stack for a region of minimal coordinate motion after a button change, and correcting for unintended motion by transmission of corrected increments to said computer based on increments stored in said at least one circular stack.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein said detection of button double-clicks processing includes using a record of coordinate increments in at least one linear stack recorded between a first button click and a second button click, checking time and distance between said first button click and said second button click to detect a valid double-click, restoring cursor location at the time of the second button click to its position at the time of the first button click if a valid double-click is detected, using data from the at least one stack, and transmitting a correct double-click to the computer.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein said at least one of motion data processing or button data processing employs at least one user selected parameter, and wherein said method further comprises allowing the user to input said user selected parameter.

23. A system for processing variable data produced by a pointing device for input to a computer, said system comprising:

means for ascertaining user inputted variable data produced by the pointing device;

means for performing external to the computer at least one of motion data processing or button data processing on the user inputted variable data to obtain modified user inputted variable data;

means for formatting, if necessary, the modified user inputted variable data to a standard format used for communicating data from the pointing device to the computer; and

means for transmitting the formatted, modified user inputted variable data to the computer.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein said means for performing is transparent to the computer.

25. The system of claim 23, wherein the variable data comprises variable motion data or button data.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein said means for performing and said means for formatting are performed external to the pointing device in an adapter in communication with the pointing device and the computer.

27. The system of claim 23, wherein said means for performing and said means for formatting are performed within the pointing device.

28. The system of claim 23, wherein said at least one of motion data processing or button data processing comprises processing to accomplish at least one of:

filtering to reduce coordinate deviations from a desired path caused by unintended movements of said pointing device imparted by a user thereof;

removal of unintentional rapid button transitions of said pointing device imparted by a user thereof;

look-back processing to correct for unintentional pointer coordinate motion induced by operation of buttons of said pointing device by a user thereof; and

detection of button double-clicks using relaxed requirements on motion and timing, and transmission of acceptable double-clicks to said computer.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein said at least one of motion data processing or button data processing comprises smoothing processing, and wherein said variable data comprises coordinate data, said smoothing processing comprising means for processing to smooth the coordinate data by one of recursive or non-recursive filtering operations applied to incremental coordinates produced by the pointing device, and wherein said means for formatting includes means for converting increments to be sent to the computer by correcting for roundoff thereof using accumulated roundoff errors.

30. The system of claim 28, wherein said look-back processing comprises means for storing a record of coordinate increments in at least one circular stack, for checking said at least one circular stack for a region of minimal coordinate motion after a button change, and for correcting for unintended motion by transmission of corrected increments to said computer based on increments stored in said at least one circular stack.

31. The system of claim 28, wherein said detection of button double-clicks processing includes means for using a record of coordinate increments in at least one linear stack recorded between a first button click and a second button click, for checking time and distance between said first button click and said second button click to detect a valid double-click, for restoring cursor location at the time of the second button click to its position at the time of the first button click if a valid double-click is detected, for using data from the at least one stack, and for transmitting a correct double-click to the computer.

32. The system of claim 23, wherein said at least one of motion data processing or button data processing employs at least one user selected parameter, and wherein said system further comprises means for allowing the user to input said user selected parameter.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein said means for allowing comprises means for adjusting said at least one user selected parameter via the computer, said means for adjusting including means for communicating said at least one user selected parameter from the computer to an adapter disposed external to the computer, wherein said system of claim 23 is implemented within the adapter.

35. Apparatus for processing variable data produced by a pointing device for input to a computer, said apparatus comprising:

an adapter, said adapter including at least one logic element configured to;

ascertain user inputted variable data produced by the pointing device;

perform external to the computer at least one of motion data processing or button data processing on the user inputted variable data to obtain modified user inputted variable data;

format, if necessary, the modified user inputted variable data to a standard format used for communicating data from the pointing device to the computer; and

transmit the formatted, modified user inputted variable data to the computer.

36. A system for processing variable data produced by a pointing device for input to a computer, said system comprising:

means for ascertaining user inputted variable data produced by the pointing device;

means for performing external and transparent to the computer at least one of motion data processing or button data processing on the user inputted variable data to obtain modified user inputted variable data, wherein said at least one of motion data processing or button data processing comprises processing to accomplish at least one of;

filtering to reduce coordinate deviations from a desired path caused by unintended movements of said pointing device imparted by a user thereof;

removal of unintentional rapid button transitions of said pointing device imparted by a user thereof;

look-back processing to correct for unintentional pointer coordinate motion induced by operation of buttons of said pointing device by a user thereof; and

detection of button double-clicks using relaxed requirements on motion and timing, and transmission of acceptable double-clicks to said computer;

means for formatting, if necessary, the modified user inputted variable data to a standard format used for communicating data from the pointing device to the computer; and

means for transmitting the formatted, modified user inputted variable data to the computer.

37. The system of claim 36, further comprising means for performing said system of processing within an adapter disposed in a communication path between the pointing device and the computer.

38. The system of claim 36, further comprising means for performing said system of processing within the pointing device prior to transfer of data to the computer.

39. The system of claim 36, wherein said at least one of motion data processing or button data processing comprises smoothing processing, and wherein said variable data comprises coordinate data, said smoothing processing comprising means for processing to smooth the coordinate data by one of recursive or non-recursive filtering operations applied to incremental coordinates produced by the pointing device, and wherein said means for formatting includes means for converting increments to be sent to the computer by correcting for roundoff thereof using accumulated roundoff errors.

40. The system of claim 36, wherein said look-back processing comprises means for storing a record of coordinate increments in at least one circular stack, for checking said at least one circular stack for a region of minimal coordinate motion after a button change, and for correcting for unintended motion by transmission of corrected increments to said computer based on increments stored in said at least one circular stack.

41. The system of claim 36, wherein said detection of button double-clicks processing includes means for using a record of coordinate increments in at least one linear stack recorded between a first button click and a second button click, for checking time and distance between said first button click and said second button click to detect a valid double-click, for restoring cursor location at the time of the second button click to its position at the time of the first button click if a valid double-click is detected, for using data from the at least one stack, and for transmitting a correct double-click to the computer.

42. The system of claim 36, wherein said at least one of motion data processing or button data processing employs at least one user selected parameter, and wherein said system further comprises means for allowing the user to input said user selected parameter.

43. The system of claim 42, wherein said means for allowing comprises means for adjusting said at least one user selected parameter via the computer, said means for adjusting including means for communicating said at least one user selected parameter from the computer to an adapter disposed external to the computer, wherein said system of claim 36 is implemented within the adapter.

44. The system of claim 43, further in combination with means for providing a user with the ability to deselect the processing of claim 36, thereby allowing unmodified user inputted variable data to be transmitted to the computer.

45. At least one program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method of processing variable data produced by a pointing device for input to a computer, said method comprising:

ascertaining user inputted variable data produced by the pointing device;

performing external to the computer at least one of motion data processing or button data processing on the user inputted variable data to obtain modified user inputted variable data;

formatting, if necessary, the modified user inputted variable data to a standard format used for communicating data from the pointing device to the computer; and

transmitting the formatted, modified user inputted variable data to the computer.

46. At least one program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method of processing variable data produced by a pointing device for input to a computer, said method comprising:

receiving user inputted variable data produced by the pointing device;

performing external and transparent to the computer at least one of motion data processing or button data processing on the user inputted variable data to obtain modified user inputted variable data, wherein said at least one of motion data processing or button data processing comprises processing to accomplish at least one of;

filtering to reduce coordinate deviations from a desired path caused by unintended movements of said pointing device imparted by a user thereof;

removal of unintentional rapid button transitions of said pointing device imparted by a user thereof;

look-back processing to correct for unintentional pointer coordinate motion induced by of buttons of said pointing device by a user thereof; and

detection of button double-clicks using relaxed requirements on motion and timing, and transmission of acceptable double-clicks to said computer;

formatting, if necessary, the modified user inputted variable data to a standard format used for communicating data from the pointing device to the computer; and

transmitting the formatted, modified user inputted variable data to the computer.