Display control for hand-held devices

• US 6,690,358 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2000
• Issued: 02/10/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kaplan, Alan Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): Shalwala, Bipin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Osorio, Ricardo
• Application Number:
  US09/726,894
• Publication Number:
  US 20020093483A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,167 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/158, 345/649, 345/157
• US Class Current: 345/158
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1637 Sensing arrangement for detection of housing movement or orientation, e.g. for controlling scrolling or cursor movement on the display of an handheld computer

Abstract

A special orientation sensor within a hand-held electronic computing device provides for movement of a screen cursor in response to changes in the spatial orientation of computing device. The sensor provides at least two output signals that are sensitive to gravitational force in at least two different directions, and those signals assist in determining the spatial orientation of the computing device and in determining the position of cursor 120. In one illustrative embodiment the force-sensing mechanism comprises a pair of accelerometers that provide a signal corresponding to the gravitational force applied to the accelerometers. A processor responsive to the signals of the accelerometer converts those signals to cursor position signals.

Claims

1. Apparatus adapted to be hand-held that includes a screen comprising:

orientation sensor, developing at least two signals representative of orientation of said sensor in three dimensional space;

a processor that controls movement of said cursor in response to tilting of said apparatus;

means for coupling said signals to said processor for controlling position of a cursor on said screen; and

a movement actuator coupled to said processor, said actuator being moveable from an initial position in response to an applied force, where rate of said movement of said cursor in response to said tilting is sensitive to movement of said actuator from said initial position.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said actuator is a spring-loaded push button that controls a potentiometer.