Mouse having a rotary dial
First Claim
1. A computer mouse, comprising a housing and a rotary dial positioned to take up a portion of the front of an external surface of the housing, the housing providing a platform for sliding the mouse along a surface in order to move a cursor or pointer on a display screen of a computer system, the rotary dial rotating around an axis in order to implement a control function in the computer system, the rotary dial rotating within a plane that is substantially parallel to the external surface of the housing, the rotary dial having an engageable face for allowing a user to facilitate rotation of the rotary dial, the engageable face being completely exposed to the user, the mouse housing serving as a button of the computer mouse and providing a clicking action for performing an action with respect to the computer system, wherein the mouse housing has no separate mechanical buttons disposed thereon.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A user operated input device is disclosed. The user operated input device includes a housing and a rotary dial positioned relative to an external surface of the housing. The rotary dial provides a control function.
445 Citations
48 Claims
- 1. A computer mouse, comprising a housing and a rotary dial positioned to take up a portion of the front of an external surface of the housing, the housing providing a platform for sliding the mouse along a surface in order to move a cursor or pointer on a display screen of a computer system, the rotary dial rotating around an axis in order to implement a control function in the computer system, the rotary dial rotating within a plane that is substantially parallel to the external surface of the housing, the rotary dial having an engageable face for allowing a user to facilitate rotation of the rotary dial, the engageable face being completely exposed to the user, the mouse housing serving as a button of the computer mouse and providing a clicking action for performing an action with respect to the computer system, wherein the mouse housing has no separate mechanical buttons disposed thereon.
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9. A mouse for moving a cursor or pointer on a display screen, comprising:
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a mouse housing; and a disk coupled to the mouse housing and rotatable about an axis that is normal to an external surface of the mouse housing, the disk being configured to facilitate a control function on the display screen, the disk being positioned to take up a portion of the front of an external surface of the mouse housing, the disk having a touchable surface for rotating the disk about the axis, the touchable surface being completely accessible to a finger of the user such that the disk can be continuously rotated by a simple swirling motion of the finger, wherein the mouse housing serves as a button of the computer mouse and provides a clicking action for performing an action with respect to a computer system, wherein the mouse housing has no separate mechanical buttons disposed thereon. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A computer mouse, comprising:
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a mouse housing that provides a structure for moving the computer mouse along a surface and for gripping the mouse for movement thereof; a position detection mechanism operatively supported by the mouse housing, the position detection mechanism being configured for tracking the position of the mouse as its moved along the surface; a disk positioned relative to an external surface of the mouse housing, the disk being rotatably coupled to the mouse housing about an axis that is normal to the external surface of the mouse housing, the disk being positioned to take up a portion of the front of an external surface of the housing, the disk having a user input receiving surface for facilitating movements thereof about the axis, and an encoder for monitoring the rotation of the disk about the axis wherein the mouse housing serves as a button of the computer mouse and provides a clicking action for performing an action with respect to a computer system wherein the mouse housing has no separate mechanical buttons disposed thereon. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A computer mouse, comprising:
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a mouse housing that provides a structure for moving the computer mouse along a surface and for gripping the mouse for movement thereof, the mouse housing serves as a button, the mouse housing providing a clicking action for performing an action on a display screen, the clicking action is actuated in a direction normal to the mouse housing, the mouse housing includes a base coupled to a body, the base being configured to make moving contact with the surface when the computer mouse is moved by the user, the body being configured to pivot relative to the base in order to generate the clicking action; a position detection mechanism operatively supported by the mouse housing, the position detection mechanism being configured for tracking the position of the mouse as its moved along the surface; a disk positioned relative to an external surface of the mouse housing, the disk being rotatably coupled to the mouse housing about an axis that is normal to the external surface of the mouse housing, the disk having a user input receiving surface for facilitating movements thereof about the axis, the plane of rotation of the disk being substantially orthogonal to the direction of the clicking action; and an encoder for monitoring the rotation of the disk about the axis. - View Dependent Claims (39)
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- 40. A computer mouse, comprising a housing and a rotary dial positioned relative to an external surface of the housing, the housing providing a platform for sliding the mouse along a surface in order to move a cursor or pointer on a display screen of a computer system, the housing of the mouse including a base and a button body that cooperate to contain the electronics of the mouse, the rotary dial rotating around an axis in order to implement a control function in the computer system, the rotary dial rotating within a plane that is substantially parallel to the external surface of the housing, the rotary dial having an engageable face for allowing a user to facilitate rotation of the rotary dial, the engageable face being completely exposed to the user, the rotary dial being rotatably coupled to the button body, the button body moving relative to the base in order to generate a clicking action for selecting and executing actions on a graphical user interface, the rotary dial moving with the button body when it is moved relative to the base.
Specification