Mouseless optical and position translation type screen pointer control for a computer system
US6057540A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 30, 1998 |
| Grant date | May 2, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 30, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F2203/0338
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A mouseless, optical and position translation type screen pointer control images a portion of the texture or fingerprint on one of the user's digits, which may be a thumb or a finger. Motion of the digit produces motion of the image that is detected by a movement sensor and is translated into corresponding motion of the screen pointer. The digit is placed onto an end of a rod lens that either extends upward amongst the keys: say, proximate the junction of the "H", "J", "Y" and "U" keys; or, horizontally outward from the front edge of the keyboard. As the image "moves" within the movement sensor a portion of it disappears from the field of view, and is replaced with other image patterns. A sufficiently changed image is maintained as a new current image, which then itself changes, and so on. A comparison between a reference frame (previous image) and the current frame (present image) allows detection of the amount and direction of image motion. These detected amounts corresponds to rotation of a mouse ball, and are sent to the computer's software to be treated as such. Since there is now no mouse, the buttons or switches that are part of a regular mouse may be replicated as separate …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.