Cursor controller for use with a computer having a grippable handle
US6107991A · kind A · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 8, 1998 |
| Grant date | Aug 22, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 8, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F3/042
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A cursor controller for use with a computer uses a single moving slider actuated by a handle for indicating X and Y movement by mounting a pair of planar screens each having parallel lines at right angles to each other. Two light sources and associated detectors are respectively arranged on either side of the respective pair of screens so that light pulses resulting from movement of the slider indicate the amount of movement to control the cursor on a computer screen. Each associated detector may be formed by a side-by-side pair of light detectors with intermediate fixed screens having displaced lines to provide a quadrature sine wave output. In effect the pair of screens float between the sources and the detectors to eliminate unnecessary wiring and create a simple robust device. A hand held unit may be constructed by wrapping the screens in a drum shape and placing them in a cylindrical tube where a handle operated by the finger of the user may either axially slide the drum containing the screens for one orthogonal direction or rotate the drum around the axis for the other orthogonal direction.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.