Patent · US Active

Trackball for a mobile device

US7626573B2 · kind B2 · utility

6Cited by
4References
6Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJul 10, 2006
Grant dateDec 1, 2009
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 28, 2027

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F3/04812
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A computer-implemented system and method for navigating through a plurality of graphical elements with a trackball. For example, a method according to one embodiment of the invention comprises: detecting a substantially vertical motion on the trackball when a first element is selected; and responsively selecting either (a) a second element which is closest vertically to the first element or (b) a third element in the same horizontal line as the first element if a leftmost horizontal coordinate of the third element is closer to a leftmost horizontal coordinate of the first element than then leftmost horizontal coordinate of the second element.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.