Input device with reduced friction
US8188974B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 24, 2006 |
| Grant date | May 29, 2012 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 19, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F3/03543
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A system and method for controlling friction between a mouse and the surface upon which it is placed. Reduction of friction can be accomplished in several ways, including: making the feet of the mouse from various different materials, creating layers of air between the mouse and the surface, creating beveled edges for the feet of mouse, etc. In one embodiment, the feet of the mouse are made of a piezo-electric layer bonded to another layer made of a different material. Exciting the piezo-electric layer at certain frequencies makes the two layers shrink and expand differently, thus creating oscillations of the feet. In yet another embodiment, portions of the mouse feet are made of different materials with different coefficients of friction. These different portions of the feet can be pressed down onto the surface with varying amounts of pressure, thus altering the friction.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.