Claims
- 1. An integrated pointing device for controlling the movement of an object on a display screen, comprising:
a) A base; b) A pointing stick mounted to the base; c) A strain sensitive device providing an electrical output that varies based upon the strain placed on the pointing stick; d) A substrate, the base mounted to the substrate; e) The base and the substrate defining an enclosed cavity; f) An electronic component mounted in the cavity.
- 2. The integrated pointing device of claim 1 and further comprising:
The electronic component is electrically interconnected to the strain sensitive device.
- 3. The integrated pointing device of claim 2 and further comprising:
The strain sensitive device is a strain sensitive resistor formed on the pointing stick.
- 4. The integrated pointing device of claim 2 and further comprising:
The strain sensitive device is a strain sensitive resistor formed on the substrate.
- 5. The integrated pointing device of claim 2 and further comprising:
The strain sensitive device is a strain sensitive resistor formed on the base.
- 6. The integrated pointing device of claim 1 and wherein the electronic component is an integrated circuit.
- 7. The integrated pointing device of claim 1 and further comprising:
A passive electrical component mounted in the cavity.
- 8. The integrated pointing device of claim 6 and wherein the integrated circuit provides signal conditioning and amplification to the output from the strain sensitive device.
- 9. The integrated pointing device of claim 6 and wherein the integrated circuit provides analog to digital conversion of the output from the strain sensitive device.
- 10. An integrated pointing stick comprising:
a) a base; b) a pointing stick mounted to the base; c) strain sensitive resistors mounted to the pointing stick; d) a substrate; e) the pointing stick attached to the substrate and defining a cavity; f) an integrated circuit mounted to the substrate in the cavity; g) the integrated circuit being electrically interconnected to the strain sensitive resistors.
- 11. The integrated pointing stick of claim 10 and wherein the integrated circuit is an application specific integrated circuit.
- 12. The integrated pointing stick of claim 10 and wherein the integrated circuit provides an electrical output of a conditioned signal corresponding to the output from the strain sensitive resistors.
- 13. The integrated pointing stick of claim 10 and further comprising:
the pointing stick having four strain sensitive resistors; the strain sensitive resistors being electrically interconnected to provide a bridge circuit.
- 14. An integrated pointing stick comprising:
h) a base; i) a pointing stick mounted to the base; j) strain sensitive resistors mounted to the base; k) a substrate; l) the pointing stick attached to the substrate and defining a cavity; m) an integrated circuit mounted to the substrate in the cavity; n) the integrated circuit being electrically interconnected to the strain sensitive resistors.
- 15. The integrated pointing stick of claim 14 and wherein the integrated circuit is an application specific integrated circuit.
- 16. The integrated pointing stick of claim 14 and wherein the integrated circuit provides an electrical output of a conditioned signal corresponding to the output from the strain sensitive resistors.
- 17. The integrated pointing stick of claim 14 and further comprising:
the pointing stick having four strain sensitive resistors; the strain sensitive resistors being electrically interconnected to provide a bridge circuit.
- 18. A method of making a pointing device for a computer comprising the steps of:
a) providing a pointing stick; b) forming strain sensitive resistors on the pointing stick; c) mounting the pointing stick to a base; d) providing a substrate; e) mounting a integrated circuit to the substrate; f) mounting the base to the substrate so the integrated circuit is contained in a cavity defined by the base and the substrate.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This invention is related to U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,301, entitled “Collar Mounted Pointing Stick,” U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,117, entitled “Z-Axis Sensing Pointing Stick with Base as Strain Concentrator,” and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/258,513, entitled “Integrated Surface-Mount Pointing Device” the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.