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The present invention relates to a roller or wheel on an input device, such as a mouse. In particular, it relates to providing a magnetic ratchet or detent force for the user of the roller.
A roller is typically used on a mouse in addition to the primary input which comes from moving the mouse around on a ball protruding from the bottom of the mouse housing. Alternately, an optical sensor may be used instead of a ball. Other input devices, such as a track ball with the ball on top, a joystick, etc., will have a movable portion for providing the input. In addition to this movable portion, a roller may be added as well. The roller can be used for such functions as scrolling or zooming. The roller is operated by a user's finger, much like a dial on a radio.
There are a number of different designs for such rollers on a mouse or other device. Examples include Multipoint Technology Corporation U.S. Pat. No. 5,298,919, Microsoft U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,344, Apple Computer U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,313,230 and 5,095,303, Mouse Systems U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,530,455 and 5,446,481, Primax Electronics U.S. Pat. No. 5,808,568, and Logitech U.S. Pat. No. 6,157,369.
Force feedback has been used in different input devices, including mice. Examples of force feedback mechanisms can be found in a number of patents assigned to Immersion Corporation, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,825,303, U.S. Pat. No. 5,734,373, U.S. Pat. No. 5,767,839, U.S. Pat. No. 5,721,566, U.S. Pat. No. 5,805,140, U.S. Pat. No. 5,691,898 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,828,197.
Immersion Corporation U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,006 describes force feedback on a mouse wheel (roller). The mechanism shown is a motor either directly connected to the axle of the mouse wheel, or a pulley drive coupled to the axle. A passive actuator such as a magnetic particle brake or a friction brake is discussed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,006 also describes a number of different types of feedback. The feedback can be provided to simulate the ratchet effect currently provided by mechanical spring-type mechanisms in mouse wheels. The feedback can also be used to provide user feedback when a line is crossed on a document on a display. Similar feedback can be provided for the end of the page or the end of a document. The patent also describes providing an amount of feedback which is related to the size of the document. The patent also describes that when the wheel is used for a cursor, feedback can be provided on graphic items that the cursor passes over. In addition, a roller can vibrate to indicate an alert, such as an email message or an error in a program.
Culver (Immersion) U.S. Pat. No. 6,300,938 describes an electromagnetic brake that can be used on a cylindrical roller. This can be used for various force feedback effects, including detents. Logitech U.S. Pat. No. 6,809,727 describes various uses of magnets, solenoids and electromagnets for force feedback in a roller for various effects, including a detent or ratcheting effect. In particular an electromagnetic brake is described.
The use of magnets or magnetism for detecting x-y movement, such as by using a magnetic ball in a mouse, is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,583,541, U.S. Pat. No. 5,696,537 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,809,722. Other patents mentioning magnetic sensors for input devices include U.S. Pat. No. 6,624,808, U.S. Pat. No. 6,483,294 and Logitech U.S. Pat. No. 6,400,356.
A disadvantage of force feedback is the power required to provide the force which is felt by the user. This is particularly problematic for a cordless mouse or other device which relies on batteries, or on a device which is powered off of the limited power from the universal serial bus (USB)
The present invention provides a reduced power magnetic or electromagnetic ratchet for a roller on an input device. In one embodiment, opposing rings of permanent magnets are mounted in the roller, or are attached to the roller by a gearing arrangement. This eliminates the power requirement of electromagnets.
In another embodiment, a variable reluctance stepper motor is used By varying the power and timing of applying power to the stepper motor, one can control both the amount of ratchet force, and the number of ratchets per revolution.
System Overview
ASIC 14 also controls two roller actuators 20 and 22 which provide a ratcheting function on the mouse roller or wheel, as will be described below. The actuators which need power receive their power on lines 25 from a USB 24. Thus, the amount of power used by the actuators needs to be minimized. The sensor signals received by ASIC 14 are put into a packet format and transmitted over USB 24 to a host computer 26 for controlling a display 28. Host 26 may provide feedback signals back to ASIC 14 in response to the position of a cursor 30 on display 20, such as having less ratchets in a long document.
In one mode, instead of a sensor signal being sent to the host, and feedback signals being received back, the host can be bypassed to provide a detent feel to rotation of the mouse roller. In prior rollers, this has been done mechanically through the use of a spring mechanism mounted in the mouse. In the present invention, this can be provided through the tactile feedback mechanism using the detent local feedback path indicated by the dotted line 34 in
Permanent Magnet Ratchet
As the user begins to rotate the roller, the magnetic torque increases until it reaches a maximum, when the poles are directly opposite each other. Just beyond this opposite position the force will suddenly reverse, leading to the roller being rapidly drawn to the next stable position. This provides a smooth ratchet feel to the user with the absence of noise and wear.
The permanent magnet arrangement of
Stepper Motor Ratchet
By applying the right amount of current to the coils in sequence, the impression of ratchets can be created, by having the motor trying to turn against the movement of the user's fingers at the ratchet positions. The amount of ratchet force can be varied by varying the amount of current applied. The number of ratchets can be varied by skipping some teeth, or coils, in the stepper motor. These variations can be done on the fly. In addition, inertial feedback can be provided, such as by having the motor push slightly back against the user's fingers to give a heavy feel, such as for a very long document. Alternately, the motor can move with the user's finger to give a gliding feel. This gives a simulated inertia, to provide a power steering effect. In addition, the motor could move the wheel on its own after the user gives it an initial push, to cause continuous scrolling. For example, such a continuous scrolling could be activated when the user suddenly releases while moving the wheel quickly. Alternately, if the user stops first, then releases the wheel, continuous scrolling will not be activated.
The wheel of
The inner ring and the outer ring include sets of teeth 120a and 120b, respectively. The outer ring or alternatively the inner ring may be coupled to a portion of the roller that is configured to be pushed by a user to rotate the roller. As the roller is rotated the sets of teeth pass each other and magnetically interact to provide ratcheting.
The ratchet device may further include a locking device 125 (e.g., a locking bar) that is configured to engage one or more slots 130 to prevent the inner ring from rotating as the outer ring is rotated. If the locking device is engaged in one of the slots, the inner ring will be held substantially stationary as the outer ring is rotate and the teeth will magnetically interact to provide the ratcheting. The locking device may be disengaged from the slots by a variety of devices, such as a DC motor, a solenoid, a manual actuator that is manually controlled by a user or the like. If the locking device is disengaged from the inner ring, the teeth of the inner ring are configured to magnetically interact with the teeth of the outer ring such that the inner ring will rotate with the outer ring as the outer ring is rotated. As the inner ring and outer ring are configured to rotate together with the locking device dis-engaged, no ratcheting is applied to the roller and the other ring will rotate substantially smoothly in a smooth roller mode. A pair of flux traps may be disposed on either side of the ratchet device as described above and as shown in
As will be understood by those of skill in the art, the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. For example, multiple gear reductions could be provided between a permanent magnet or stepper motor and a wheel. Other configurations could be used to connect the rotor to the wheel. The stator could be connected to the wheel in the arrangement of