Patent Application
20120026091
The present invention relates to a pen-type mouse for tracking two-dimensional movement with respect to a corresponding flat surface and communicating such movement to a computing device.
In computing, a mouse is a pointing device that functions by detecting movement relative to a supporting surface, with the detected movement communicated to a computing device in order to control the movement of a cursor on a display screen of the computing device. Although there are many different types of mouses, a traditional mouse has a generally low profile, and is held and moved by a user's hand, with the hand typically positioned over the mouse. Such a traditional mouse commonly includes two buttons for performing respective right and left clicks (control commands), and a scroll wheel for indicating a desired amount of movement, such as a desired scrolling or panning amount on a display screen. Other buttons or user inputs can also provide additional control features. Another type of mouse is a pen-type mouse, which has an elongated body that is generally upright like a traditional pen. Such a mouse is advantageous in that it can ameliorate certain repetitive wrist injuries often associated with long-time use of a traditional mouse. However, it would also be advantageous to provide a pen-type mouse which can be comfortably gripped and adjusted to a desired orientation of the user, and which can be used both like a traditional pen and a traditional, mouse.
In one aspect, the disclosure relates to an articulating pen-type mouse that has a body and a shoe connected by a joint, wherein the body is movable to a desired orientation with respect to the shoe so that a user can hold the mouse like a traditional pen and move it with respect to an adjacent flat surface while the shoe remains in contact with the flat surface. For example, the pen-type mouse can include an elongated body connected to a shoe via a joint that allows limited rotation between the two components about two different axes but prevents rotation around a third axis generally perpendicular to the other two axes. In this manner, the body can be oriented in a desired orientation that is comfortable for a user while the shoe remains in contact with the flat surface. A relative two-dimensional position value with respect to a reference position can be determined at each of a plurality of time points as the mouse is moved. The tracked movement of the mouse (the position information) can be used to control the position of a cursor on a display screen of a corresponding computing device such as a desktop computer, can be used in a drawing application, or can be for other purposes wherein position information or position information over time is desired. Additionally, the mouse can be used as a traditional pen, that is, it can be moved to form letters and other characters, with determined position information then being input to a character recognition application for translating the movement to specific characters, or to an image capture and verification application.
The mouse can also include one or more user input devices such as optical sensing devices, buttons, and/or touch-detecting surfaces such as touch screens or touch pads, for providing desired user input command signals to the computing device. These input devices can be operable to provide the same functionality that a scrolling wheel, and/or right and left click buttons provide on a traditional mouse, as well as additional functions. Further, the pen-type mouse can also include a detent which allows for the body of the mouse to be held in place with respect to the shoe and allows the mouse to independently remain in an upright position when desired.
Various objects and advantages and a more complete understanding of the present invention are apparent and more readily appreciated by reference to the following Detailed Description and to the appended claims when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
a)-4(c) are various views of an exemplary nested ball joint of the pen-type mouse of
a)-(b) illustrate a detent for holding the body fixed in place with respect the shoe.
Illustrated in
a)-4(c) illustrate one embodiment of the joint 16, which can be a nested ball joint. As shown, joint 16 includes a generally rounded inner portion 26 that can be integrally formed with the shoe 12, a generally rounded outer shell portion 28 (which can be formed as two pieces) surrounding the inner portion 26, and a cut-out portion 30 of the body 14 which is complementary in shape to the shape of an outer surface of the outer shell portion 28. The joint 16 allows for at least partial rotation of the body 14 with respect to the shoe 12 around two axes 32, 34 (shown in
More specifically, referring back to
For example, the circuit board 58 can include circuitry and applications, including for example a position detection and transmission module for determining a position of the shoe at different times as the mouse is moved, and for transmitting the position information to a computing device in a wired or wireless manner. This module can include sensors, such as optical sensors, accelerometers, or other sensors, for generating sensor outputs indicative of two-dimensional sensed positions of a defined point of the shoe with respect to a reference point, as well as a processor and memory for computing position information from the sensor outputs. The module communicates the position information or merely the sensor outputs to a computing device in a known manner. For example, a wired mouse can use a thin electrical cord terminating in a standard connector, such as a USB, RS-232C, PS/2, ADB or other connector. A wireless mouse can instead transmit data via infrared radiation or radio (including Bluetooth).
The pen-type mouse can include one or more user input devices for providing desired user input commands to the computing device. There are many types of user input devices that would be appropriate, such as optical sensing devices 57 like those shown in
The circuit board 54 can thus include circuitry and corresponding applications to interpret user commands from user input devices, and to transmit this information to a computing device such as a computer in a known wired or wireless manner.
The circuit boards and input devices can be operable for example such that, as the mouse is moved, a handwriting detection application operates to translate position information into alphanumeric and other characters (such an application could also be resident on a computing device in communication with the mouse). Also, an application for verifying signatures can be included, which can include such features as scaling text, and implanting signatures into documents.
Other applications can also be included. For example, the position information can be used in conjunction with a drawing application for a drawing displayed on the display screen of a computing device. The mouse can be used like a traditional pen to draw lines on the displayed drawing, and properties or settings of the lines can be changed via user input devices, for example, to change the width, gray level, color range, contrast, and continuity (dashed, dot, continuous) of the lines. As another example, the user input controls can be used in conjunction with the movement of the shoe over the flat surface, such that a three dimensional position of a virtual cursor is controlled in real time.
a)-(b) illustrate a portion of a body 14 of a mouse, and show a detent 63 for holding the body 14 fixed in place with respect the shoe of the mouse 10. In particular, the outer shell portion 28 can also include a bump 64, and the body 14 can include a complementary shaped indent 66. As the body 14 is rotated about axis 32 (see
It is specifically intended that the present invention not be limited to the embodiments and illustrations contained herein, but include modified forms of those embodiments including portions of the embodiments and combinations of elements of different embodiments as come within the scope of the following claims.
