Input device featuring both trackball and mouse capability

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Input device featuring both trackball and mouse capability
4562347-1.png
Country US
Patent number 4562347
Issued on 31 December 1985
Inventor Dean A. Hovey
Douglas R. Grundstrom
James R. Yurchenco
Assignee Trace Systems, Inc.
Reference US4562347 

Input device featuring both trackball and mouse capability is a sphere supported in a housing with top and bottom apertures with two encoders that resolve the x-coordinate and y-coordinate values and convert the signals to the computer, so it can be used as a mouse or as a trackball. The invention was granted its patent number 4562347 on 1985. [1]

Description

Input device featuring both trackball and mouse capability

  • Inventor: Dean A. Hovey
  • Inventor: Douglas R. Grundstrom
  • Inventor: James R. Yurchenco
  • Patent number: 4562347
  • Filing date: 23 September 1983
  • Issue date: 31 December 1985
  • Assigned to Trace Systems, Inc.

Cited patents

  • US 3541541, "Position pot", issued Nov 17, 1970 
  • US 3892963, "Transducer for a display-oriented pointing device", issued 1975 
  • US 3987685, "Cursor position device", issued Oct 26, 1976, assigned to Xerox Corporation 

Referenced by

  • US 4623787, "Ball and transducer mounting arrangement for mouse", issued Nov 18, 1986, assigned to Wico Corporation 
  • US 4712101, "Control mechanism for electronic apparatus", issued Dec 8, 1987, assigned to Cheetah Control, Inc. 
  • US 4724715, "Control mechanism for computer keyboard and the like", issued Feb 16, 1988 
  • US 4767923, issued Aug 30, 1988, assigned to Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Hand-held image reading apparatus with position tracker 
  • US 4786892, "X-Y direction input device having changeable orientation of input axes and switch activation", issued Nov 22, 1988, assigned to Alps Electric Co., Ltd. 
  • US 4799049, "Image position control", issued Jan 17, 1989 
  • US 4801931, "Device for controlling the motion of a video-screen cursor", issued Jan 31, 1989, assigned to Hewlett-Packard Company 
  • US 4857902, "Position-dependent interactivity system for image display", issued Aug 15, 1989, assigned to Advanced Interaction, Inc. 
  • US 4891632, "Computer graphic drawing apparatus with coarse and fine controls", issued Jan 2, 1990, assigned to King Phoenix Co., Ltd. 
  • US 4933670, "Multi-axis trackball", issued Jun 12, 1990, assigned to Picker International, Inc. 
  • US 4939508, "Point and select device", issued Jul 3, 1990, assigned to Emtek Health Care Systems, Inc. 
  • US 4951034, "Light ball electronic mouse", issued Aug 21, 1990, assigned to Logitech, Inc. and Logitech SA 
  • US 4952919, "Trackball mechanism", issued Aug 28, 1990, assigned to Tektronix, Inc. 
  • US 5008528, "Invertible trackball", issued Apr 16, 1991, assigned to Logitech S.A. 
  • US 5021771, "Computer input device with two cursor positioning spheres", issued Jun 4, 1991 
  • US 5063289, "Combined mouse and trackball", issued Nov 5, 1991, assigned to Lexmark International, Inc. 
  • US 5078019, "Trackball device", issued Jan 7, 1992, assigned to Alps Electric Co., Ltd. 
  • US 5095303, "Six degree of freedom graphic object controller", issued Mar 10, 1992, assigned to Apple Computer, Inc. 
  • US 5132672, "Three degree of freedom graphic object controller", issued Jul 21, 1992, assigned to Apple Computer, Inc. 
  • US 5171978, "Trackball assembly including a loosely mounted ball support", issued Dec 15, 1992, assigned to Lexmark International, Inc. 
  • US 5187468, "Pointing device with adjustable clamp attachable to a keyboard", issued Feb 16, 1993, assigned to Microsoft Corporation 
  • US 5237311, "Hingedly supported integrated trackball and selection device", issued Aug 17, 1993, assigned to Picker International, Inc. 
  • US 5280276, "Combination mouse/trackball input device", issued Jan 18, 1994, assigned to Quickshot (BVI) Ltd. 
  • US 5281958, "Pointing device with adjustable clamp attachable to a keyboard", issued Jan 25, 1994, assigned to Microsoft Corporation 
  • US 5287090, "Combination mouse and track ball unit", issued Feb 15, 1994 
  • US 5291213, "Pen-type computer input device with multiple spheres", issued Mar 1, 1994 
  • US 5298919, "Multi-dimensional input device", issued Mar 29, 1994, assigned to Multipoint Technology Corporation 
  • US 5313230, "Three degree of freedom graphic object controller", issued May 17, 1994, assigned to Apple Computer, Inc. 
  • US 5379054, "Pointing device", issued Jan 3, 1995, assigned to ASCII Corporation 
  • US 5410332, "Trackball device with improved ball suspension and adjustable resolution", issued Apr 25, 1995, assigned to Microspeed, Inc. 
  • US 5428368, "Combination mouse and track ball unit", issued Jun 27, 1995 
  • US 5432530, "Pointing device and method of control of same", issued Jul 11, 1995, assigned to Fujitsu Limited 
  • US 5446481, "Multidimensional hybrid mouse for computers", issued Aug 29, 1995, assigned to Mouse Systems Corporation 
  • US 5457479, "Apparatus having dual modes for controlling cursor on display screen", issued Oct 10, 1995, assigned to Primax Electronics Ltd. 
  • US 5486845, "Non-linting ball gasket for computer mouse devices and method", issued Jan 23, 1996 
  • US 5528265, "Orientation-operated cursor control device", issued Jun 18, 1996 
  • US 5565889, "Pointing devices for a portable computer", issued Oct 15, 1996, assigned to Compaq Computer Corporation 
  • US 5572237, "Pointing device for a portable computer", issued Nov 5, 1996, assigned to Compaq Computer Corporation 
  • US 5583541, "Mouse and trackball design with contact-less roller sensor", issued Dec 10, 1996, assigned to Tandberg Data Storage AS 
  • US 5625381, "Control element constituting a mouse", issued Apr 29, 1997, assigned to Comadur S.A. 
  • US 5652604, "Hollow track ball and method for manufacturing same", issued Jul 29, 1997, assigned to Primax Electronics, Ltd. 
  • US 5661504, "Cursor control device construction", issued Aug 26, 1997, assigned to Abeam Technology Co., Ltd. and Shun-Jung Lo 
  • US 5745055, "Foot-operated multi-directional sensing device", issued Apr 28, 1998, assigned to Fleetfoot, L.L.C. 
  • US 5767841, "Two-sided trackball", issued Jun 16, 1998 
  • US 5818800, "Voice recording device having portable and local modes of operation", issued Oct 6, 1998 
  • US 5828364, "One-piece case top and integrated switch for a computer pointing device", issued Oct 27, 1998, assigned to Microsoft Corporation 
  • US 5854623, "Two- and three-dimensional trackball with enhanced measurement optics", issued Dec 29, 1998 
  • US 5990871, "Ergonomic pointing device", issued Nov 23, 1999, assigned to Microsoft Corporation 
  • US 6040820, "Track ball input device", issued Mar 21, 2000, assigned to LG Electronics Inc. 
  • US 6256013, "Computer pointing device", issued Jul 3, 2001, assigned to Microsoft Corporation 
  • US 6281883, "Data entry device", issued Aug 28, 2001, assigned to Voice Domain Technologies, LLC 
  • US 6515651, "Reversible wireless pointing device", issued Feb 4, 2003, assigned to International Business Machines Corporation 
  • US 6545667, "Apparatus for a convenient and comfortable cursor control device", issued Apr 8, 2003 
  • US 6744421, "Apparatus for convenient and comfortable cursor control device", issued Jun 1, 2004 
  • US 6847353, "Multiple sensor device and method", issued Jan 25, 2005, assigned to Logitech Europe S.A. 
  • US 6940488, "System and method of adjusting display characteristics of a displayable data file using an ergonomic computer input device", issued Sep 6, 2005, assigned to Microsoft Corporation 
  • US 7322011, "System and method of adjusting display characteristics of a displayable data file using an ergonomic computer input device", issued Jan 22, 2008, assigned to Microsoft Corporation 
  • US 7398089, "Data-capable network prioritization with reduced delays in data service", issued Jul 8, 2008 
  • US D375748, "Hand held remote", issued Nov 19, 1996 
  • US D377485, "Pointing device", issued Jan 21, 1997, assigned to Microsoft Corporation 
  • US D378517, "Pointing device", issued Mar 18, 1997, assigned to Microsoft Corporation 
  • US D382261, "Pointing device", issued Aug 12, 1997, assigned to Microsoft Corporation 
  • US D399499, "Pointing device", issued Oct 13, 1998, assigned to Microsoft Corporation 
  • US D595717, "Combination overlay and pointing device cover", issued Jul 7, 2009 
  • US D649995, "Magnifier", issued Dec 6, 2011, assigned to Eschenbach Optik GmbH 
  • US RE34931E, "Cursor positioning device operable over various degrees of elevation", issued May 9, 1995, assigned to Logitech S.A. 
  • US RE43523E, "Data-capable network prioritization with reduced delays in data service", issued Jul 17, 2012, assigned to Research In Motion Limited 

Images

References

  1. US patent 4562347, Dean A. Hovey; Douglas R. Grundstrom; James R. Yurchenco, "Input device featuring both trackball and mouse capability", issued 31 December 1985