Did You Know...
...Chester Carlson was a patent agent who tired of having to make multiple copies of patent applications using the only duplication method available at the time: carbon paper. In 1959 he came up with a new copying system and took it to IBM for evaluation. The "experts" at IBM determined potential sales to be only 5,000 units because people wouldn't want to use a bulky machine when they had carbon paper. Carlson's invention was the xerography process, the company founded on the system is Xerox.
PatentStorm News
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 5990868 | Method and apparatus for performing power conservation in a pointing device located on a wireless data entry device A remote control input device for use with a computer system is disclosed. The remote control input device typically includes means for wirelessly connecting the remote control input device to the computer system, a trackball, coupled to the connecting me... | 11/23/1999 |
| 5977953 | Mechanic encoder having single conductors ring A mechanic encoder having a single conductors ring is provided. The arrangement between the a first and a second conducting fingers and the conductors ring are specially arranged such that the sequential signal pairs can be accurately and precisely genera... | 11/02/1999 |
| 5973671 | Computer pointing device A computer pointing device includes a casing having a top on which a button rotatably support by a ball joint. The button has a plurality of pins corresponding to a plurality of openings formed on the top of the casing. A rubber pad is disposed within the... | 10/26/1999 |
| 5959614 | Pointing control system for controlling rotations of an object within a three dimensional view The present invention discloses a pointing control system for controlling rotations of an object within a three dimensional view. The three dimensional view comprises first axis and second axes which are perpendicular to each other. The pointing control s... | 09/28/1999 |
| 5959611 | Portable computer system with ergonomic input device A portable computer system with an ergonomic input device is comprised of a housing having a top surface. A central processing unit is carried in the housing. A heads-up display is provided for displaying information to a user, with certain of the informa... | 09/28/1999 |
| 5957595 | Multimedia keyboard device having game rods on each end A type of multimedia keyboard device, designed with two positioning depressions at the bottom of casing of a keyboard device, between said two positioning depressions is the formation of a separating unit, said positioning depressions and separating unit ... | 09/28/1999 |
| 5949401 | Two-handed input apparatus and method An apparatus and method for inputting data including controls to a computer, or other equipment. Included are a two-handed, hand-held apparatus and a method for inputting data using the apparatus. The apparatus includes a plurality of input devices, each ... | 09/07/1999 |
| 5926167 | Coordinate input device A coordinate input device including a housing having an opening, a ball received in the housing so as to be rotatable in any direction, the ball partially projecting through the opening, a pair of rotating shafts arranged so as to define a predetermined a... | 07/20/1999 |
| 5920307 | System for directly sensing the orientation of a track ball A track ball device includes a ball having a pattern of first conductive features and a socket into which the ball rotatably sits, the socket having a pattern of second conductive features. Also disclosed is a sensing array system for determining relative... | 07/06/1999 |
| 5917631 | Dual protocol remote control Methods and apparatus for use in communication between a remote control and a receiving unit provide power saving modes of operation and enable remote control use of high data generating devices, such as a trackball. A pulse position modulation protocol i... | 06/29/1999 |
| 5917474 | Free pivot-arm key plate The present invention relates to a trackball/actuator assembly for a portable computer that includes one or more free pivot-arm key plates disposed around a trackball module. According to one embodiment of the present invention, it includes a housing havi... | 06/29/1999 |
| 5914703 | Cursor control device A cursor control device electrically connected to a computer is used for controlling movements of an object within a three-dimensional image displayed over a screen of the computer. The computer comprises a computer program for controlling display of the ... | 06/22/1999 |
| 5898424 | Pointing device with differing actuation forces for primary and secondary buttons A pointing device for a computer, having switching mechanisms with perceptively differing actuation forces, is disclosed. In one embodiment, the pointing device comprises a housing, a sensor, a first switching mechanism and a second switching mechanism. T... | 04/27/1999 |
| 5896124 | Cleaning trackball for a computer pointing device The invention consists of a trackball (16) for a computer pointing device (10) with a layer of fabric (20, 50) hot-pressed onto the trackball (16). The trackball of the present invention cleans the internal parts of the computer pointing device, in partic... | 04/20/1999 |
| 5892499 | Forearm support for computer interface device An ergonomic palm and forearm support device is provided for computer interface controls. The device supports the palm and the forearm of a user's hand and arm during the user's operation of a cursor control, keyboard, or other computer interface. The dev... | 04/06/1999 |
| 5886686 | Keyboard with replaceable cursor control means A keyboard having an open chamber in a wrist rest thereof adapted for receiving a track ball and a touch input device alternatively, permitting the track ball or touch signal device to be electrically connected to the internal circuit of the keyboard for ... | 03/23/1999 |
| 5880685 | Computer keyboard with accessory platform A keyboard for use with a computer is disclosed. The keyboard has an array of keys made up of four rows such that all keys are accessible by a user using finger and thumb movements of the user's hands without moving the hands from a central location. All ... | 03/09/1999 |
| 5874938 | Pointing device with reduced component count A signal processing system for a strain-gauge pointing device has a reduced parts count and permits the use of relatively inexpensive low-tolerance components. The system can process signals from two or three or more strain gauges, permitting additional i... | 02/23/1999 |
| 5854623 | Two- and three-dimensional trackball with enhanced measurement optics A cursor control device for computers includes a ball whose surface is marked with a regular pattern based on the Platonic solids. The ball surface is illuminated and the rotations are measured precisely from the observed motions of the Platonic solids. T... | 12/29/1998 |
| 5831553 | Input apparatus for a data processing system Input apparatus for a data processing system. An input apparatus, for example a mouse or a track ball, comprises a member which is rotatable by manipulation by a user. The rotation causes a change of a magnetic field, which change is detected by a detecto... | 11/03/1998 |
| 5832323 | Information setting apparatus An information setting apparatus includes a first operation mechanism reciprocally operatable in the first and second directions different from each other, first and second direction detection units respectively for detecting an operation in the first or ... | 11/03/1998 |
| 5825308 | Force feedback interface having isotonic and isometric functionality A force feedback interface having isotonic and isometric control capability coupled to a host computer that displays a graphical environment such as a GUI. The interface includes a user manipulatable physical object movable in physical space, such as a mo... | 10/20/1998 |
| 5822080 | Desktop space-saver scanner A scanner is disclosed that may include a flatbed scanner with a scanner lid that has a keyboard of a desktop computer attached to the scanner lid in such a manner that the keyboard does not slide off the scanner lid when the scanner lid is lifted to scan... | 10/13/1998 |
| 5818420 | 3D object graphics display device, 3D object graphics display method, and manipulator for 3D object graphics display A 3D object graphics display device for storing information about 3D objects such as works of art or buildings, and for displaying them on a 2D display. The "3D shape data" and "texture data" of a 3D object is stored in a memory in advance. When an operat... | 10/06/1998 |
| 5815140 | Mouse with a movable cleaning member A pointing device includes a housing, a ball, and a cleaning member. Part of the ball protrudes from an opening of the housing. The cleaning member is pressed against the ball by a mechanism including a rod and a resilient member. The rod is made slidably... | 09/29/1998 |
| 5808568 | Finger operated module for generating encoding signals A finger operated module generates encoding signals by controlling transmission of light in response to finger operation of the module. The module includes a base member, a supporting member movably installed on the base member, and a rotating member rota... | 09/15/1998 |
| 5801771 | Keyboard and video camera control system A keyboard has a joyball centrally positioned and operable by the operator with a hand, and a plurality of operation keys operable by the operator with the fingertips and disposed in a substantially semicircular array around the joyball. The keyboard is c... | 09/01/1998 |
| 5793357 | Device and method for determining movement of a surface A device for determining movement of a surface relative to a detector, the detector comprising a source of radiation directed at the surface and a plurality of radiation sensors arranged to detect an intensity pattern due to interference in the radiation ... | 08/11/1998 |
| 5790889 | Method of selecting pointing device in a computer comprising responsive to a reconfiguration event, indentifying all connected pointing devices and selecting one of the devices A method of reselecting a pointing device for a computer in response to a reconfiguration event. The computer has a CPU, a coprocessor, and first and second ports. The coprocessor selects one of the first and second ports for sending and receiving command... | 08/04/1998 |
| 5784052 | Vertical translation of mouse or trackball enables truly 3D input A trackball enables entering 3D coordinates into a data processing system through both rotation of the ball and vertical translation of the ball relative to its casing. Software controlled tactile feedback means provides 3D tactile cues to the user when m... | 07/21/1998 |
| 5767841 | Two-sided trackball A hand-held, double sided trackball apparatus for controlling a cursor has a housing with a first side and a second side, and a third side extending between and joining the first and second sides. The third side has an inset portion for placement of the t... | 06/16/1998 |
| 5760766 | Pointing device with relocatable cable A trackball pointing device has a housing of a size that can be readily held in the hand of a user. The housing includes a top wall upon which are mounted a trackball and buttons for manipulation by a user's thumb. A cable passes emerges from the bottom w... | 06/02/1998 |
| 5751275 | Two-- and three--dimensional trackball with coordinate transformations An improved trackball includes a nonplanar retainer and tapered sensors. A method is given to measure trackball rotations about nonorthogonal axes and transform these to rotations about standard Cartesian coordinates. The large area of the ball exposed by... | 05/12/1998 |
| 5739813 | Three-dimensional image special effect apparatus A three-dimensional image special effect apparatus in which a track ball controls movement of a special image on a display screen. First and second rotation detection means detect the rotation of the track ball in first and second orthogonal directions. T... | 04/14/1998 |
| 5734374 | Trackball contamination barriers A device helps prevent contamination from reaching the inner workings of a computer trackball assembly, thereby prolonging intervals between maintenance. A circular ring attaches to the exposed surface of the panel through which the trackball protrudes fo... | 03/31/1998 |
| 5729249 | Touch sensitive input control device A family of controllers incorporate multiple force/touch sensitive input elements to provide intuitive input in up to six degrees of freedom, including position and rotation, in either a Cartesian, cylindrical or spherical coordinate system. Six dimension... | 03/17/1998 |
| 5726684 | Detachable convertible mouse-trackball pointing device for use with a computer A laptop computer includes a cavity into which a mouse/trackball pointer unit may be releasably mounted. The pointer unit is electrically coupled to the laptop computer by a retractable wire or by infrared or radio frequency wireless techniques, and is us... | 03/10/1998 |
| 5724106 | Hand held remote control device with trigger button An entertainment system has a personal computer as the heart of the system with a large screen VGA quality monitor and a radio frequency remote control device. The remote control device has a pointing device and a plurality of keys on top of the device an... | 03/03/1998 |
| 5714982 | Three-dimensional image special effect apparatus A three-dimensional image special effect apparatus wherein operation for setting a parameter can be performed simply and a special image can be moved smoothly to a distance only by a single manual operation of a track ball or a rotary ring is disclosed. A... | 02/03/1998 |
| 5703356 | Pointing device utilizing a photodetector array A cursor control device for personal computers and workstations includes various embodiments, some of which include a patterned ball and some of which rely on other patterned surfaces, which recognizes changes in the position of the pattern relative to a ... | 12/30/1997 |
