Did You Know...
...that Charles Goodyear performed some of his experiments on rubber while in debtor's prison? He was there so often he referred to it as his "hotel". Chronically in debt because of poor business sense and ill health, Goodyear depended on the generosity of friends and family. Even after he unlocked the secret to vulcanizing rubber, he was unable to improve his financial situation. When he died, his estate was $200,000 in debt.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 6971069 | Method and arrangement for retrieving an entry from an indexed memory A method and arrangement are disclosed for scrolling between entries in an indexed list as a response to scrolling commands given through the activation of selectors. The indexed list is arranged into sections so that all entries of a section have at least one equal... | 11/29/2005 |
| 6967596 | Wearable data input device employing wrist and finger movements A data input device that substitutes for a traditional keyboard employs the same finger and wrist movements that a user employs on a keyboard but without a keyboard enabling a user's hands to rest comfortably in the user's lap or otherwise as the user may choose. Fi... | 11/22/2005 |
| 6967643 | Tactile feedback for cursor control device An apparatus for providing a tactile feedback to a user of a computer cursor control device such as a pointing stick is provided. A pzt material is first mounted to a semi-rigid material such as by bonding the pzt material to a metal substrate. When an ac signal is ... | 11/22/2005 |
| 6967645 | Encoder device combined with a roller An encoder device coupled to a roller or “scroll wheel” includes a mechanism to convert a rotating movement of the roller into a reciprocating movement that causes intermittent electrical conduction between two metal contacts so as to output an intermittent elec... | 11/22/2005 |
| 6965782 | Navigation key for a handset A telephone handset comprises a front surface with a display and a keypad. The keypad includes a group of keys for entering alphanumeric signs and a key for navigating a cursor in the display. The navigation key is placed in the front surface of the phone between th... | 11/15/2005 |
| 6963332 | Letter input method and device using the same A method for inputting Japanese letters and a device with which the method is carried out are provided. The method involves prearranging predetermined letters and symbols in a matrix array of M columns and N rows, and inputting a desired letter or symbol by designat... | 11/08/2005 |
| 6961458 | Method and apparatus for presenting 3-dimensional objects to visually impaired users A method and apparatus for examining a three dimensional image in a data processing system. An object is presented, wherein the object includes a set of views for different angles of view for the object. In response to a user input to traverse a view from the set of... | 11/01/2005 |
| 6960991 | Electronically tested high-security coding and decoding device The invention relates to an electronically tested high-security coder/decoder device, comprising a key (1) consisting of a mechanically produced code, a body with integrated interpretation and actuation unit (2) and an electronic processing device (... | 11/01/2005 |
| 6961052 | Methods and apparatus for providing multi-directional navigation control A navigation control apparatus, such as used to control a cursor on a display of an IP telephone, has a geometry that allows a user to produce a diagonal motion of the cursor displayed on the IP telephone. The navigation control apparatus has a support mount having ... | 11/01/2005 |
| 6956558 | Rotary force feedback wheels for remote control devices A force feedback wheel is provided on a mouse or other interface device manipulated by a user. A sensor detects a position of the mouse in a workspace and sends a position signal to a connected host computer indicating that position. A rotatable wheel is mounted upo... | 10/18/2005 |
| 6956559 | Character input apparatus An operation unit is provided with an operation body operated by hand, a first detection unit for detecting the inclination operation of the operation body, and a second detection unit for detecting the pushing-down operation of the operation body. Any of 26 alphabe... | 10/18/2005 |
| 6952201 | Three-dimensional information detecting device, three-dimensional information detecting sensor device, and three-dimensional information indicating device A three-dimensional information sensor device is disclosed in which sensor coils thereof are sequentially selected by a control section. Signals are communicated between indicating coils of a three-dimensional information indicating device and sensor coils by electr... | 10/04/2005 |
| 6950093 | Mouse handled in hand The invention is a mouse handled in hand, especially the mouse can be put both on a table surface and into a palm. The mouse comprises: at least one house; at least one switch button; a trackball, which is on a different surface of the house than a surface where the... | 09/27/2005 |
| 6950090 | Interface for transferring signals from a hand-operated signal generator An interface transfers signals from a hand-operated signal generator (1) to a data processing device (2). The hand-operated signal generator (1) is capable of generating at least two types of signals for moving an image in at least two different... | 09/27/2005 |
| 6947062 | Seamlessly combined freely moving cursor and jumping highlights navigation A remote control, operating an on-screen set-top box (STB) menu, has a force sensitive resistor (FSR) for coarse or free navigation and a keypad, placed around the FSR, for fine navigation. A user gets feedback by a highlighted item or an on-screen cursor when opera... | 09/20/2005 |
| 6947580 | Pointing device with biometric sensor A pointing device incorporates a biometric sensor at a location such that when operating the pointing device in a normal manner, a user's hand rests naturally in a position to place a finger of the user's hand in proximity to and readable by the biometric sensor. In... | 09/20/2005 |
| 6943774 | Portable communication terminal, information display device, control input device and control input method A portable communications terminal has display part having a display surface for displaying an image; main body having at least an antenna for transmitting and receiving radio waves for wireless communications, a s... | 09/13/2005 |
| 6943775 | Information processing system An information processing system comprises a plurality of information objects. The system has an input device through which a user can select a particular information object to be processed. An information object has an object representation to allow selection of th... | 09/13/2005 |
| 6940488 | System and method of adjusting display characteristics of a displayable data file using an ergonomic computer input device An ergonomic pointing device, such as a mouse, includes a wheel to provide an input signal in addition to X and Y position signals provided by a rotatable ball of a standard mouse. The wheel extends from an upper surface of the pointing device and may be rotated and... | 09/06/2005 |
| 6937227 | Hand-held pointing device The primary purpose of this thesis is to explain a device which could be used as an alternative for a computer mouse. Instead of using a regular roller found in an ordinary mouse, the device uses a pressure sensitive sensor to control the computer cursor on the moni... | 08/30/2005 |
| 6937228 | Two-axis ball-based cursor control apparatus with tactile feedback A two-axis ball-based cursor control apparatus with tactile feeling is provided, which includes a housing; a spherical ball contained partially within the housing and having a plurality of recesses distributed about its outer surface; two pairs of spring biased sens... | 08/30/2005 |
| 6933922 | Proximity sensor with adaptive threshold A proximity sensor measures receptor output with an energy source deactivated. The sensor then measures receptor output with the energy source activated. The measurements with the energy source activated are compared to the measurements with the energy source deacti... | 08/23/2005 |
| 6927759 | Optical mouse with uniform light projection An optical mouse includes a bottom casing, a top cover mounted to the bottom casing to define an interior space. A circuit board and a lens set are located in the interior space. The bottom casing has an opening. A detecting device is mounted to the circuit board. A... | 08/09/2005 |
| 6928383 | Three-dimensional information detecting system, three-dimensional information detecting device and input device for three-dimensional information detecting system A motion capture system includes a motion capture detecting device with sensor coils that are sequentially selected by a control section. Signals are communicated between respective input coils of input elements of an input device and the sensor coils by electromagn... | 08/09/2005 |
| 6921054 | Ergonomic mouse A computer mouse having a separately movable hand rest. The mouse comprises a housing having a conically shaped depression within a top wall of the housing tapering to an aperture through the top wall. A connecting pin extends through the aperture with an interior e... | 07/26/2005 |
| 6922186 | Ergonomic computer mouse This invention is a pointing device, i.e. a computer mouse, for producing computer program commands issued by young children or others that have difficulty operating a conventional mouse device. A rotatable ball or other pointing mechanism is provided in the housing... | 07/26/2005 |
| 6917357 | Handy mouse with a direction-switch device A handy mouse with a direction-switch device that is operable in both a palm and on a flat surface, for instance, a table surface. The direction-switch device switches directions via gravity. The handy mouse includes a roller stand supporting a roller for positionin... | 07/12/2005 |
| 6909354 | Electronic pressure sensitive transducer apparatus and method for manufacturing same The cost and complexity of an electronic pressure sensitive transducer are decreased by constructing such a transducer directly on a printed circuit board containing support electronics. Conductive traces are formed on the printed circuit board to define a contact a... | 06/21/2005 |
| 6909421 | Wireless input device A wireless input device is constructed to include a transmitter unit, and a receiver unit adapted for installing in a connecting port of a computer system and receiving signal from the transmitter unit to control the pointer on the computer screen of the computer sy... | 06/21/2005 |
| 6909422 | Track ball device and electronic apparatus using the same Relating to a track ball device for manipulating a cursor moving on a display screen of an electronic apparatus, a track ball device being manipulated precisely while generating a click feel when a ball is rotated, having a small play angle and small size is present... | 06/21/2005 |
| 6906700 | 3D controller with vibration A hand operated controller or converter structured for allowing hand inputs to be converted or translated into electrical outputs, the controller structured with a plate or platform moveable relative to a base or housing about two mutually perpendicular axes general... | 06/14/2005 |
| 6903652 | Input apparatus for vehicle-installed instruments A input apparatus for vehicle-installed instruments includes main input unit (operation unit) being placed in the proximity of a driver's seat for a user (driver) to switch a plurality of indicators displayed on a display screen into a selection mode and select any ... | 06/07/2005 |
| 6900793 | High resolution input detection A method and system for determining the position of a movable member in an electronic input device within a predefined resolution. Two offset signals indicate the position of the movable member. The time required for each signal to cross a threshold level is measure... | 05/31/2005 |
| 6892102 | Signal processor for a joystick input device A signal processor for a joystick which includes a joystick input device (11) which varies a joystick voltage input value Vi according to an operating amount of a joystick (10) from a neutral position (11), an input circuit (13) which out... | 05/10/2005 |
| 6870527 | Pointing device A pointing device includes a casing in which a track ball is rotatably received and physically engaging two substantially perpendicular rotatable axles and a biasing structure forcibly biasing the track ball toward the axles. The biasing structure includes a frame r... | 03/22/2005 |
| 6859360 | Extension device for display An extension device for display is disclosed. The extension device includes a housing mounted at the rear side of the display; an insertion slot disposed on the housing, the bottom end of the insertion slot connected to a connection section and the other end of the ... | 02/22/2005 |
| 6847352 | Stress relieving mouse The present invention 10 discloses a computer mouse having a body with an ovate palm support area 38 and a planar peripherally receding support 42 for the hypothenar mass and left 40 and right anterior buttons 44 eccentrically posi... | 01/25/2005 |
| 6847350 | Optical pointing device An electronic device has a case and a screen attached to the case. The screen indicates a cursor position. The electronic device further has an input device mounted to the case. The input device includes a curved surface for detecting an object disposed on the curve... | 01/25/2005 |
| 6847349 | Serial data cursor A serial data cursor for extracting content from an analog waveform representing a serial digital data stream has a horizontal length equal to a “word-time” as determined by parameters of a protocol for the serial digital data stream and a clock recovered from t... | 01/25/2005 |
| 6844873 | Reverse cantilever assembly for input devices A computer pointing device, such as a mouse or trackball, includes a reverse cantilever button assembly to match strength-related variations in user hand size. In one embodiment a button assembly is built with two cantilever beams, the fulcrums for each beam being a... | 01/18/2005 |
