Patent ID: 6232959
Filing Date: 2001-05-15
Classification: G05G,G06F

Abstract:
A device for positioning and controlling computer cursors and other virtual or real objects in two or the dimensions; said device comprising:two position control modules including a plate support and a finger- or hand-grippable member, said grippable member being vertically attached to said plate support, said plate support being movable in all directions within an X-Y co-ordinate plane via said grippable member, and said grippable member being vertically movable along a Z-axis and rotatable around said Z-axis relative to said co-ordinate plane;switching means located in said grippable member;detector means for determining a position of said plate support and a spatial orientation of said grippable member; andmeans for converting position, orientation and switching information to electrical signals indicative thereof, said signals being used to control position, orientation, direction of movement, speed and other properties of said cursor or objects,wherein said position and said spatial orientation of said plate support and said grippable member are defined by discrete light beams emitted from sources connected to said position control modules,wherein said beams irradiate one or more reference planes in the form of delimited light spots whose locations on said reference planes change according to any change of position and orientation of said control modules,wherein said locations of said light spots are detected by sensor means operable to identify addresses or co-ordinates relative to said reference planes,wherein said addresses or co-ordinates are used to define said position and said spatial orientation of said control modules, andwherein each said reference plane is subdivided into pixels, each said pixel containing a pattern that encodes information about position information interpreted by address reading means.