Abstract:
An apparatus is provided for controlling the movement of an object on a plane. The apparatus comprising a basin, a movable object positioned within the basin, and a sensor coupled to the apparatus for detecting the movement of the movable object within the basin, wherein the movement of the object on the plane is related to movement of the object within the basin.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present invention generally relates to electronic user interfaces, and more particularly relates to an apparatus for controlling the movement of an object on a plane. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Increasingly, vehicles are being configured with electronic display systems that depict a plurality of images. These electronic display systems may include a cursor control device for manipulating a movable cursor on these images. These cursor control devices may be any one of a number of cursor control devices, including a mouse control, a joystick control, or a trackball control. Electronic display systems provide a user with useful information regarding the state of the vehicle, the surrounding area, or other data regarding the vehicle&#39;s environment. 
         [0003]    While the use of standard cursor control devices on a vehicle is effective, it does suffer from certain drawbacks. For example, the use of a mouse control requires an immobile flat surface that the control slides across to direct the movement of the cursor. However, the surfaces inside of a moving vehicle vibrate and are subject to other forces that make the use of a mouse control difficult. In addition, it is possible for the mouse control to slide completely off of a surface of the vehicle when the vehicle turns or stops suddenly. In addition, while the use of a joystick control or a trackball control may be better suited for use in a vehicle (e.g., because these controls are coupled to a base), many users prefer to use a mouse control as it provides them with an intuitive sense for directing the movement of a cursor. 
         [0004]    Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a cursor control device for use on a vehicle that is not affected by vibrations and other forces. In addition, it is desirable to provide a cursor control device that has the same intuitive feel as a mouse control. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0005]    An apparatus is provided for controlling the movement of an object on a plane. The apparatus comprises a basin, a movable object positioned within the basin, and a sensor coupled to the apparatus for detecting the movement of the movable object within the basin, wherein the movement of the object on the plane is related to movement of the movable object within the basin. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    The present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and 
           [0007]      FIG. 1 . is a cross-sectional view of a device for controlling the movement of an object on a plane according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of a device for controlling the movement of an object on a plane according to a second embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a system for controlling the movement of a cursor on an electronic display. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0010]    The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the invention or the application and uses of the invention. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any theory presented in the preceding background or the following detailed description. 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional view of a device  10  for controlling the movement of an object on a plane according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As further described below, in one embodiment device  10  comprises a cursor control device for controlling the movement of a cursor on an electronic display. The cursor control device may be used on a vehicle (e.g., ground, air, space, or submersible) or at any other location where a user interacts with an electronic display. It will be understood by one who is skilled in the art that device  10  may be used to control any object that moves on a plane, such as a robotic pen, a milling machine having a cutting apparatus that moves about two axes, or a vehicle that travels on a surface. 
         [0012]    As depicted, device  10  includes a base  12 , a basin  14 , a movable object  16 , a spring  18 , and a sensor  20 . The base  12  includes a bottom  22 , a top  24 , and one or more sides (e.g., two as shown)  26 ,  28 . The bottom  22  is of sufficient shape and size to provide support for device  10 . The top  24  of base  12  is positioned above the bottom  22  and is supported by the sides  26 ,  28 . The bottom  22 , top  24  and sides  26 ,  28  of base  12  form an inner chamber  32 . 
         [0013]    Basin  14  having a predetermined curvature is formed in the upper surface of the top  24  of base  12 . In one embodiment basin  14  is circular. The curvature of basin  14  is determined based on desired characteristics of device  10  such as its desired size or the range of movement of movable object  16  described below. Basin  14  also includes an opening  34  positioned at its center. The opening  34  extends through basin  14  to inner chamber  32 . 
         [0014]    Movable object  16  is normally positioned at the center of basin  14 , and has larger dimensions than opening  34 , preventing it from passing through opening  34 . The user of device  10  slides the object  16  along the surface of basin  14  to control the movement of a cursor on an electronic display (or any object that moves along a plane) in a fashion similar to the use of a mouse control. Object  16  follows the curvature of basin  14  providing the feeling that it is pivoting about a point above device  10  as it moves from one side of basin  14  to another. Object  16  and basin  14  may each comprise a low-friction material to allow for smooth and low effort motion. In one embodiment, object  16  is a substantially circular disc having a curvature that is substantially complementary to the curvature of basin  14 . 
         [0015]    Movable object  16  is coupled to bottom component  22  of base  12  via spring  18 . Spring  18  is coupled to movable object  16  at one end, passes through opening  34  of basin  14 , and is coupled to the bottom  22  of base  12  at the opposite end. Spring  18  is in its relaxed state when movable object  16  is positioned at the center of basin  14 . As movable object  16  is displaced from the center of basin  14 , spring  18  deflects away from its relaxed state. When movable object  16  is released, spring  18  returns to its relaxed state and causes movable object  16  to return to the center of basin  14 . Thus, spring  18  biases object  16  toward the center of basin  14 . In addition, spring  18  constrains the movement of movable object  136  preventing it from being removed from basin  134  due to vibrations or other forces inside of the moving vehicle. The spring  18  and the curvature of basin  14  work together to restrict the movement of movable object  16  within a predetermined range of motion. For example, the range of motion for the movable object  16  may be restricted to basin  14  such that movement of object  16  is inhibited when its edge meets with the outer rim  36  of basin  14 . Although in the depicted embodiment the movement of movable object  16  is constrained via spring  18 , it should be noted that other restraint devices may also be used. For example, a retractable cord or any other mechanism may be coupled to movable object  16  and to base  12  to constrain the movement of movable object  16 . 
         [0016]    Sensor  20  detects the movement of the object  16  within the basin  14 . In the depicted embodiment, sensor  20  is an optical sensor mounted near the rim of opening  34 . As object  16  slides along the surface of basin  14 , optical sensor  20  generates motion signals that describe the movement of object  16 . When object  16  is lifted away from the surface of basin  14 , sensor  20  is unable to detect its movement or to generate motion signals. 
         [0017]    Other types of sensors may also be used with embodiments of the present invention. For example,  FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of a device  50  for controlling the movement of an object on a plane according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As depicted, device  50  includes a base  52  that comprises a bottom  54 , a top  56 , and one or more sides  58 ,  60 . The bottom  54 , top  56 , and sides  58 ,  60  form an inner chamber  62 . A basin  66  is formed into the upper surface of the top  56  of base  52 . Basin  66  has an opening  67  in its center that extends into the inner chamber  62 . A movable object  68  is positioned in basin  66 . In this embodiment, movable object  68  also includes a downwardly extending stem  70  that extends through opening  67  into the inner chamber  62 . A magnet  72  is coupled to the end of stem  70  and a Hall Effect sensor  74  is mounted to the bottom  54  of base  52 , directly beneath the magnet  72 . Hall Effect sensor  74  detects movement of the magnet  72  when the movable object  68  is displaced and generates motion signals describing that movement. 
         [0018]    In addition, this embodiment includes a conically shaped spring  76  for biasing movable object  68  toward the center of basin  66  and constraining its movement as described above. The spring encompasses stem  70 , magnet  72 , and Hall Effect sensor  74 . In other embodiments, spring  76  may comprise a plurality of smaller springs formed in a conical arrangement around stem  70 , magnet  72 , and Hall Effect sensor  74 . In addition, in still other embodiments magnet  72  may be placed within movable object  68  and Hall Effect sensor  74  may be placed near the rim of opening  67 . 
         [0019]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of an exemplary system  100  for use with embodiments of the present invention. As depicted, the system  100  includes a cursor control device  110 , a processor  120 , and an electronic display  130 . The cursor control device  110  corresponds to device  10  of  FIG. 1  (or, alternatively, device  50  of  FIG. 2 ). The cursor control device  110  is coupled to the processor  120  and includes a base  132 , a basin  134 , and a movable object  136  positioned in the center of the basin  134 . Object  136  is movable within a coordinate system  138  having X and Y-axes. Movement of object  136  is constrained to a predetermined range of motion. A sensor (e.g., the sensor  20  of  FIG. 1 ) on the cursor control device  110  generates motion signals that describe the movement of movable object  136  within basin  134 . 
         [0020]    The electronic display  130  is coupled to processor  120  and includes a display area  142 . The display area  142  displays an image that includes a cursor  144  that is movable within a coordinate system  146  which corresponds to coordinate system  138  of the cursor control device  110 . As described below, the movement of the cursor  144  within the image depicted in display area  142  is based on command signals that the electronic display  130  receives from the processor  120  in response to the motion signals that the processor  120  receives from the cursor control device  110 . 
         [0021]    Processor  120  is coupled to cursor control device  110  and electronic display  130 . It receives motion signals describing the movement of movable object  136  within basin  134  from cursor control device  110 . In response to these motion signals, processor  120  determines the proper position for cursor  144  on the image depicted in the display area  142  and transmits a command signal to the electronic display  130 . The electronic display  130  displays the cursor  144  in the appropriate position. 
         [0022]    The processor  120  moves cursor  144  across the image depicted on display area  142  in accordance with one of a plurality of modes. In a first mode (e.g., an absolute mode) each position within the range of motion of movable object  136  corresponds to a predetermined position of cursor  144  on the image depicted in display area  142 . Thus, the position of cursor  144  is at all time synchronized to the position of movable object  136  and the user may position cursor  144  at a desired location on the image by positioning movable object  136  at a corresponding position within basin  134 . 
         [0023]    For example, the normal position of movable object  136  (e.g., the center of the basin  134 ) may correspond to the center of the image and each position at the border of the range of motion of movable object  136  may correspond to a position on the border of the image. In this case, when movable object  136  is positioned at the center of basin  134 , the processor  120  positions cursor  144  at the center of the image depicted on the display area  142 . If the user moves object  136  to a position at the border of its range of motion, processor  120  moves cursor  144  in a synchronized manner to a corresponding location on the edge of the image. Further, if movable object  136  is moved to a position  170  within basin  134  that corresponds to position  180  on the image depicted in the display area, processor  120  moves cursor  144  in a synchronized manner to the corresponding position on the image. 
         [0024]    In a second mode of operation (e.g., a relative mode) movement of movable object  136  within basin  134  results in a corresponding movement of cursor  144  on the image depicted in display area  142 . However, the position of cursor  144  on the image does not necessarily correspond to the position of movable object  136  within basin  134 . For the purposes of describing the movement of movable object  136  and cursor  144  in relative mode, the origin of coordinate system  138  will at all time be positioned at the center of movable object  136  and the origin of coordinate system  146  will at all times be positioned at the center of cursor  144 . In this mode, if the user desires to move cursor  144  from its current position (e.g., the center of the image) to position  180 , the user moves object  136  in a direction within coordinate system  138  that corresponds to the direction of position  180  with respect to the origin of coordinate system  146 . Cursor  144  moves in the direction at a speed that corresponds to the speed of movable object  136 . Further, if the user then desires to move cursor  144  from position  180  to position  190  on the image depicted in display area  142 , the user moves object  136  from its current position in a direction within coordinate system  138  that corresponds to the direction of position  190  with respect to the origin of coordinate system  146 . 
         [0025]    If movable object  136  reaches the border of its range of motion before cursor  144  reaches a desired location on the image, the position of movable object  136  must be reset within basin  134  before cursor  144  can continue moving toward the desired location. In one embodiment, movable object  136  may be reset by lifting it upward against the force of the spring  18  ( FIG. 1 ) and away from the surface of basin  134  and the sensor  20  ( FIG. 1 ). Movable object  136  may then be moved away from the border of its range of motion, set back down at desired location on the surface of basin  134 , and moved in the appropriate direction. This process may repeat until cursor  144  reaches the desired position. 
         [0026]    In a third mode of operation (e.g., a rate mode), cursor  144  moves on the image depicted in display area  142  in a direction that is based on the position of movable object  136  with respect to the center of basin  134  and at a speed that is determined by the distance between the center of movable object  136  and the center of basin  134 . In rate mode, the origin of coordinate system  138  is positioned at all times at the center of basin  134  and the origin of coordinate system  146  is positioned at the center of cursor  144 . The movable object  136  may be displaced from the center of the basin  134  to position  170 . This displacement can be described by a vector  250  beginning at the origin of coordinate system  138  (e.g., the center of basin  134 ) and ending at position  170 . In response, the processor  120  moves the cursor  144  across the image in the display area  142  in a direction within coordinate system  146  that corresponds to the direction of vector  250  within coordinate system  138 . Cursor  144  accelerates in the appropriate direction until it reaches a speed that corresponds to the magnitude of vector  250  (e.g., the distance between the center of movable object  136  and position  170 ). If the user desires to change the direction or speed of cursor  144 , the user may move object  136  to another position  255  within basin  134 . In this case, vector  260  describes the new position  260  of movable object  136 . Processor  120  would then move cursor  144  in a direction with respect to coordinate system  146  that corresponds to the direction of vector  260  within coordinate system  138  and the speed of cursor  144  would change to correspond to the magnitude of vector  260  (e.g., the distance between the center of basin  134  and position  255 ). When the movable object  136  is returned to the center of the basin  134 , movement of the cursor  144  ceases. 
         [0027]    Finally, in a fourth mode of operation (e.g., an acceleration mode) the cursor  144  accelerates across the image depicted in the display area  142  in a direction that is based on the orientation of the movable object  136  with respect to the center of basin  134  and at a rate that is based on the distance between the center of basin  134  and the center of movable object  136 . In acceleration mode, the origin of coordinate system  138  is positioned at all times at the center of basin  134  and the origin of coordinate system  146  is positioned at the center of cursor  144 . When movable object  136  is displaced from the center of the basin  134  to position  170 , processor  120  accelerates cursor  144  on the image depicted in display area  142  in a direction that corresponds to the direction of vector  250 . The acceleration of cursor  144  depends on the distance between the centers of basin  134  and position  170 . If movable object  136  is moved further away from basin  134 , processor  120  will cause cursor  144  to accelerate in the appropriate direction at in increased rate. Conversely, if movable object  136  is moved closer to basin  134 , processor  120  accelerates cursor  144  in the appropriate direction at a decreased rate. When the movable object  136  is returned to the center of the basin  134 , processor  120  causes cursor  144  to move across the image at a constant rate (e.g., with no acceleration because the distance between the center of basin  134  and the position of movable object  136  is zero). To stop the movement of the cursor  144 , the user must move the movable object  136  in a direction that is opposite of the direction of movement of the cursor  144 , causing the cursor to decelerate and ultimately stop moving. 
         [0028]    It should be noted that although four exemplary modes of operation for controlling cursor  144  in response to movement of movable object  136  are described herein, other modes of operation may also be used. In addition, the cursor control device  110  may be used to interact with menus, lists, or other graphical user interface controls displayed in the display area  142 . For example, movement object  136  along the Y-axis of coordinate system  138  may enable the user to scroll through a menu or list that is depicted in the display area  142 . Further, movement of object  136  in a positive direction along the X-axis of coordinate system  138  may enable the user to select an object from the menu or list or proceed to a next menu and movement of object  136  in a negative direction along the X-axis of coordinate system  138  may enable the user to undo the last menu selection or move back to a previous menu. 
         [0029]    In addition, although the embodiment of the present invention described in  FIG. 3  is directed at a system  100  that includes a cursor control device  110  for controlling the movement of a cursor  144  in a display area  142 , it should be noted that in other embodiments the devices described above with respect to  FIGS. 1 and 2  may be used to control other objects that move on a plane. In these embodiments, the object moves on the plane in response to movement of a movable object (e.g., the movable object  16  of  FIG. 1 ) within in basin (e.g., the basin  14  of  FIG. 1 ) in substantially the same manner as cursor  144  moves in the display area  142  in response to movement of movable object  136  according to a mode of operation as described above. 
         [0030]    While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detailed description of the invention, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing an exemplary embodiment of the invention. It being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements described in an exemplary embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.