Patent ID: 7629960

Claim:
An input device comprising: a housing that forms at least a portion of an exterior of the input device; a tracking assembly at least partially located within the housing, wherein the tracking assembly detects movement of the input device relative to a support surface; a first actuator accessible from the exterior of the input device, the first actuator switching the input device between a pointing mode and a joystick mode, the input device transmitting a pointing device signal when in the pointing mode and a joystick signal when in the joystick mode; a second actuator that switches the input device between a center mode and a hold mode, wherein a computer ceases to operate upon joystick data when the input device is in the center mode and switches from the joystick mode to the pointing mode, and wherein the computer continues to operate upon joystick data and proceeds to operate on pointing data when the input device is in the hold mode and switches from the joystick mode to the pointing mode, wherein the joystick data and the pointing data comprise data corresponding to movement of the input device relative to the support surface; and a controller located within the housing to receive input from the tracking assembly and the first actuator, the controller transmitting a pointing device recognition signal and a joystick device recognition signal to a host upon connection of the input device to the host.