Patent ID: 7102616

Claim:
In a display system that comprises a display screen, a processor for controlling use of the display screen to display information, and a hand held remote control device for communicating user input to the processor, a method of positioning a cursor on the display screen, the method comprising: emitting a signal from a first location to a remote control device at a second location, wherein the signal has an incident direction at the second location; receiving from the remote control device, data corresponding to an angular displacement between the incident direction of the emitted signal and at least one selected axis of the remote control device; using one or more mapping functions or rules to map the received data corresponding to angular displacement of the remote control device into movement of the cursor, wherein said mapping functions or rules are dynamically modified or selected based on (i) a particular computing task a user is performing, or (ii) a particular region of the display screen to which user input is directed; and positioning the cursor on the display screen in response to the mapped data.