Patent ID: 6952197

Claim:
A pointing device comprising: a base part; an operating part supported on said base part in a rockable manner about a fulcrum; a magnet carried on one of said base part and said operating part; a magneto-electro transducer carried on the other of said base part and said operating part; and an elastic member arranged between said base part and said operating part to elastically push said operating part toward an initial balanced position on said base part, said elastic member being formed as a plate spring provided with an opening to receive the fulcrum therethrough, a first section of said elastic member being engageable with said base part and a second section of said elastic member being engageable with said operating part, said second section being integrally joined to said first section and located to extend around said fulcrum, wherein said first section extends annularly around said fulcrum and is fixedly supported on said base part, and said second section is a plurality of concentric, elongated members, each of which extends arcuately along said first section to exert a spring action, and an opening is formed between the first section and each of the plurality of elongated members, and wherein each of said plurality of elongated members of said second section includes— a distal free end engageable with said operating part and a proximal end integrally joined to said first section at a position remote from said distal free end, and has a length between said distal end and said proximal end for exerting the spring action, or a distal free end engageable with said operating part and a proximal end integrally joined to said first section at a position close to said distal free end, and has a generally U-shaped length between said distal end and said proximal end for exerting the spring action.