Patent Document

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims benefit to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/577,215 filed on Jun. 7, 2004, entitled “Computer System, and Device, In Particular Computer Mouse or Mobile Telephone for Use with the Computer System” which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The invention generally relates to computer systems, and, more particularely, to a computer, and a device, in particular a peripheral device, e.g. a computer mouse, or a mobile telephone, etc., for use with the computer.  
         [0003]     In the state of the art, mobile, wireless telephones are well known, and generally include an elongated body having a gripping portion so as to be hand-held, a speaker portion which is held near the user&#39;s ear, and a microphone portion that is positioned near the user&#39;s mouth when in use.  
         [0004]     Mobile, wireless telephones generally communicate with so-called base stations of wireless telephone service suppliers, e.g. making use of the GSM-, or the UMTS-standard.  
         [0005]     Further, so-called computer mice are well known in the art. A computer mouse might comprise input members such as click members or buttons, and a mouse movement tracking member such as a rolling ball.  
         [0006]     The mouse might be connected via a respective wire to a computer, and might be used to control the computer, e.g., by making use of a cursor controlled by a movement of the mouse, and shown on a respective screen of the computer.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     The invention is aimed at making available a novel device, in particular, computer peripheral device, e.g. a novel computer mouse, and/or a novel mobile telephone for use with a computer, and a novel computer, and a novel computer system.  
         [0008]     According to an aspect of the invention, a computer system comprises: a computer, and a peripheral device, wherein the computer comprises one or more receivers for receiving signals sent from the peripheral device, and a peripheral device movement detector for detecting a movement of the peripheral device from the signals received from the peripheral device.  
         [0009]     According to a further aspect of the invention, a computer is provided, comprising one or more receivers for receiving signals sent from a peripheral device, and a peripheral device movement detector for detecting a movement of the peripheral device from the signals received from the peripheral device.  
         [0010]     According to an additional aspect of the invention, a peripheral device is provided, comprising a reflector adapted to reflect signals sent from a computer, for a movement detector comprised by said computer to detect a movement of the peripheral device from the reflected signals.  
         [0011]     The peripheral device might e.g. be a mobile phone.  
         [0012]     According to a further aspect of the invention, a mobile telephone comprises a telephone movement tracking member.  
         [0013]     Advantageously, the telephone movement tracking member comprises a rollerball.  
         [0014]     According to another aspect of the invention, a computer system comprises: a mobile telephone comprising a telephone movement tracking member, and a computer connectable to the mobile telephone, e.g. via a wireless RF connection. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]     The above and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood when considered with respect to the following detailed description, appended claims and accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0016]      FIG. 1  is diagrammatic view illustrating an embodiment of a computer system;  
         [0017]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a computer system;  
         [0018]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a mobile phone, additionally working as a mouse, which might be used in the computer system, viewed from above;  
         [0019]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a mobile phone, additionally working as a mouse, which might be used in the computer system, viewed from below;  
         [0020]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view illustrating an alternative embodiment of a computer system; and  
         [0021]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view illustrating a further alternative embodiment of a computer system. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0022]     In an embodiment as shown in  FIG. 1 , a computer system  10  comprises a computer  100 , e.g., a PC (Personal Computer), or a laptop computer.  
         [0023]     The computer  100  includes a microprocessor  12 , which is connected to a bus system  14 . The bus system  14  serves as a connection between microprocessor  12  and other components of the computer  100 . An input system  16  comprising and/or interacting with one or several (internal or peripheral) input devices  1 ,  2  is coupled to the microprocessor  12  to provide input to the microprocessor  12 . Examples of input devices  1 ,  2  include keyboards, touchscreens, and pointing devices such as mouses, trackballs and trackpads, as well as the—special—computer peripheral device  1  as described in further detail below.  
         [0024]     Programs and data are stored on a mass storage device  18 , which is coupled to the microprocessor  12 . Mass storage devices include such devices as hard disks, optical disks, magneto-optical drives, floppy drives and the like. The Computer  100  further includes a display  20 , which is coupled to the microprocessor  12  by a video controller  22 . A system memory  24  is coupled to microprocessor  12  to provide the microprocessor  12  with fast storage to facilitate execution of computer programs by the microprocessor  12 . It should be understood that other busses and intermediate circuits can be deployed between the components described above, and the microprocessor  12  to facilitate interconnection between the components and the microprocessor  12 .  
         [0025]      FIG. 2  illustrates a perspective view of the computer system  10 , and the computer  100  shown in  FIG. 1  (here: a PC (Personal Computer)), providing an environment within which the present embodiments can operate.  
         [0026]     The PC  100  comprises a main chassis  110  containing e.g. the bus system  14 , the input system  16 , the mass storage device  18 , the system memory  24 , etc.  
         [0027]     Coupled through individual connectors on the main chassis  110  are the above display  20 , a keyboard  2 , which constitute—together with the above computer peripheral device  1 , which will be described in further detail below—respective external data input and output devices.  
         [0028]     A printer  160  is also shown coupled to a parallel port on a rear surface of the main chassis  110 . The parallel port allows the PC  100  to send character or graphical data to the printer  160  for printing thereby. The peripheral devices  1 ,  2 ,  20 ,  160  allow the PC  100  to interact with a user.  
         [0029]     The above peripheral device  1 —in a first embodiment—might be a mobile, wireless telephone, e.g. a GSM-, or UMTS-telephone, similar to conventional mobile telephones, but being adapted such as to additionally fulfill the function of a conventional computer mouse.  
         [0030]     For instance—just as ordinary mobile phones, and as is shown in  FIG. 3 —the peripheral device  1  might comprise an elongated body  202  having a gripping portion so as to be hand-held, a speaker portion  201  which is held near the user&#39;s ear, and a microphone portion that is positioned near the user&#39;s mouth when in use, a display  203 , and several keyes  204 , which might correspond to the keys of an ordinary mobile phone, and which are used to control the mobile phone functions of the peripheral device  1 .  
         [0031]     Other than ordinary mobile phones,—just as ordinary computer mice, and as is shown in  FIG. 4 —the peripheral device  1  additionally includes a device movement tracking member, here: a rollerball  205 .  
         [0032]     After starting a special program stored on a memory of the peripheral device  1 , a first key  204   a , and a second key  204   b  of the above keyes  204  (and, e.g. one or several further keys  204   b )—usually used to control the mobile phone functions of the peripheral device  1 —might be used as input members working correspondingly as input members known from ordinary computer mice.  
         [0033]     For instance, the first key  204   a  might then be used as a first computer mouce click member, the second key  204   b  as a second computer mouce click member (and a third key  204   c  as a third computer mouce click member, etc.).  
         [0034]     The peripheral device  1  might than—just as an ordinary mouse—be used to control the computer  100 , e.g., by making use of a cursor controlled by the movement of the peripheral device  1  with respect to e.g. a mousepad, or any other kind of surface, and shown on the display  20  of the computer  100 .  
         [0035]     The data input at the respective keyes  204   a ,  204   b , and the data derived from tracking the movement of the peripheral device  1 , e.g. by the device movement tracking member, here: the rollerball  205 , might be sent to the computer  100 , e.g. the above computer input system  16  e.g. correspondingly to what is known for ordinary mice, e.g., via a respective wire connected between the peripheral device  1 , and the computer  100 , or—advantageously—wireless, e.g., by use of an ordinary wireless connection usually employed to connect an ordinary mouse to a computer, e.g., a wireless connection based on infrared light.  
         [0036]     Alternatively, the wireless connection might also be a RF (radio frequency) connection, e.g. similar to wireless connections employed by ordinary mobile phones (e.g., similar to a GSM-, or UMTS-connection), or any other kind of RF-connection (e.g., a W-LAN connection), and/or, might be a wireless connection e.g. making use of an antenna provided at the peripheral device  1  (not shown), and also used for the transmittal/receipt of data when the peripheral device  1  is used as mobile phone.  
         [0037]     In the alternative embodiment shown in  FIG. 5 , a peripheral device  301  might be built similar to the peripheral device  1  described above, but might not comprise an “active” device movement tracking member such as a rollerball (and—alternatively—might even not be supplied with the above mobile phone capability).  
         [0038]     Instead, the position and/or movement of the peripheral device  301  is tracked by a position/movement tracking system comprised by the computer  300 , e.g. comprising an RF signal generator  350 , in particular, an RF pulse signal generator, and several (e.g. three) triangulated relative phase detectors  351   a ,  351   b ,  351   c.    
         [0039]     A first detector  351   a  might be located at the display  320  of the computer  300 , and the second and third detector  351   b ,  351   c —spaced apart from another—at the front of the chassis  310  of the computer  300 .  
         [0040]     Further, the peripheral device  301  might be equipped with an RF signal reflector  352 , e.g., a piece of metal.  
         [0041]     The RF signals, in particular, RF pulse signals sent out by the RF signal generator  350  are reflected by the RF signal reflector  352 , and thus sent back towards the direction of the first, second and third phase detectors  351   a ,  351   b ,  351   c.    
         [0042]     From respective phase differences between the signals received by the first, second and third phase detectors  351   a ,  351   b ,  351   c , in particular, from respective differences in the arrival times of respective, corresponding signal pulses or edges thereof at the first, second and third phase detectors  351   a ,  351   b ,  351   c , the position and/or movement of the peripheral device  301  might be detected (e.g., by use of the above processor  12 , and a respective software program loaded on the storage device  18 , e.g. similar to a position and/or movement detection program as applied in conventional radar systems).  
         [0043]     The position and/or movement data (as e.g. calculated by the processor  12 )—just as the movement data provided by ordinary movement tracking members of ordinary mice—might be used to control the computer  300 , e.g., by making use of a cursor controlled by the detected position and/or movement of the peripheral device  301  with respect to the computer  300 , in particular, the above phase detectors  351   a ,  351   b ,  351   c.    
         [0044]     As is shown in  FIG. 6 , in an alternative embodiment, an RF signal generator  450  corresponding to the RF signal generator  350  shown in  FIG. 5  might be provided at the peripheral device  401 , instead of at the computer  400 .  
         [0045]     In this case, the the peripheral device  401  needs not to be equipped with a RF signal reflector.  
         [0046]     The RF signal generator  450 —corresponding to the RF signal generator  350 —might send out a low-power RF pulse signal every few milliseconds.  
         [0047]     Again, from respective phase differences between the signals received by first, second and third phase detectors  451   a ,  451   b ,  451   c  which correspond to the phase detectors  351   a ,  351   b ,  351   c  shown in  FIG. 5 , the position and/or movement of the peripheral device  401  might be detected.  
         [0048]     The position and/or movement data—just as the movement data provided by ordinary movement tracking members of ordinary mice—might be used to control the computer  400 , e.g., by making use of a cursor controlled by the detected position and/or movement of the peripheral device  401  with respect to the computer  400 , in particular, the above phase detectors  451   a ,  451   b ,  451   c.    
         [0049]     While certain examplary embodiments have been described in detail and shown in the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments are merely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad invention. It will thus be recognized that various modifications may be made to the illustrated and other embodiments of the invention, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Technology Category: h