Logitech Europe S.a.

Patrick Cerisier

Nicolas Ramond

Marten Helwig

Philippe Chazot

Christophe Dayer

Patrick Salamin

Guillaume Mathias

Mauricio Garcia

Yohan Baillet

Maxim Vlasov

Jean-Claude Dunant

Jan Stoeckli

A peripheral device with an adaptive scroll wheel can be used to provide additional control of a host computing device. A variable force is used to change friction on the adaptive scroll wheel for different situations. Examples include stopping a scroll wheel at an end of a document, changing a number of ratchet steps based on a number of items on a list, and changing scroll profiles based on application, such as a scroll profile for document processing and a scroll profile for gaming.

Adaptive scroll wheel

A user input device that includes a rotary input control is described herein. The rotary input control includes first and second ferritic substrates; first and second permanent magnets extending between the first and second ferritic substrates to form a magnetic circuit; one or more magnetizing coils wrapped around the first permanent magnet; and a wheel defining a central volume within which the first and second ferritic substrates, the first and second permanent magnets and the one or more magnetizing coils are positioned. The user input device also includes a control system configured to direct current to the one or more magnetization coils to change a magnetization of the first permanent magnet to adjust a resistance profile of the rotary input control.

Variable response rotary input control for a computer peripheral device

A computer-implemented method includes detecting a first window being displayed on a display of a host computing device, detecting graphical content on the first window, generating a second window (overlay) on the display, wherein the overlay is configured on a window layer above the first window, and changing graphical qualities of the overlay based on the detected graphical content of the first window. The graphical qualities may include at least one of a shape, size, color, transparency, or opacity of the overlay. The method can further include receiving input data corresponding to a movement of a cursor on the first window, setting a transparency of an area around the cursor to a first transparency, and setting a transparency of a remainder of the overlay to a second transparency, such that the area around the cursor appears to highlight a corresponding area of the graphical content on the first window.

Modifying a highlighting function on a display based on content

In some embodiments, a computer-implemented method includes detecting, by a first software application, a first window being displayed on a display of a host computing device, where the first window displays graphical content and is generated by a second software application. The method can further include capturing an image of the graphical content on the first window and generating a second window on the display of the host computing device, where the second window is configured as a top-most window on the display, such that subsequent application-level and system-level window pop-ups occur on a window layer below the second window. The method can further include displaying the captured image of the graphical content on the second window.

Uninterruptable overlay on a display

Certain embodiments include a computer-method includes searching for a receiver having an active first wireless communication protocol. When the receiver is detected, the mobile input device connects to the receiver, and when the receiver is not detected, the method includes searching for a host computer having an active second wireless communication protocol (e.g., Bluetooth&#xae;) after the receiver is not detected. The method further includes connecting the mobile input device to the host computer when the receiver is not detected and the active second type of wireless communication protocol is detected. The method then continues to search for the receiver while the mobile input device is connected to the host computer having the second wireless communication protocol, and automatically switches the wireless connection from the host computer having the second wireless communication protocol to the receiver when the first type of receiver is detected.

Automatic selection of a wireless connectivity protocol for an input device

In certain embodiments, a computer-implemented method includes detecting a graphical control element on a graphical user interface (GUI), determining a type of the graphical control element, generating configuration control data to cause an input device to configure one or more input elements on the input device to perform functions corresponding to the type of the graphical control element, and sending the configuration control data to the input device. In some cases, the configuration control data causes the input device to configure at least two of the one or more input elements to perform functions corresponding to the type of the graphical control element, and wherein the at least two of the one or more input elements are associated with different functions. The type of graphical control element can be one of a video media player, audio media player, hyperlink, word processor document, spreadsheet document, or alphanumeric text.

Growing community of inventors

Annecy le Vieux, France

Patrick Cerisier