The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 26, 1982
Filed:
Mar. 24, 1980
David D Thornburg, Los Altos, CA (US);
Xerox Corporation, Stamford, CT (US);
Abstract
A graphic input device for controlling the movement of a cursor upon a visual display. The device includes a number of variable resistance pressure transducers corresponding to the primary orthogonal directions of cursor movement. Each pressure transducer comprises a first electrode for selecting the direction of movement and a second electrode spaced from the first electrode, one of the electrodes being made of an electrically resistive elastomeric material. A manipulable force transmitting device is provided to move the electrodes toward one another and into contact, the contact area being variable with the force applied, so that the resistance across the electrodes is high when the contact area is small and lower when the contact area is larger. The device is connected to the visual display via an electrical circuit which supplies signals to move the cursor in a selected direction at a speed inversely proportional to the resistance condition.