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:
Mar. 06, 2001
Filed:
Sep. 16, 1998
David Bruce Lection, Raleigh, NC (US);
Mark Edward Molander, Cary, NC (US);
Mohamad R. Salahshoor, Raleigh, NC (US);
John Lane Scanlon, Raleigh, NC (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
A system-integrated input device for manipulating objects on the display of a computer screen. The device is integrated as a pointer stick, which may be located on an existing keyboard, on an existing mouse device, or elsewhere. Both 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional user input are supported. In a first embodiment, the device is easily convertible between 2D and 3D input mode. Preferably, this conversion occurs by pressing down on the pointer stick, which is implemented as a spring-loaded device. The device supports input in the X and Y direction while in 2D mode, and adds the Z direction while in 3D mode. Movement in the Z direction is indicated by rotating the pointer stick to the left or right. In a second embodiment, movement in the Z direction is indicated by pushing and pulling on a sliding, or telescoping, pointer stick.