Multi-dimensional input device

A hand manipulatable input device for providing spatial locational data to a host computer for control of a simulated viewpoint coupled to the input device, the input device comprising:

• a chassis including an outer housing sized and configured to be received by a hand of a user in a grasping position;
• a first locating member comprising a roller ball supported by the chassis and mounted with a portion of the roller ball projecting from a base of the housing to rotatably contact a planar surface and movable by manipulation of the housing by the hand of the user in simulation of translational movement of the simulated viewpoint in a simulated plane in a simulated space;
• a first encoder for detecting movement of the first locating member and for producing output signals proportional to the detected movement of the first locating member and representative of the translational movement along a first set of first and second mutually orthogonal axes in a first plane representative of the simulated plane;
• a second locating member comprising a thumbwheel supported by the chassis to rotate in a direction perpendicular to the planar surface and located to be simultaneously manipulatable with said first locating member and mounted with a portion of the thumbwheel projecting from a side of the housing in a location proximate a thumb of the hand in the grasping position and movable by manipulation by the thumb of the hand for indication of elevational translational movement of the simulated viewpoint in a direction perpendicular to the simulated plane;
• a second encoder for detecting movement of the second locating member and for producing output signals proportional to the detected movement of the second locating member and representative of the elevational translational movement along a third axis representative of the elevation in the direction perpendicular to the simulated plane, the third axis being orthogonal to the first set of said first and second mutually orthogonal axes.
• a third location member comprising a trackball supported by the chassis and located to be simultaneously manipulatable with said first locating member and said second locating member and mounted with a portion of the trackball projecting from a top of the housing in a location proximate two or more fingers of the hand in the grasping position for simultaneous rotation with respect to a second set of three mutually independent axes and spherically rotatably movable by the fingers of the hand of the user in simulation of arbitrary rotational movement of the simulated viewpoint in the simulated space;
• a third encoder for detecting movement of the third locating member and for producing output signals proportional to the detected movement of the third locating member and representative of the arbitrary rotational movement about the second set of three mutually orthogonal axes representative of the simulated space;
• and
• a controller for receiving the output signals from the first, second, and third encoders and for determining from the output signals from the encoders spatial positional data comprising three translational coordinates representative of the translational movement within and above and below the simulated plane ad three rotational coordinates representative of the arbitrary rotational movement in the simulated space and for transmitting signals representative of the determined spatial positional data in the simulated space to the host computer.