Mouse driver arrangement for providing advanced scrolling capabilities to a conventional mouse

A mouse driver arrangement for improving interactive operation of a computer by an operator using a mouse, the computer including display means for displaying visual information to the operator, processing means for generating and managing the visual information, memory means for storing temporary data and at least one program running in the computer, and real-time clock means for providing synchronizing signals to the programs, the mouse including means for generating x-y incremental movement information for driving a cursor to any of a plurality of cursor positions on the display means for pointing to information entities displayed thereon, binary control means having a plurality of possible combined states for generating binary control information, and communication means for transmitting the movement information and the binary control information to the computer, said mouse driver arrangement comprising:

• first processing means for capturing said x-y incremental movement information and said binary control information to generate cursor control signals for positioning said cursor on said display;
• second processing means for storing said x-y incremental movement information as incremental coordinates of successive cursor positions measured at each of said synchronizing signals;
• third processing means for analyzing said coordinates to detect a dominant direction amid a plurality of alternative direction options in movement of said cursor and setting a scrolling-direction status variable accordingly;
• fourth processing means comprising a function generator for producing a time-varying output signal for scrolling-rate control, said output signal being dependent on said states of said binary control means according to a group of corresponding predefined variation laws;
• and
• fifth processing means for generating incremental scrolling commands for scrolling said visual information at a rate according to the magnitude of said scrolling-rate control signal and in a direction according to said scrolling-direction status variable so that said entities can be moved over said display means at a plurality of velocities and in a plurality of directions under control of said operator by manipulation of said binary control means.