Multi-function roller apparatus and method for a control device

#The present invention generally relates to a control device, such as a mouse, and more particularly relates to multi-mode roller for a control device having a selectable smooth-roller mode and a ratchet-roller mode.

#Control devices for computers and the like typically include mice, keyboards, joysticks, touch pads and the like for computer control. These control devices are typically used to control computer applications that typically include graphical objects that may be manipulated by the control device. Typical control devices often include a roller for computer application control, such as scrolling graphical objects displayed on the computer's monitor. Traditional rollers provide limited options for scrolling through relatively long documents, such as multi-page documents. Solutions for relatively fast multi-page scrolling have traditionally included manipulation of a graphical object, such as selecting and dragging a scroll bar, pressing scroll buttons or the like. These traditional solutions for multi-page scrolling include multiple manipulations of the control device to manipulate these graphical objects. Other solutions for multi-page scrolling at a relatively high rate include accelerated scrolling controlled by the control device, for example, via detection of relatively fast roller rotation, and providing accelerated scrolling based on the detected fast roller rotation.

#There are a number of different designs for such rollers on a mouse or other device. Examples include Multipoint Technology Corporation U.S. Pat. No. 5,298,919, Microsoft U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,344, Apple Computer U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,313,230 and 5,095,303, Mouse Systems U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,530,455 and 5,446,481, Primax Electronics U.S. Pat. No. 5,808,568, and Logitech U.S. Pat. No. 6,157,369.

#FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic of a mouse having a roller and one or more control buttons according to an embodiment of the present invention;

#FIG. 2 is a simplified schematic of a control system of the mouse;

#FIGS. 3A and 3B are simplified front and back views of the roller according to one embodiment of the present invention;

#The present invention generally provides a control device, such as a mouse, and more particularly provides a multi-mode roller for a control device having a selectable smooth-roller mode and a ratchet-roller mode.

#FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic of a mouse 100 having a roller 105 and one or more control buttons 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Mouse 100 may also include a detector and encoder (not shown) for detecting movement of the mouse relative to a surface, such as a desktop or the like. Such detectors and encoders are well known in the art and will not be described in detail herein. The mouse may be configured to wire or wirelessly send control commands to and/or receive control commands from a computer. The control commands may be generated from the movement of the mouse relative to the desktop, roller rotation, button clicks or the like. Via the control commands, the mouse may be configured to manipulate graphical objects, data objects, or other computer applications running on the computer. For example, the roller may be configured to be rotated by a user for scrolling through a document. The term “document” as referred to herein may include a variety of graphical objects, such as text documents, spread sheets, drawings, code, various data sets that may be used by the computer, web-pages as well as other documents that are well known to those of skill in the art or in use at the time.

#FIG. 2 is a simplified schematic of a control system 200 of mouse 100. Control system 200 may include a printed circuit board (PCB) 205 that is powered by a power source 210. The control system may further include a processor (e.g., a micro controller) 215, a memory 220, a transmitter (or transceiver, e.g., wire or wireless) 225, and roller detection and encoder circuitry 230. These elements of the control system may be coupled via a bus 235. The control system and specifically the PCB may include other electronic modules as will be understood by those of skill in the art.