Looks, feels & works like a Mouse, but click Switchable to Joystick mode

Home Prototypes Vista SP1 Problem Documents Contact

An Ideal Tool for Google Earth Navigation

6 DOF - Degrees of Freedom MultiFunction Mouse
A Mouse and a Joystick in a Mouse Housing
Tilt to Scroll 360 degrees and Rotate to Zoom


USPTO Web Site  -  Patent Number 6,727,889

Click each for a larger image.
The simple explanation of how it works:

TiltMouse™ US Patent 6727889 looks like an ordinary mouse, but provides the functionality of a mouse and a joystick in one package.

While looking at the pictures above; imagine a regular mouse that you split in half so that the palm portion and the base that touches the table are separated. Then, insert a joystick that has the stick shortened between the two halves. The palm half will attach to the top of the shortened joystick shaft and the base of the joystick is attached to the bottom part of the mouse. 

You will still have a mouse that acts like a mouse when you push it around like you would normally push a mouse. If the attached palm portion moves when you are pushing it as a mouse, that movement is ignored.

The Joystick portion is activated by either pressing down on the whole top of the mouse or by clicking one of the mouse buttons. The top cover press technique has the added benefit of making the mouse base stick to the table and allowing the rotate ( yaw ) to take effect.

By activating the the top and then rocking it forward and back it can control screen scrolling up and down or by rocking left and right, it can scroll the screen left and right. By rocking it at any point in-between, it can perform a diagonal scroll.

All of these features combined create a great business and game controller and work better than Microsoft's Tilt Wheel  that lacks the yaw (rotate) function.  Also, your whole hand has far more strength to quickly manipulate the control. It also has a greater range of motion allowing a more precise control of the scrolling and the cursor. 

Copyright by Elegant Solutions Inc.  Tilt Mouse™ is a trademark of Elegant Solutions Inc.  All Rights Reserved